THAT THESE WORDS OF CHRIST, “THIS IS MY BODY,” ETC., STILL STAND FIRM AGAINST THE FANATICS 1527

Now, let me make this assumption: even if it were true that there is a metaphor in Paul and Moses, and we obligingly believed him, what does he accomplish? But let us see what a marvelous, masterful conclusion he draws. Paul says, “The rock was Christ,” i.e. the rock represents Christ; here too, therefore, when Christ says, “This is my body,” it must be the same as, “This represents my body.” My friend, let us draw some conclusions, too, according to this wonderful method. All right, I shall prove, using the Zwinglian method, that Sarah, the holy mother of the Jews, remained a virgin, as follows: Luke writes (Cf. Luke 1:34 f. Luther and Zwingli both retained the age-old tradition that Mary remained “ever virgin.”) that Mary remained a virgin, therefore Sarah also must have remained a virgin. Isn’t this fine syllogizing and good deduction? Again, I shall prove that Pilate is an apostle of Christ, as follows: The evangelist Matthew [10:2] writes that Peter is Christ’s apostle, therefore this man Pilate must also be Christ’s apostle. And so on; whatever I please shall and must be deduced as an article of faith by such a method. “Yes,” you say, “but this is not right; you must prove in each particular instance, that Sarah is a virgin and Pilate an apostle.” Why? If Zwingli does not need to prove that there is a metaphor in the Supper, as long as there is one in a single passage in Paul or Moses, it is enough. Schoolboys know that “of Christ, as follows: The evangelist Matthew [10:2] writes that no deduction can be drawn from pure particulars and even less from negatives.” Nevertheless it is the supreme art of our spirits in these sacred articles of faith to concoct these arguments out of particulars, without Scripture. -Martin Luther