Chief among these pardon peddlers was John Tetzel. He was a most impudent fellow who, because of his adulterous life, had at one time been condemned to be drowned in a sack. For his services he received 80 florins, together with traveling expenses for himself and his servants, and provender for three horses. These papal indulgences were held in high esteem by the people, wherefore Tetzel was everywhere given a pompous reception. Whenever he entered a town the papal bull was carried before him upon a gilded cloth. All the priests, monks, councilmen, schoolteachers, scholars, men, and women went out in procession with candles, flags, and songs to meet him. The bells were tolled, the organs sounded, and Tetzel was accompanied into the church, where a red cross was erected bearing the Pope’s coat of arms. In short, God Himself could not have been given a grander reception. Once in church, Tetzel eloquently extolled the miraculous power of the papal indulgences. He preached: “Whoever buys a pardon receives not only the forgiveness of his sins, but shall also escape all punishment in this life and in purgatory.” The forgiveness for sacrilege and perjury was sold for 9 ducats, adultery and witchcraft cost two. In St. Annaberg he promised the poor miners, if they would freely buy his indulgence the mountains round about the city would become pure silver. The Pope, he claimed, had more power than all the apostles and saints, even more than the Virgin Mary herself; for all of these were under Christ, while the Pope was equal to Christ. The red cross with the papal arms erected in church was declared to be as saving as the cross of Christ. Tetzel claimed to have saved more souls with his indulgences than Peter with his sermons. He had a little rhyme which ran: “As soon as the money rings in my chest, From purgatory the soul finds rest.” Furthermore, he proclaimed that the grace offered by indulgences is the same grace by which man is reconciled with God. According to his teaching contrition, sorrow, or repentance for sin were unnecessary if his indulgences were bought.
2. Consequences of this Pardon-Mongery. After Tetzel had carried on his godless traffic at many places he also came to Jueterbock, in the vicinity of Wittenberg. Thither the people hurried from the whole neighborhood, and even from Wittenberg they came in crowds to buy indulgences. Luther relates: “At that time I was preacher here in the cloister, a young doctor, full of fire and handy at the Scriptures. Now, when great multitudes ran from Wittenberg to buy indulgences at Jueterbock and Zerbst, I began to preach very moderately that something better could be done than buying indulgences; that he who repents receives forgiveness of sins, gained by Christ’s own sacrifice and blood, and offered from pure grace, without money, and sold for nothing.” And when some of Luther’s parishioners stubbornly declared that they would not desist from usury, adultery, and other sins, nor promise sincere repentance and improvement, he refused to absolve them. When they appealed to the indulgences which they had bought from Tetzel, Luther answered them: “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish,” Luke 13, 3. He now addressed an imploring petition to Albert of Mayence and other bishops, to put a stop to Tetzel’s blasphemous doings, but met with no success. Tetzel himself threatened to accuse Luther of heresy, and built a pile of fagots on which, he said, all those should be burned who spoke against his indulgences.
Luther Nailing His Ninety-five Theses to the Castle Church of Wittenberg.
3. The Ninety-Five Theses. It was on the 31st of October, 1517, when the bells ringing from the steeple of the Castle Church at Wittenberg were calling the multitude into the house of God. The crowds were gathering in the long street, awaiting the beginning of the service which usually preceded the festival of church dedication which occurred on All Saints’ Day. Suddenly a man hurriedly pressed through the waiting multitude; lean and lank was his body, and pale his countenance, but his eyes beamed with life and fire. He stepped up to the door of the Castle Church, drew a paper from his dark monk’s cowl, and with vigorous blows of the hammer nailed it to the church door. At first his action was noticed only by those standing near by. When, however, one of the bystanders read the superscription which, translated into English, reads: “Disputation concerning the power of indulgences. Out of love for the truth and with a sincere desire to bring it to light, the following propositions will be discussed at Wittenberg, the Reverend Father Martin Luther presiding. Those who cannot discuss the subject with us orally may do so in writing. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!” — then the cry was heard: “Up there! Read to us the tidings of the wonderful document.”
Several of the Theses.
1. Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ in saying: “Repent ye,” etc., intended that the whole life of His believers should be repentance.
32. Those who believe that through letters of pardon they may be sure of their salvation will go to hell, together with their teachers.
36. Every Christian who truly repents of his sin has complete remission of all pain and guilt, and it is his without any letters of pardon.
37. Every true Christian, living or dead, partakes of all the benefits of Christ and of the Church. God gives him this without letters of pardon.
62. The true treasure of the Church is the holy Gospel of the glory and grace of God.
4. The Effects of the Theses. The action of the Augustinian monk created everywhere the greatest excitement among the people. Luther’s theses spread with a rapidity truly marvelous for that time. In fourteen days they had passed through all Germany, and in four weeks through all Christendom. Verily, it seemed as if the angels themselves had been the messengers. The theses were translated into other languages, and after four years a pilgrim bought them in Jerusalem. Like distant rolling thunder the mighty sentences echoed out into the lands and announced to Rome the storm that was brewing in Germany against popery. Luther had no idea that God had destined them to accomplish such great things. For innumerable souls they were as the sun rising after a long and anxious night. They rejoiced as we rejoice at the light of day; for they saw that in the light of this doctrine they could attain to that peace with God and with their conscience which they had sought in vain with painful toiling in the commandments of the Roman church. In the name of these souls old Doctor Fleck exclaimed, “Aha! He’ll do it! He is come for whom we have waited so long!” Another confessed, “The time has come when the darkness in churches and schools will be dispelled.” And another exulted, “Praise God, now they have found a man who will give them so much toil and trouble that they will let this poor man depart in peace.” But, of course, there were also timid souls who were filled with anxious concern for Luther. The renowned Dr. Kranz, for instance, in Hamburg, cried out, “Go to your cell, dear brother, and pray, ‘Lord, have mercy upon me!’” and an old Low-German clergyman said, “My dear Brother Martin, if you can storm and annihilate purgatory and popish huckstering, then you are indeed a great man!” But Luther, full of joyous courage and faith, replied to all such timid souls, “Dear fathers, if the work is not begun in God’s name, it will soon come to naught; but if it is begun in His name let Him take care of it.”
CHAPTER XI.
Luther the Mighty Warrior.
Luther Before Cajetan.
1. Luther Before Cajetan in Augsburg. Pope Leo X at first treated the affair with contempt, thinking that the quarrel would soon die out. He once said, “Brother Martin has a fine head, and the whole dispute is nothing else than an envious quarrel of the monks.” At another time he said, “A drunken German has written these theses; when he sobers up he will think differently of the matter.” But when he noticed that his authority was endangered, because many pious souls became attached to the true doctrine, he summoned Luther to appear within sixty days in Rome, and give an account of his heresy. If Luther had obeyed, he would hardly have escaped death or the dungeon, for everyone knew that Rome was like the lion’s cave into which many prints of feet entered, but from which none returned. But under the merciful guidance of God Elector Frederick the Wise so arranged matters that Luther’s case was tried in Germany. For this purpose the Pope sent Cardinal Cajetan to Augsburg, and in spite of all w
arnings Luther also boldly repaired to that city. In Weimar a monk said to him. “O my dear Doctor, I fear that you will not be able to maintain your case before them, and they will burn you at the stake.” Luther answered, “They may do it with nettles; but fire is too hot!” When Luther finally arrived in Augsburg, weary and worn, he would have called upon the cardinal immediately, but to this his friends were opposed; they endeavored to obtain for him, first of all, safe-conduct from the emperor. But three days passed before he received it. In the meantime the servants of the cardinal came and said, “The cardinal offers you every favor. What do you fear? He is a very kind father.” But another whispered in his ear, “Don’t believe it, he never keeps his promise.” The third day an emissary, by the name of Urban, came to Luther and asked him why he did not come to the cardinal who was waiting for him so graciously. Luther told him that he was following the advice of upright men who were all of the opinion that he should not go there without the imperial safe-conduct. Evidently vexed at this reply, Urban asked, “Do you think that the elector will go to war on your account?” Luther answered, “I do not ask that at all.” Urban: “Where do you intend to stay then?” Luther: “Beneath the heavens!” Urban: “What would you do if you had the Pope and the cardinals in your power?” Luther: “I would show them every mark of respect!” When the safe-conduct finally arrived Luther at once repaired to the cardinal, who abruptly demanded that he recant his errors. But Luther declared, “I cannot recant, I cannot depart from the Scriptures.” After lengthy negotiations Cajetan sprang up in anger and said, “Go, and let me not see you again, unless you recant!” To Luther’s friends the cardinal said, “I do not wish to dispute with that beast any more, for he has deep eyes and strange ideas in his head.” Luther, however, wrote to Wittenberg: “The cardinal is a poor theologian or Christian, and as apt at divinity as an ass is at music.” On the 31st of October Luther returned safely to Wittenberg.
2. Luther Before Miltitz. Rome would now have preferred to excommunicate Luther, but for good reasons it did not wish to offend the elector, who was determined not to allow his professor to be condemned without proper trial and refutation. The Pope therefore sent his chamberlain Karl von Miltitz to the elector to present to him a consecrated golden rose. By this means the elector was to be made willing to assist Miltitz in his undertaking. But when the latter arrived in Germany he noticed at once that he would have to deal kindly with Luther if he wished to retain the good will of the people. At the meeting which occurred 1519 in Altenburg, Miltitz, therefore, treated Luther with the greatest consideration: “Dear Martin, I thought you were an old doctor who sat behind the stove full of crotchety notions. But I see that you are a young and vigorous man. Besides, you have a large following, for on my journey I made inquiries to discover what the people thought of you, and I noticed so much that where there is one on the Pope’s side there are three on yours against the Pope. If I had an army of 25,000 men I would not undertake to carry you out of Germany!” With tears he begged Luther to help in restoring peace. Luther consented to drop the controversy if his opponents would do the same. After supping together they parted on the best of terms, Miltitz even embracing and kissing Luther. Later on Luther saw through the deceit of the Roman and called his kiss a Judas kiss and his tears crocodile tears; for it was only his fear of Luther’s following that prevented him from executing his original plan of carrying Luther to Rome in chains.
3. Luther and Dr. Eck in Leipzig. Dr. Eck, a violent opponent of Luther, became involved in a dispute with Dr. Carlstadt on several questions of Christian doctrine into which Luther was also drawn. In 1519 these three men gathered at Leipzig for a public disputation. At first Eck disputed with Carlstadt on “Free Will,” and then with Luther on the supremacy of the Pope. Luther proved that the church indeed needed a supreme head, but that Christ is this head, and not the Pope, and that the power which the Pope arrogates to himself conflicts with the Scriptures and the history of the first three centuries. As Eck could not maintain his position he accused Luther of Hussite heresy. When Luther replied, “My dear Doctor, not all of Huss’ teachings are heretical,” Eck flew into a passion, and Duke George cried out, “The plague take it!” Then they debated the question of purgatory, of indulgences, of penances, and the allied doctrines. On the 16th of June they closed the debate, and Luther returned joyfully to Wittenberg. Eck, who had flattered himself that he would triumph over Luther, had to leave in disgrace.
Luther Burning the Pope’s Bull.
4. The Bull of Excommunication. Soon hereafter Eck journeyed to Rome and persuaded the Pope to threaten Luther with excommunication. And indeed! in 1520 the papal bull appeared which began: “Arise, O Lord, judge Thy cause, for a boar has broken into Thy vineyard, a wild beast is destroying it.” Luther’s doctrine was condemned, and his books were to be burned that his memory might perish among Christians. He himself was commanded to recant within sixty days, on pain of excommunication as a heretic. As a dried limb is cut from the trunk of the tree they threatened to cut Luther from the body of Christ. Triumphantly Dr. Eck carried the bull about in Germany. In Erfurt the students tore it to pieces and threw it into the water, saying, “It is a bulla (bubble), so let it swim upon the water.” Luther wrote a pamphlet: “Against the Bull of the Antichrist,” and had it distributed broadcast among the people. In it he said: “If the Pope does not retract and condemn this bull, and punish Dr. Eck besides, then no one is to doubt that the Pope is God’s enemy, Christ’s persecutor, Christendom’s destroyer, and the true Antichrist.” He wrote to a friend: “I am much more courageous now, since I know that the Pope has become manifest as the Antichrist and the chair of Satan.”
And now when Luther even learned that in accordance with this bull his writings had been burned in Louvaine, Cologne, and also in Mayence, his purpose was fixed. On the 10th of December he had the following announcement published on the blackboard in Wittenberg: “Let him who is filled with zeal for evangelical truth appear at nine o’clock before the Church of the Holy Cross without the walls of the city. There the ungodly books of the papal statutes will be burned, because the enemies of the Gospel have dared to burn the evangelical books of Dr. Martin Luther.” When the students read this notice they gathered in crowds in the streets and marched out through the Elster Gate, followed by many citizens. At nine o’clock Luther appeared in company with many professors and scholars, who were carrying books and pamphlets. A pile of fagots was erected. Luther with his own hand laid upon it the papal books, and one of the masters set fire to the pile. When the flames leaped up Luther’s firm hand threw in the papal bull, and he cried, “Since thou hast offended the Holy One of God, may everlasting fire consume thee!” On the next day he said to his audience: “If with your whole heart you do not renounce the kingdom of the Pope you cannot be saved.” In a pamphlet he pointed out the reasons which induced him to take this step, and at the same time he called attention to the impious statutes contained in the popish jurisprudence. Some of these read: “The Pope and his associates are not bound to obey God’s commandments. Even if the Pope were so wicked as to lead innumerable men to hell, yet no one would have the right to reprove him.” — On the third of January, 1521, another bull appeared in which the Pope excommunicated Luther and his adherents, whom he called “Lutherans,” and issued the interdict against, every place where they resided.
CHAPTER XII.
Luther the Staunch Confessor.
1. LUTHER CITED to Appear at the Diet at Worms. In 1521 Charles V held his first diet at Worms. Among other matters Luther’s case was also to be discussed. The elector therefore asked Luther whether he were willing to appear at the diet. Luther answered: “If I am called, I shall, as far as I am concerned, go there sick if I cannot go there well, for I dare not doubt that God calls me when my emperor calls. You may expect everything of me save flight or recantation: I will not flee, much less will I recant. May the Lord Jesus help me!” On the 26th of March the imperial herald, Caspar Sturm, who was to act
as Luther’s safe-conduct, arrived in Wittenberg and delivered to him the emperor’s citation according to which Luther was to appear at the diet within twenty-one days. Friends reminded Luther of the danger awaiting him, fearing that he would be burned like Huss. But Luther replied: “And if my enemies kindle a fire between Wittenberg and Worms reaching up to heaven, yet will I appear in the name of the Lord, step into the very mouth and between the great teeth of the devil, confess Christ, and let Him have full sway.” Upon the journey Luther became dangerously ill; his enemies also tried to keep him away from Worms. But filled with faith and courage, he declared: “Christ liveth! Therefore we will enter Worms in spite of the gates of hell, and in defiance of the Prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2, 2). And when even his friend Spalatin begged him not to go to Worms Luther answered: “If there were as many devils in Worms as there are tiles upon the roofs, yet I would enter it.”
Collected Works of Martin Luther Page 908