Finally, she must also “mourn her father and mother,” that is, she must grieve with fervent tears that, until now, she has followed her father, the devil, and her adulterous mother, this world, into sin. This mourning should last, not only for a month, but for the whole time of her life.

On the other hand, she must now learn to love her new Bridegroom. Then Christ will marry her. For He is the one who said about Himself in Matthew 9:13 that He has come as the heavenly Physician “to call sinners to repentance.” That is, He wants to be the Physician of the sick, the Life of the dead, the Shepherd of the wanderer, the Light of the blind, the Salvation of the sinner, and yet in such a way that they do not remain in sins but get up and hasten to Christ through repentance. For this is the way in which He calls sinners to Himself. Christ is the Physician, to be sure; but the sickness must be acknowledged, and the help of the Physician must be sought. Christ is the Life, to be sure; but one must hear His voice, by which the dying are made alive (John 5:25). Christ is the Shepherd, to be sure; but the wandering sheep must allow himself to be picked up and carried to the flock (Luke 15:5). Christ is the Light, to be sure; but one must get up from the sleep of sin. Then He will enlighten us (Eph. 5:14). Christ is the Salvation, to be sure; but He must be grasped with steadfast faith (1 Tim. 1:14).

The previously read Gospel {Luke 7:36-50} pertains to this, for in it the true and earnest repentance of a poor, very sinful woman is described, along with how she thereby obtained God’s grace, the forgiveness of sins, and eternal life with Christ. (Sermon for Mary Magdalene-July 22, Postilla Volume 3 by Johann Gerhard, Repristination Press, page 106-107)

In Deuteronomy 21:10ff., God gave His people this commandment: “If you see a beautiful woman among the captives and you want to take her as your wife, bring her into your house, let her hair be shaven and her nails trimmed, and her clothes in which she was taken captive laid aside, and let her sit in your house and mourn her father and her mother for one month. Then sleep with her and marry her and let her be your wife.”

Along with the fact that the Lord God wanted to use these various ceremonies in order to prevent the Israelites from entering into marriage with foreigners and idol worshipers lightly, there is an excellent type, or rather, an allegory presented to us in this ceremonial law. For the captive foreign woman stands for the soul of a sinner, which is a “foreigner and outside of the city and people of God” (Eph. 2:12). It is also captive in the kingdom of the devil (Col. 1:13). If she (that is, the soul) figuratively becomes pledged in marriage to Christ, the heavenly Bridegroom, then she must first allow herself to be washed and purified by true repentance.

She must “lay aside her clothing in which she was taken captive,” that is, she must “take off the old man” (Eph. 4:22) and “despise the stained garment of the flesh” (Jude 23).

She must “let her hair and nails be trimmed”; that is, she must lay aside the evil lusts of the flesh, especially haughtiness and greed, which are understood by the hair and nails, and she must undergo a spiritual circumcision of the heart (Deu. 30:6).  (Sermon for Mary Magdalene-July 22, Postilla Volume 3 by Johann Gerhard consisting of 15 sermons for Saints Days and other festivals, Repristination Press, page 106)