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"HERE I STAND:
I CAN DO NO OTHER" #5
THAT COURTROOM MOMENT
In German it would have sounded like this:
"Hie stehe ich. Ich kan nicht anders. Got
helffe mir. Amen."
"Here I stand. I can do no other."
Some historians wonder if that line was ever even spoken; more about that
in a moment. But first, how in the world did this simple German monk,
a faithful, loyal, devoted Catholic, ever end up in that bishop's palace
in the city of Worms? You may recall the great line, where this young
38-year-old had been warned against entering the city where the papal
enemies were laying in wait. Luther is said to have responded to his friend
Spalatin, secretary of Frederick the Wise: "I shall go to Worms though
there were as many devils there as tiles on the roofs."
Ever since October 31, 1517 — an anniversary we celebrate anew this coming
Sunday — Martin Luther had been on a collision course with the church
of the Middle Ages. Could forgiveness from sins be sold by a pope and
his emissaries? Did the pontiff actually control purgatory? Was Leo X
the dreaded Antichrist of Revelation? Already Luther had come under the
condemnation of Rome; the papal bull, Exurge Domine, signed by the pope
himself, had given Luther 60 days to recant or be excommunicated. His
books had been burned at the Piazza Navona in Rome. The trial in Augsburg
had ended up with Cardinal Cajetan shouting at Luther: "The pope
is the interpreter. The pope is above a council, above everything in the
Church." Luther came right back at him: "His Holiness abuses
Scripture. I deny that he is above Scripture." The cardinal had a
one-word answer for that: "Revoco!" The bottom line: was salvation
a free gift from God, based on Calvary, or was it a commodity to be sold
by the Church?
It came down to this Thursday night at the Diet of Worms. April 18, 1521.
Luther had already been given a reprieve of one day to craft his response
to the question: "Would he recant and take back all the things he
had said in the pile of books on the table with his name on them?"
The angry demand of Dr. Eck — revoco! — was thick in the air again. And
this solitary man knew that a Huss and a Jerome, who had refused to recant
decades earlier had gone to the flames . . . John Huss having been executed
despite having the very same kind of safe-conduct pass Luther now held
from his emperor, Charles V.
Now in this crowded hall, it was standing room only. Biographer Edwin
Booth paints the picture for us:
"Charles V was the central figure. Only
twenty years old, pale, quiet, he was surrounded by all his counselors.
Six electors of the empire were there, including the Elector Frederick,
Luther's own civil lord. The papal legates were there, unable to control
events completely. Bishops, princes, deputies, and ambassadors filled
the hall. Spanish and German soldiers were on guard. Thousands of persons
jammed the passageways and doors."
So this was a pivotal moment.
"He stood as God's witness among the great ones of the earth,"
says one writer.
One lone Christian against the mighty leaders of both
church and state. Charles, the youthful emperor, leaned over and said
to a friend: "This monk will never make a heretic out of me."
Well, you've probably heard parts of this great speech before, where Luther
very humbly begins: "Most Serene Emperor, Most Illustrious Lords,
Most Clement Lords!" Then he began to clearly and carefully defend
his books and his faith. Luther quoted Jesus Himself: "If I have
spoken evil, bear witness of the evil." In other words, where is
it in the Bible? Where does the Bible say that salvation can be bought
or sold? Where does the Word of God tell us that priests must stand between
the believer and God? Where does it say in the 66 books of the Bible that
only the pope can interpret Scripture?
When he was done, the authorities asked him to repeat the entire speech
in Latin, since many there didn't speak the German language. It was hot;
Luther was perspiring. Frederick von Thun cried out: "If you can't
do it, Dr. Luther, you've done enough." But the young scholar gave
the same answer a second time.
When it was all over, Dr. Eck brushed aside everything he'd just heard
in two languages.
"Luther, you have not answered to the point.
You ought not to call in question what has been decided and condemned
by councils. Therefore, I beg you to give a simple, unsophisticated answer
without horns. Will you recant or not?"
There it was. Recant or not. Would it be "Jesus
only" . . . or the system, the rules, the works, the legal mountain-maze
of the past. And now the answer:
"Since your Majesty and your lordships ask
for a plain answer, I will give you one without either horns OR teeth.
Unless I am convinced by Scripture or by right reason — for I trust neither
in popes nor in councils, since they have often erred and contradicted
themselves — unless I am thus convinced, I am bound by the texts of the
Bible; my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I neither can nor
will recant anything, since it is neither right nor safe to act against
conscience. God help me. Amen."
And those extra words — "Here I stand; I cannot
do otherwise"? Some historians don't have them, others do. I'd like
to think Roland Bainton is right when he tells us:
"The words, though not recorded on the spot,
may nevertheless be genuine, because the listeners at the moment may have
been too moved to write."
What a tremendous moment! And the same emperor,
Charles V who had sneered earlier now was forced to admit, according to
D'Aubigné: "This monk speaks with an intrepid heart and unshaken
courage."
Martin Luther, Reformer, had chosen his fortress.
***GLAD: A Mighty Fortress Is Our God*** 3:46
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