This,
the first window, serves as a prologue to the Life of Christ. Thematically,
the window incorporates the prophecies of Isaiah of Judah who is seated,
pen and scroll in hand, to the right of Jesse and amid two other prophets,
most probably Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
The
young Messiah, crowned and orbed, stands directly above Jesse in fulfillment
of Isaiah' s prophecy (Is. l:l) that ''there shall come forth a rod
out of the stem of Jesse I' Directly above Him is the triangle which
has always been associated among Christians with the Triune God. On
either side, the crowns of Solomon and David grace the lower branches,
since Jesse was the father of David, and David the father of Solomon.
The
"root of Jesse'' extends into the lower portion of the window,
artistically incorporating Martin Luther into kinship with those above
him. Seen here is Luther in Rome, climbing the "holy stairs on
his knees, i.e. in pilgrim fashion, in the hope of his calling. The
concept of hope is symbolized by the anchor seen within the cross
above him.
The story
passed down to us is that, at this moment, the truth hit home to Luther
that man is justified in God's sight by faith alone and not by good
works; thus the basis for the inscription, "Therefore being justified
by faith (Romans 5:1), in the lower left portion of the window.
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