May 18, 2015 – “W” is for Wartburg

“On May 4, 1521 Elector Friedrich the Wise allowed Luther to be brought to the Wartburg near Eisenach. The powerful Elector hoped that taking Luther out of the limelight would weaken the constant attacks against the Reformation. Luther lived incognito at the Wartburg; he called himself Junker Jörg (Knight George) and “grew his hair and a beard.” Luther suffered from the exile “in the empire of outlaws” and complained of various physical ailments. In addition the many fights with Satan, recounted both by himself and friends, like the proverbial Throwing of the Inkwell must have been difficult times for him to work through…

Luther devoted himself to a new task. He translated the New Testament from its original Greek into German within eleven weeks; the work was later edited by Melanchthon and other specialists and printed in 1522. This so-called “September Testament” was tremendously popular in Protestant areas and as a result made a large contribution to the development of a standardized written German-language.  Later, parts of the Old Testament were also translated. In 1534, a complete German language Bible was printed and also had a large circulation.” (Taken from the website “luther.de”)

Luther was requested to present himself at the Diet of Worms in 1521. The Diet of Worms was an imperial diet of the Holy Roman Empire held in Worms, Germany. A diet was a formal assembly of the “Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire”. This particular diet was conducted from January 28 to May 25 1521. Emperor Charles V was presiding. The need for the diet stemmed from a Papal bull issued by Pope Leo X in 1520 that outlined forty-one (41) “errors” found in Luther’s ninety-five (95) Theses (and other writings of Luther). So, Luther was summoned by the emperor to appear.

Prince Frederick III arranged for safe travel for Luther if he agreed to appear at the diet. Luther arrived on April 16 and was told to appear at the diet the following day, whereupon he was asked to recant his works. He asked for a day to think about the request. On April 18 he appeared in front of the Diet and refused, vehemently. Upon refusing to recant at the Diet at Worms he was invited to stay at the castle at Wartburg. He used this time wisely – translating scripture from the Greek language to German. This task alone would be a monumental moment for the masses. Through this effort, the Holy Scriptures would be opened to so many people, who for the first time could read scripture in their own language. They say that knowledge is a dangerous thing – and for the people of 16th century Germany, having the scriptures in their own language would help to enlighten the masses as the Protestant Reformation was happening around them.

Pastor Dave