Luther on Genesis 42:24b-25 (Suffering [Is] For You)

Now, we're in Genesis 42, 25.

This is the context where we're sitting.

And it's Joseph who is going to be kind of roughing up his brothers, right? and but he's not going to do it because he wants to remember he turned away uh and he wept remember this weeping of joseph he doesn't he's uh i was i was visiting with a person about the worldwide bible study and about this idea that god plays with us and the um Someone said, it seems like this makes God into a bully.

I said, you can't forget the tears, the weeping of Joseph.

Joseph is treating them harshly, but his heart is breaking for the pain that they're feeling, but he knows that it's good for him.

This is a really, really important part of it.

And Luther's talking about our own emotions, our own human emotions.

God wants nature to be preserved, not abolished, but he orders that it be corrected.

Here, the nature that we're talking about is that natural affections and feelings.

In order that it may become purer, And that the emotions may be adjusted better in the godly than in the heathen, who don't control them by the fear of God and by confidence in him, but are dragged along rashly by them and without the sure rule of God's word.

So you just let your emotions just fly and rule and govern and do whatever you That's a pagan sort of thing.

But we don't have the opposite reaction.

Well, we do, but we shouldn't.

The opposite reaction is that, look, the heathen are just led away by their emotions.

So we can show our sanctification by having no emotions at all.

Luther just despises that idea.

He says, no, we're not supposed to be emotionless.

He's talked about the Stoics.

He's going to talk about them some more.

We're not supposed to be stones, rocks, with no feelings.

But we know that our feelings are not in charge.

Remember the ministerial use of emotions, not the magisterial use.

Therefore, you see described in this example, the sanctity of the most saintly fathers and who had the same emotions, although they were fewer and more moderate.

They also have the same passions and infirmities that other men have.

Mark writes that Christ looked about at the Pharisees with anger and was disquieted by their blindness of heart because they were debating whether it was permitted to heal on the Sabbath, Mark 3.

Now, we're in Genesis 42, 25.

This is the context where we're sitting.

And it's Joseph who is going to be kind of roughing up his brothers, right? and but he's not going to do it because he wants to remember he turned away uh and he wept remember this weeping of joseph he doesn't he's uh i was i was visiting with a person about the worldwide bible study and about this idea that god plays with us and the um Someone said, it seems like this makes God into a bully.

I said, you can't forget the tears, the weeping of Joseph.

Joseph is treating them harshly, but his heart is breaking for the pain that they're feeling, but he knows that it's good for him.

This is a really, really important part of it.

And Luther's talking about our own emotions, our own human emotions.

God wants nature to be preserved, not abolished, but he orders that it be corrected.

Here, the nature that we're talking about is that natural affections and feelings.

In order that it may become purer, And that the emotions may be adjusted better in the godly than in the heathen, who don't control them by the fear of God and by confidence in him, but are dragged along rashly by them and without the sure rule of God's word.

So you just let your emotions just fly and rule and govern and do whatever you That's a pagan sort of thing.

But we don't have the opposite reaction.

Well, we do, but we shouldn't.

The opposite reaction is that, look, the heathen are just led away by their emotions.

So we can show our sanctification by having no emotions at all.

Luther just despises that idea.

He says, no, we're not supposed to be emotionless.

He's talked about the Stoics.

He's going to talk about them some more.

We're not supposed to be stones, rocks, with no feelings.

But we know that our feelings are not in charge.

Remember the ministerial use of emotions, not the magisterial use.

Therefore, you see described in this example, the sanctity of the most saintly fathers and who had the same emotions, although they were fewer and more moderate.

They also have the same passions and infirmities that other men have.

Mark writes that Christ looked about at the Pharisees with anger and was disquieted by their blindness of heart because they were debating whether it was permitted to heal on the Sabbath, Mark 3.