Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught.
— John 7:14
Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not.
— John 7:28
For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world.
— John 7:4
I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.
— Isaiah 45:19
Preaching in Public, by Martin Luther.
Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing.
— John 18:20
Christ prepared Himself for the sermon He wanted to deliver. He went up on a mountain, sat down, and opened his mouth to make it evident that he was in earnest. These are the three things, so to speak, which every good preacher should do. First, he takes his place. Second, he opens his mouth and says something. Third, he knows when to stop. Takes his place, means that he presents himself as a master, a preacher with both the ability and the responsibility. One who comes with a call and not on his own. One to whom it is a matter of duty and obedience. Then he can say: I am not coming because my own purpose and preference impel me. But I must do so because it is my office. This is said against those who have been causing us so much toil and trouble, and still are. The schismatic rascals and fanatics who roam all over this country. They poison the people before the clergy and the government can discover it. And so they defile one household after another, until they have poisoned an entire city, and from the city an entire country.
To guard against such sneaks and cheats, one ought not to let anyone preach unless he has been appointed and commissioned for it, nor should anyone take it upon himself, even though he is a preacher, to preach against a lying preacher whom he hears misleading the people in some church, nor should anyone sneak around into the houses and set up private preaching meetings. He should stay at home and mind his own official business and pulpit. If he neither will nor can enter the pulpit publicly, then he should keep quiet. God does not want people running all over the place with His Word as though they were driven by the Holy Spirit and had to preach, or were seeking nooks and corners or pulpits to preach where they have no official call. Even though Paul was called as an apostle by God, he did not want to preach in places where other apostles had preached before, Romans 15. Therefore, it says here that Christ went up the mountain openly and publicly when He began His preaching ministry. A little later, He said to His disciples that they were the light of the world, which should not be under a bushel, but on a candlestick. The office of the ministry and the Word of God are supposed to shine forth like the sun. We should not go around sneaking and plotting in the dark, but deal openly in broad daylight. To make it perfectly plain that both preacher and here are sure about the teaching and the legitimacy of the office.
Act the same way if you are in the ministry and have the commission to preach. Take your place openly and fear no one. Then you can boast with Christ: John 18:20, I spake openly to the world, and in secret have I said nothing. But, you say, what? Does this mean that no one should teach anything except in public? Should not the head of a household teach his servants in his house, or keep a pupil, or someone there who recites to him? My answer is, of course, that is all right, and in its own proper place. The head of every family has the duty of training and teaching his children and servants, or of having them taught. In his house, he is like a minister or bishop over his household, and he has the command to supervise what they learn and to be responsible for them. But you have no right to do this outside your own household and to force yourself upon other households or upon your neighbors. Nor should you put up with it if some such sneak comes to you and sets up a special preaching meeting in your household, for which he has no authorization. If someone comes into a house or city, let him be required to furnish proof that he is known. Let him show by letter and seal that he has the proper authorization. Not every vagabond is to be believed who boasts that he has the Holy Spirit, and who uses this to insinuate himself into this or that household. In short, this means that the gospel or the proclamation should not be listened to in a corner, but high up on the mountain, and openly in the free daylight.
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