Following the Diet of Worms and Luther's unwillingness to recant anything he had taught or written, the Edict of Worms was issued by Emperor Charles V. Not only was Luther a recognized enemy of the church, he was now also a recognized enemy of the state. The edict officially pronounced Martin a heretic and banned his writings. The edict also demanded that Luther be arrested and turned over to the authorities. The arrest never occurred.
Prior to the issuance of the edict, Luther was "kidnapped" on his way back to Wittenberg upon the orders of a friend, Frederick of Saxony, and was taken to Wartburg Castle, near Eisenach, where he spent nearly a year in hiding under the pseudonym "Knight George".
It was here, hiding and working in very the room you see portrayed in the sketch, that Luther labored to translate the New Testament in to the common German language. Luther's education served him well as he was able to translate the Scripture into German from the original Greek language. His finished work was published in 1522 and was widely distributed. And God used the invention of another German, Gutenberg, to mass-produce copies of Luther's labor for distribution. In 1534, using the original Hebrew, Martin also finished and had published the Old Testament to complete the work.
Luther was not the only one who God raised up to take on such a task. Desiderius Erasmus (a Dutchman) translated the Greek into Latin in 1516 and William Tyndale, who gave his life for this cause, translated the New Testament and part of the Old Testament into English prior to his martyrdom in 1536. Tyndale once said, in a disagreement with a Catholic priest, "If God spares my life, ere many years pass, I will cause a boy that driveth a plow shall know more of the Scripture than thou dost." God enabled him to do just that.
What's more, at the time of Tyndale's death, his final prayer contained the words, "Lord, open the King of England's eyes." His prayer would later be answered. Three years after Tyndale was killed, King Henry VIII of England required that a copy of Tyndale's Bible be made available to the parishioners in every church parish in England.
Undoubtedly, the greatest and most impactful result of the Reformation was that the Word of God became accessible to the European people. In the centuries prior to this, ignorance as to the things of God was rampant as the masses were unable to access or interpret the Scripture.
Today, however, is a very different time from those dark ages. A time in which you and I have no legitimate excuse to remain ignorant of what God has spoken. God's Word is so readily accessible to us, but many, and I feel confident in saying even that most of us, neglect it to our shame. The clear principle stated by our Savior in Luke 12:48 when He said to His disciples, "Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more" certainly applies to you and I, does it not?
Dear saint, you have been given much, so much is demanded of you. You are standing on the shoulders of countless men and women of God who have come and gone before you, each contributing something to the cause of Christ. You are surely "surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses".
So, for the glory of our risen King, "let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus..." (Hebrews 12:1-2).
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