The circuit of Luther’s life was completed in Eisleben, his birthplace,
where he had gone to mediate between the princes of Mansfeld. He died
early on the morning of February 18, 1546, after fervently committing
himself to God’s keeping and reaffirming the doctrines he had preached.
Luther’s lifetime was marked with concern—concern first about himself
and God. It wasn’t selfish; a man has to find his treasure before he can
share it. Luther had searched through lonely tormented hours in a
monastery; he brushed aside centuries of proud speculation until he
found the truth. It was written in a book, the record of God’s
revelation of himself to man—the Bible. From it he learned that God is
love instead of wrath; that no one, pope or king, can stand between man
and that love, or gain it for another; that one can’t even win it for
himself. It is God’s free gift.
Then his concern was for others. This treasure was too priceless to
keep; he had to give it away. He preached it, though all the forces of
evil railed against him. He printed it, though emperors ordered him to
stop the press. He sang it and helped the church to sing—in tones so
soft they lull a child to sleep; in battlecries resounding from the
ramparts of his mighty-fortress God.
“The devil prefers blockheads,” he said, therefore, “the school must be
the next thing to the church.” Concern led him to teach. Professor was
the only job he held—but that for all his life. He hated those who
arrogantly claimed sole right to knowledge. So that each might know the
truth himself, and in that truth be free, he translated the sacred
Scriptures. Matthew to Revelation first, and then the Old Testament were
translated, not in high-sounding phrase or platitude, but in majestic
simplicity—the words of Hans and Hilda. The lords and ladies would
understand it that way too.
The principles of faith which Luther proclaimed, brought fame and the
promise of power. But the words addressed to the nobles at Worms recount
the humility of his service: “I seek nothing beyond reforming the church
in conformity with the Scriptures. I reserve nothing but to bear witness
to the Word of God alone.”