Love Under Fire

The Courage of a Martyr

As the Reformer went on his way, an eager crowd surged around him, and friendly voices warned him of the Catholic authorities. “They will burn you,” said some, “and reduce your body to ashes, as they did with John Huss.” Luther answered, “Even if they lit a fire all the way from Worms to Wittenberg, ... I would walk through it in the name of the Lord. I would appear before them, ... confessing the Lord Jesus Christ.”¹⁰ LF 66.7

Luther's approach to Worms stirred up great commotion. Friends trembled for his safety, and enemies feared for their cause. The pope's followers arranged for some to urge him to go to the castle of a friendly knight, where, they declared, all difficulties could be resolved with goodwill. Friends described the dangers that threatened him. Luther, still unshaken, declared: “Even if there were as many devils in Worms as tiles on the housetops, still I would enter it.”¹¹ LF 66.8

When he arrived at Worms, a vast crowd flocked to the gates to welcome him. The excitement was intense. “God will be my defense,” said Luther as he stepped from his carriage. His arrival filled Rome's supporters with dismay. The emperor summoned his councilors. What course should they follow? A rigid Catholic declared: “We have consulted on this matter a long time already. Let your imperial majesty get rid of this man at once. Did not Sigismund cause John Huss to be burnt? We are not obligated either to give or to honor the safe-conduct of a heretic.” “No,” said the emperor, “we must keep our promise.”¹² They decided that the Reformer should be heard. LF 67.1

Everyone in the city was eager to see this remarkable man. Luther, tired from the journey, needed quiet and rest. But he had enjoyed only a few hours’ relief when noblemen, knights, priests, and citizens gathered eagerly around him. Among these were nobles who had boldly demanded that the emperor reform the church's abuses. Enemies as well as friends came to see the fearless monk. His bearing was firm and courageous. His pale, thin face wore a kindly and even joyous expression. The deep earnestness of his words carried a power that even his enemies could not completely resist. Some were convinced that a divine influence was with him. Others declared, as the Pharisees had about Christ, “He has a demon” (John 10:20). LF 67.2

On the following day an imperial officer was sent to bring Luther to the assembly hall. Every street was crowded with spectators eager to see the monk who had dared to resist the pope. An old general, the hero of many battles, said to him kindly: “Poor monk, you are now going to make a nobler stand than I or any other captains have ever made in the bloodiest of our battles. But if your cause is just, ... go forward in God's name, and fear nothing. God will not forsake you.”¹³ LF 67.3