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Martin Luther, the Reformer

  “Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.” Psalm 31:5

  On February 18, 1546, 480 years ago, the Reformer Martin Luther died in Eisleben, Germany, the same city where he was born 62 years earlier. Given the events of his life including excommunication by the Church and the imperial ban, it is remarkable that he even died in bed. As a young reformer he had thought he would die from martyrdom.

  But Luther had been ill for years with various ailments such as kidney stones and digestive complaints. No doubt the rigors of the monastery when he was younger had wreaked havoc with his body. But also the workload and stresses of leading the Reformation had taken toll. Toward the end of his life, he spoke about the certainty that he hadn’t much longer to live.

  Worn down and tired at the age of 62, Luther had been away from Wittenberg attempting to intervene in a dispute between the Counts of Mansfeld. He was willing to travel there, viewing it as important and possibly one of his final tasks. His wife, Katy, was deeply concerned and expressed her worry about his health and the travel conditions. In his typical fashion, Luther expressed his confidence in God and his hope in the resurrection by writing back that if he were to die God would be able to create 15 more Luthers.

  Having reached an inconclusive conclusion to the dispute, Luther turned toward home. In Eisleben, the city of his birth, he stopped over, preaching several times in St. Andrew’s Church. But he became weaker. Staying across from the church in the opulent home of a city official, on the 17th he had supper. The discussion at table was whether we would recognize one another in heaven. Luther was certain that those in Christ would indeed know each other.

  He took to his room and to prayers, as was his custom. But thereafter, suffered various painful attacks and tightness of his chest. His companions attended to him and recorded the last hours. This would be important as actual eyewitnesses, as later false accounts were made by his enemies that he had renounced the faith. He recited John 3:16, Psalm 68:20, and repeated Psalm 31:5, which was commonly spoken to the dying.

  His last written words concluded, “We are beggars, that is true.” It wasn’t a word of resignation or hopelessness, but rather a confession that we are completely dependent on the grace of God. When word reached Wittenberg, the university faculty and the Elector were in shock. Katy was beside herself, mostly because she was unable to attend to him at the last. It was announced: � is the Charioteer of Israel.” Luther had died confessing faith in his Savior, which he knew from the Scripture and summed up in Psalm 118:17, “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD.”