First half of January 1528 (Part 2)

Martin Luther continues to write Concerning Rebaptism, A Letter of Martin Luther to Two Pastors. Today’s Quotation is taken from paragraphs 42 – 45 of this letter, in which Luther addresses the question, “What about the baptism of children?”

Quotation:

[continued from the previous post] Now, since Christ himself is present here, and speaks and baptizes, why should not his Word and baptism call forth the Spirit and faith in the child, as they then did in John [the Baptist]? The speaker and the one who acts are the same in both instances. Even before he had said through Isaiah, that “his word shall not return empty.” [Isa. 55:11] Now it is up to you to produce a single passage of Scripture which proves that children, in baptism, cannot believe, since I have cited so many declaring that they can believe and that it is reasonable to maintain that they can believe; although it is unknown to us how they believe or how faith is created in them; but that is not the point here.

He commands us, moreover, to bring the little children to him; he embraces and kisses them and says, “Of such is the kingdom of heaven.” [Matt. 19:14] In opposition to this, however, these fanatical spirits furiously array themselves, saying that Christ does not speak of little children, but of the humble. But this is mere equivocation, because the text very clearly says that they brought little children to him, not the humble. And Christ does not say to let the humble come to him, but the little children; and he rebuked the disciples, not because they forbade the humble, but the little children, to be brought; nor does he embrace or bless the humble, but the little children. Therefore, when he says, “Of such is the kingdom of heaven,” and, “Their angels do always behold the face of my Father,” [Matt. 18:10] it must be understood to refer to these same little children. For he afterwards teaches that we shall likewise become as these little children. If, however, such little children were not holy, he would undoubtedly have given us a bad example to imitate; and he would not have said, “You must become like little children,” [Matt. 18:3] but rather, “ You must become superior to little children.” In short, the enthusiast cannot so pervert the word “children” as to make it mean the humble in this text, unless he follows his own imagination; the word stands here too clearly and forcefully before our eyes.

But some wish to take the force out of this text by alleging that the Jewish children were circumcised and that, therefore, they might well be holy, and could be brought to Christ, but that our children are heathen, etc..

But I ask in reply: How can that affirmation be sustained, if there were also females among the little children who were brought to Christ? They certainly were not circumcised. They brought all kinds of children to him. Now, since the male children are not exclusively mentioned in this text, we cannot exclude female children, but we must allow there to have been little children of both sexes. And that they are called blessed, not on account of circumcision alone, but also because they now come to Christ out of the Old into the New Testament, as his words declare: “Let the children come me for of such is the kingdom of God.” [Matt. 19:14; Mark 10:14; Luke 18:16] He says that such children who come to him are of the kingdom of God. For by being brought and by coming to Christ, they become so holy that he embraces them and blesses them and gives them his kingdom. [to be continued in the next post]