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Martin Luther's Christmas Book
Martin Luther's conception of the Nativity found expression in sermon, song, and art. This beautiful new gift edition of a classic collection combines all three. Luther vividly portrays the human realism of the Mary's distress at giving birth with no midwife or water; Joseph's misgivings; the Wise Men's perplexity; and Herod's cunning. Throughout, Luther suggests the If we had lived in Bethlehem when Jesus was born, would we have believed that this newborn baby was God in human form? And he reminds us that keeping Christmas is a year-around mission of caring for those in need. Nine elegant illustrations by Luther's contemporaries capture timeless scenes from the Christmas story. This treasure is the perfect way to celebrate Christmas in light of the Reformation 500 anniversary!
72 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1948
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About the author
Roland H. Bainton
79 books44 followersRoland Herbert Bainton, Ph.D. (Yale University; A.B., Whitman College), served forty-two years as Titus Street Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Yale Divinity School. A specialist in Reformation history, he continued writing well into his twenty years of retirement. His most popular book, Here I Stand, sold more than a million copies.
Ordained as a Congregationist minister, he never served as the pastor of a congregation.
Ordained as a Congregationist minister, he never served as the pastor of a congregation.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
January 2, 2020
This is a lovely devotional read. Luther was preaching to the common people, and the sermon excerpts in this book are extremely accessible--it would make a good read-aloud for upper elementary children on up, and I can see myself using it eventually during our December school time. Each sermon is about three or four pages long and addresses a specific event (the Annunciation, Christ’s birth, the Slaughter of the Innocents, etc.), so it’s not so much a narrow “Christmas” read as a collection of readings that cover the events we remember throughout Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany.
Reading the way in which Luther talks about Mary is interesting. Outside of Roman Catholicism, modern Christians can forget to honor Mary’s faith or even to speak of her as someone special. Luther is careful to remind his listeners that Mary is not holy in herself apart from God, and to correct erroneous ways of describing her virtue (he points out that we ought to live-out the vocations we have each received rather than seeking after universal celibacy), but he is also filled with warm admiration and even reverence for the young woman who said, “Let it be to me according to thy word.” So, I think, should we be.
I highly recommend this little volume of sermons. Bainton’s forward, however, can easily be skipped--it addresses readers on the assumption that we modern folks don’t literally believe the stuff that Luther’s simple medieval piety allowed him to swallow as true. How interesting that Bainton's own skepticism did not prevent him from arranging such a lovely collection of excerpts! Sometime, perhaps, I should hunt up the original sermons and see whether Bainton merely shorted the sermons or actually omitted the bits that would be more controversial.
Reading the way in which Luther talks about Mary is interesting. Outside of Roman Catholicism, modern Christians can forget to honor Mary’s faith or even to speak of her as someone special. Luther is careful to remind his listeners that Mary is not holy in herself apart from God, and to correct erroneous ways of describing her virtue (he points out that we ought to live-out the vocations we have each received rather than seeking after universal celibacy), but he is also filled with warm admiration and even reverence for the young woman who said, “Let it be to me according to thy word.” So, I think, should we be.
I highly recommend this little volume of sermons. Bainton’s forward, however, can easily be skipped--it addresses readers on the assumption that we modern folks don’t literally believe the stuff that Luther’s simple medieval piety allowed him to swallow as true. How interesting that Bainton's own skepticism did not prevent him from arranging such a lovely collection of excerpts! Sometime, perhaps, I should hunt up the original sermons and see whether Bainton merely shorted the sermons or actually omitted the bits that would be more controversial.
December 27, 2024
My fourth time through in general. Leading up to Christmas, this book never fails to help me get in the spirit of Christmas. Such a great book. So encouraging and inspiring.
Luther lived and wrote so long ago, but his insights, questions and observations about the coming of Christ are still so spot on. His imagination and commitment to Scripture are inspiring. You can’t help walking away from this book more in awe of the events that led up to the coming of Jesus Christ.
Luther lived and wrote so long ago, but his insights, questions and observations about the coming of Christ are still so spot on. His imagination and commitment to Scripture are inspiring. You can’t help walking away from this book more in awe of the events that led up to the coming of Jesus Christ.
December 25, 2013
This is a great devotional read for Christmas, being a bit out of the ordinary yet truly "classic". This is not the deeply theological Luther, however, but rather the pastoral one. These are sermons that reveal how rhetorically charming Luther could be. He constantly puts himself in the shoes of the common people to whom he is preaching, drawing a distinction between our common expectations and the mysterious workings of God in the manger.
January 4, 2021
Loved it. Excellent reading for Epiphany.
January 3, 2018
These are lovely meditations for Christmas pondering. They are classic Luther--fresh, bold, vibrant, and sometime over the top, but always deeply Christological, humble, and comforting. One can overlook the anachronistic assumptions the good Doctor Luther often makes about the experiences of the Holy Family, shepherds, and wise men because they flow from an exuberance that seeks to make these well-known characters lively flesh-and-blood humans. The humanity that Luther presents in these Christmas excerpts brings heaven to earth in a way that awakens the Christian heart with wonder and joy.
January 2, 2012
Pretty good from a Christmas devotional perspective. Generally solid with a couple curious points here and there due to speculation on Luther's part. I wish Bainton would've provided the sources of the quotes, because I would've liked to see when they were preached during his lifetime as his understanding of God's Word changed and became much clearer over the years. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable book that I recommend for those who would like a Christmas-themed taste of Luther's preaching.
January 2, 2015
Small vignettes into the conception, birth and intense drama of the Savior's early life told from the point of view of several eyewitnesses. Be it Mary, Joseph, the shepherds or Herod himself, Luther goes into the psyche of each person and delves to their very soul for the true meaning and celebration of Jesus the Christ. Beautiful and compelling.
January 23, 2017
I found this at thrift store and bought it as additional reading. I have to say it has been one of my best thrift store finds. Written in the 1500s, I have been amazed how applicable it is today. Martin Luther's perspective is humbling, gracious yet raw with truth. I plan to read this every year! And buy it for family.
November 26, 2018
So good. Packed with gems, like this one: “Though they saw but... a poor young mother with a poor little babe, not like a king at all...in great faith cast out all misgivings of common sense, and following simply the word of the prophets and the witness of the star, they accepted him for a king, fell on their knees, worshiped him, and presented their treasures.”
April 22, 2016
A great family read for Advent. Martin Luther is incredibly witty and funny, and the way he humanizes the nativity story makes it seem more real to kids than the typical "precious moments" versions. There were a couple of outstanding passages, and a few historical oddities as well.
December 9, 2022
This was a great, short collection of Martin Luther's sermons on Christmas and the gospels. It was great to get to hear Luther's own words (albeit translated) and get a fresh perspective on what Christmas is really about.
March 31, 2009
Potent.
January 9, 2014
Such a wonderful little book to read - especially during Advent.
March 4, 2016
This was very useful in preparing my Advent sermon. I am surprised at how readable it was. I figured Martin Luther would be too theological and incomprehensible.
December 28, 2016
A great, quick, easy read for Christmas devotionals.
November 27, 2022
Why I read this book: Martin Luther’s Christmas Book was one of the books I chose to read in the 2021 Advent season.
Format: Paperback.
Synopsis: The editor of this book, Roland Bainton compiled and edited all of Martin Luther’s Christmas/Advent season sermons into 7 brief chapters. He states in the introduction “The material has been in a measure reconstructed by way of condensation, transposition, and paraphrase.”
What I Thought: The introduction had some important information, and prepared me for a few things that would have otherwise been rude surprises. First was that the book is a compilation of Luther’s Christmas season sermons spanning 30 years. For some reason, I had thought it was the translated transcripts of his sermons. There was a heads-up that Luther was rather liberal with his artistic license, or holy imagination as some phrase it. Even with that warning, I was unprepared for the extent of the liberties Luther took. Bainton also gives some helpful context explaining that the previous centuries had created extravagant, fantastical ideas about the nativity and touches on how Luther responded to those misconceptions.
Overall, this was an interesting read. Luther’s perspective certainly gave me new things to think about regarding the Christmas narratives in Matthew and Luke. I also copied out several quotes to continue thinking over. While I don’t especially agree with how a lot of things are phrased, with some thought I was able to see the point and mostly agree, even if I didn’t particularly like the choice of words.
After finishing the book, I had several questions about Luther. Taking the book as a whole, it seemed that a large portion of it must be informed by Luther’s Catholic background. There were several assertions made that are completely erroneous. They seemed less theological in nature, and more likely to stem from a poor Bible translation or perhaps traditional Catholic teachings. I would have been more interested to read these sermons individually to see how the fanciful bits may or may not have changed as Luther grew in his understanding of Scripture. This sent me down a bit of a rabbit hole, researching what resources Luther would have had when he translated the Bible into German. The answer was “not many”, and it seems that he did use the best resources he could access to write the best translation he could. It would also be interesting to know where Luther was with his Bible study and translation in relation to when he preached these sermons.
The Bottom Line: I would not recommend Martin Luther’s Christmas Book as a Bible study resource. I would recommend it to anyone interested in Martin Luther, as well as to anyone who finds themselves overly familiar with the Christmas narrative. I appreciated being made to stop and consider the possibility that perhaps I too have erroneously blended Scripture with tradition. Ultimately, I think that is what I look for specifically in Advent devotionals - something that jars me out of complacent familiarity and makes me think about things from a different angle.
Format: Paperback.
Synopsis: The editor of this book, Roland Bainton compiled and edited all of Martin Luther’s Christmas/Advent season sermons into 7 brief chapters. He states in the introduction “The material has been in a measure reconstructed by way of condensation, transposition, and paraphrase.”
What I Thought: The introduction had some important information, and prepared me for a few things that would have otherwise been rude surprises. First was that the book is a compilation of Luther’s Christmas season sermons spanning 30 years. For some reason, I had thought it was the translated transcripts of his sermons. There was a heads-up that Luther was rather liberal with his artistic license, or holy imagination as some phrase it. Even with that warning, I was unprepared for the extent of the liberties Luther took. Bainton also gives some helpful context explaining that the previous centuries had created extravagant, fantastical ideas about the nativity and touches on how Luther responded to those misconceptions.
Overall, this was an interesting read. Luther’s perspective certainly gave me new things to think about regarding the Christmas narratives in Matthew and Luke. I also copied out several quotes to continue thinking over. While I don’t especially agree with how a lot of things are phrased, with some thought I was able to see the point and mostly agree, even if I didn’t particularly like the choice of words.
After finishing the book, I had several questions about Luther. Taking the book as a whole, it seemed that a large portion of it must be informed by Luther’s Catholic background. There were several assertions made that are completely erroneous. They seemed less theological in nature, and more likely to stem from a poor Bible translation or perhaps traditional Catholic teachings. I would have been more interested to read these sermons individually to see how the fanciful bits may or may not have changed as Luther grew in his understanding of Scripture. This sent me down a bit of a rabbit hole, researching what resources Luther would have had when he translated the Bible into German. The answer was “not many”, and it seems that he did use the best resources he could access to write the best translation he could. It would also be interesting to know where Luther was with his Bible study and translation in relation to when he preached these sermons.
The Bottom Line: I would not recommend Martin Luther’s Christmas Book as a Bible study resource. I would recommend it to anyone interested in Martin Luther, as well as to anyone who finds themselves overly familiar with the Christmas narrative. I appreciated being made to stop and consider the possibility that perhaps I too have erroneously blended Scripture with tradition. Ultimately, I think that is what I look for specifically in Advent devotionals - something that jars me out of complacent familiarity and makes me think about things from a different angle.
December 13, 2020
In this wonderful devotional Christmas read the late Prof. Roland Bainton weaves together excerpts from Luther's many Christmas sermons to tell the story of Christ's coming and reflect on it's meaning.
December 21, 2020
This is an excellent book of excerpts of Martin Luther's sermons on Christmas. It helps the reader understand the perspective all the players of this glorious event. I try to read this book every year, as it is short, but impactful.
December 22, 2020
An Annual Joy
This is for me an annual treat. In their down to earth simplicity Luther's sermons are as comforting as a Yule fire. Add woodcuts, a song, and a play and you have here the written equivalent of a delightful Christmas confection.
This is for me an annual treat. In their down to earth simplicity Luther's sermons are as comforting as a Yule fire. Add woodcuts, a song, and a play and you have here the written equivalent of a delightful Christmas confection.
December 31, 2023
what a book!
Read it once, twice, and again you will discover something new in Luther’s commentary about the birth of Christ. New insights arise each time I read this and share it with my friends.
Read it once, twice, and again you will discover something new in Luther’s commentary about the birth of Christ. New insights arise each time I read this and share it with my friends.
September 12, 2024
Most amazing book ever written on the Christmas Story
Prepare to have your mind explode and your heart opens beat as Luther draws out all that Christ, coming to us as child, has to offer us poor sinners.
Prepare to have your mind explode and your heart opens beat as Luther draws out all that Christ, coming to us as child, has to offer us poor sinners.
August 19, 2020
Great Christmas devotional
December 27, 2020
This is a sampling of Martin Luther's Christmas sermons. It was interesting to read the views of a 15th century minister,
December 22, 2025
A 1500's perspective on the nativity and events surrounding Christmas left me with so many questions.
May 15, 2024
The homilies in this slim tome are perfect reading for Christmas and Epiphany. Luther reveals the scandal and the world-changing significance of the Nativity with such evident love for the Word that the reader is drawn along. To revisit each Christmastime.
September 24, 2020
I really enjoyed this book. Dr Luther's sermons have presented the Christmas story so beautifully and so very vividly. This is the perfect book for reading at Christmas time.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews