Lord’s Day, Vol. 5 No. 44
16th Century Reformation in Germany
- Martin Luther (Part 3)
The pope first treated the matter of Martin Luther’s 95 theses lightly, but quickly changed his mind when he found out how serious was the threat to his authority and to the doctrine of the Church. He demanded that Luther should recant, and summoned him to appear in Rome. He also demanded that Frederick the Wise should deliver up this ‘child of the devil’ to the papal legate. In response Frederick suggested that the pope should send a delegate before whom Luther might appear and plead his cause and to this the pope finally agreed. He sent Cardinal Cajetan to Germany and Luther duly appeared before him.
The Cardinal treated the reformer courteously and demanded the retraction of his errors. Luther replied that what the Cardinal termed his errors were not truths of God’s Word, and that he could and would do nothing against his conscience. Cajetan dismissed him with the words, ‘Recant, or do not come into my presence again.’ He wanted to have nothing more to do with the rebellious monk with the deep-sunken eyes and strange thoughts in his soul. Secretly he gave orders that Luther must be taken captive, but Luther received a timely warning and escaped his hands. Luther soon made it clear, however, that he was not prepared to depart from his fundamental doctrinal principles, and the rift between him and the pope grew steadily wider as months went by. Another papal agent reported to Rome that the reformer was a very stubborn and dangerous heretic, and ultimately the pope excommunicated him. A bull (Latin ‘bulla’ = a seal) dated 15th June 1520, was issued from Rome condemning the reformer and ordering the burning of his writing. Luther on his part formally renounced the papacy by burning a copy of the papal bull in the presence of a great crowd, among whom were students and professors. As he cast the bull into the flames, he said, ‘As thou (the Pope) has vexed the Holy One of the Lord (Christ), may eternal fire vex thee’. Soon afterward in his writings, he denounced the pope as Antichrist. The reformation was well and underway.
The burning of the papal but was an act which there could be no retreat. The reformer had set his foot on the way from which he could not return; he was now on the road leading to victory or defeat. The various powers of Europe – emperor, kings, princelings, cardinals, monks, abbots, and all – concentrated their attention on the conflict between the son of a German peasant and the man who wore the triple crown of the papacy. What would be the outcome? The greatest monarch of his time was the Emperor Charles V who as a devoted son of the Roman Catholic Church, requested to deal with the case of Luther in a diet to be held in the city of Worms, and this he consented to do. He ordered Luther to appear before him. The reformer’s friends warned him not to go, reminding him that the safe-conduct given to John Huss. But Luther replied to them, ‘If there are as many devils in Worms as tiles on the housetops I will still go there’.
On the 16 April 1521, Luther arrived at Worms. The streets were crowded with people, all waiting to see the strange man who, as many of the people thought, was the devil personified. Spectators for the occasion was indeed historic. A single man had risen in revolt against the religious idea of Church and State, and all the forces of the Church and State invoked to quell him. Henry VIII, the king of England, was himself engaged in writing a book against Luther. Indeed, all States in which Roman doctrine held sway looked with unconcealed wrath upon ‘the German beast’ who set Pope and Church alike at defiance. So dense were the crowds that, on April 17, the day fixed for the first meeting of the Diet, it was extremely difficult for the reformer and his supporters to reach the conference hall. Ultimately, they did so. At the entrance stood a valiant knight, a famous army commander, who said to him, ‘My poor monk, my poor monk, you are on your way to make such a stand as I and many of my knights have never done in our toughest battle. If you are sure of the justice of your cause, then forward in the Name of God, and be of good courage, God will not forsake you’. When Luther entered the hall of assembly, he was astounded to see such pomp and brilliancy before him. The Emperor occupied the principal seat, besides six electors of the empire, 24 dukes, and 8 margraves, all representing worldly powers, and all of them allies of the Church. In addition, there were 30 archbishops, bishops and abbots, 7 ambassadors, papal nuncios, and the deputies of free cities. In all, there were 206 persons of rank. The Presiding Officer, Johann von Eck, opened the proceedings by asking Luther whether he was the author of the writings displayed on the table before them; secondly, he asked whether Luther was willing to retract the doctrines contained in the books of which the Church disapproved. In reply, the reformer, having examined the pile of books, acknowledged that he as indeed their author, but as for the second question he asked for time for reflection that he might not act imprudently but give an answer without offending against the Word of God. The request was granted, and Dr. Eck, in the Emperor’s name, adjourned the proceedings until the following day.
Luther spent much of the night in prayer. April 18, 1521, was the greatest day in Luther’s life. The occasion has been described as ‘one of the sublimest scenes which earth ever witnessed, and most pregnant with blessing’. Luther made his reply – ‘the speech that shook the world’ – Unless I am convinced by testimonies of the Scriptures or by clear arguments that I am in error – for popes and councils have often erred and contradicted themselves – I cannot withdraw, for I am subject to the Scriptures I have quoted; my conscience is captive to the Word of God. It is unsafe and dangerous to do anything against one’s conscience. Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise. So help me God.
These bold and uncompromising words caused a measure of pandemonium in the Diet. He was later placed under the ban of the Empire. He declared an outlaw, and thereafter any who lodged him or gave him food and drink were liable to be charged with high treason against the Emperor.
[Extracted and edited from Sketches from Church History by S.M Houghton, pp 86-90]
Yours Lovingly,
Pastor Lek Aik Wee