Celebrating the Reformation
31 Oct 2006
At the end of October, churches all over the world will be
celebrating the birth of the Reformation when German Reformer Martin Luther nailed his 95
Theses on the door of the Schlosskirche, Wittenberg, 31 October 1517. If you are in Cape
Town, please join the Reformation Society in our Reformation Celebrations. Otherwise,
please visit www.ReformationSA.org for great resources to inspire and involve your family,
students, congregation or co-workers in working for a new Biblical Reformation and praying
for a fresh spiritual Revival in our time. Here is an example of the great character
studies and articles available on the www.ReformationSA.org website:
ZWINGLI – THE REFORMER OF ZURICH
Ulrich Zwingli was the father of the Reformation in Switzerland.
Born and raised in the Alps, Zwingli was one of the most colourful and audacious
characters in Swiss history. A devout student of the Scripture, Zwingli was transformed
and shaped by the Word of God. He has been described as “an amazing combination of
intellect, passion and wit.”
MAN OF THE MOUNTAINS
Born at an altitude of 3,600 feet (1,100 metres), the son of the
Mayor of Wildhaus, Zwingli studied in Bern, Basel, and Vienna. In 1506, he received his MA
degree. As a pastor in Glarus, Zwingli served as a chaplain with Swiss mercenary soldiers
in Italy. The Swiss regularly hired out their men to fight for foreign powers. At that
time, the Swiss generally believed that their national economy depended on this war
industry.
“SELLING BLOOD FOR GOLD”
During the Italian campaign, Zwingli saw 6,000 Swiss youth die, in
the service of the Pope, at Marignon. He returned home convinced that “selling blood
for gold” was not only a waste of young manhood through senseless violence, but also
it was corrupting the men’s souls through avarice, pride and greed. He observed that
the entire country was deteriorating spiritually and morally under the lure of gold from
foreign princes. Zwingli spoke out boldly: “The situation is very serious, we are
already contaminated. Religion is in danger of ceasing amongst us. We despise
God…” Zwingli’s outspoken preaching against this lucrative profession cost
him his pulpit in Glarus.
Forced out of Glarus, he was able to secure a pastoral position at
Einsiedeln - where he continued to preach against mercenary service.
WON BY THE WORD
When Erasmus’s New Testament in Greek appeared, in 1516,
Zwingli immediately purchased a copy. Zwingli taught himself Hebrew and Greek and wrote
out and memorized Paul’s Epistles in the Greek New Testament. He carried around his
little pocket edition with him, memorizing much of the New Testament. Zwingli was shocked
to find that there was a world of difference between the teachings of the Bible and the
teachings and practices of the Roman Catholic Church.
LAUNCHING A REFORMATION
When Zwingli was appointed pastor at Grossmunster, (the Great
Cathedral) in Zurich, he began his duties, on 1 January 1519, by preaching through the
Gospel of Matthew. This bold action of replacing the mass with the preaching of the Word
as the central focus of church services marked the beginning of expository preaching.
FACING DEATH
Shortly after he became pastor in Zurich, the city was hit by the
plague. Zwingli showed his courage by giving no thought to his own safety, but staying in
Zurich and ministering selflessly to the highly contagious victims. He himself was soon
struck down with the plague, and nearly died.
While in the grip of this debilitating illness, Zwingli wrote
“The Song of the Plague” in which he shows a vibrant faith in the all
sufficiency of God’s grace in Christ Jesus:
“Help me, O Lord, my strength and rock; lo at the door I
hear death’s knock.
“Uplift Thine arm once pierced for me; that conquered death and set me free.
“ Yet if Thy voice in life’s midday, Recalls my soul, then I obey.
“ In faith and hope earth I resign, secure of Heaven, for I am Thine.
“My pains increase; haste to console; for fear and woe seize body and soul.
“Death is at hand, my senses fail, my tongue is dumb; Now, Christ, prevail.
“Lo! Satan strains to snatch his prey; I feel his grasp; must I give way?
“He harms me not, I feel no loss, for here I lie beneath Thy cross.
“My God! My Lord! Here by Thy hand, upon the earth once more I stand.
“Let sin no more rule over me; my mouth shall sing alone to Thee.”
REVIVAL SWEEPS ZURICH
Zwingli recovered from this ordeal, his faith deepened and
matured, his mind resolute. He called the people to return to the Bible as the sole
standard of faith and practice, to recognise Christ as the only true Head of the Church.
Zwingli attacked one Roman doctrine after another. He attacked unbelief, superstition and
hypocrisy. Eagerly he strove after repentance, applying Christ’s Lordship to all
areas of life, in Christian love and faith. He emphasized the need to care for and protect
widows and orphans, to maintain law and uphold justice. Zwingli was concerned that our
personal Christian faith and love also result in justice established by the laws of the
community.
At the heart of the Swiss Reformation was a dynamic sense of
Christian community. The Church is a genuine community, one in body and spirit, having the
grace of Christ in common and bearing the fruits of the Spirit, the fruits of Christ and
the Spirit of God. This unity must extend beyond matters of the spirit to social concern
for the entire community, taught Zwingli.
ZURICH TRANSFORMED
As Zwingli systematically preached through the New Testament, he
laid the foundations for the Reformation in Switzerland. In 1523, the City Council of
Zurich voted to become Protestant.
At the First Zurich Disputation, in 1523, the City Council, and
600 citizens, convened in the City Hall to observe the debate between Ulrich Zwingli and
four delegates from the Bishop of Constance. At this gathering the city formerly adopted
the Reformation and encouraged Zwingli to continue with his Reforms.
In Zwingli’s 67 Theses, which he made public at The First
Zurich Disputation (29 January 1523), he stated: “3. Christ is the only way to
salvation for all who ever were, are and shall be.”
“19. Christ is the only mediator between God and ourselves.
“42. But if ministers are unfaithful and transgress the Laws of Christ, they may be
deposed in accordance with God’s Will.
“56. Whoever remits any sin only for the sake of money is the companion of Simon
(Magnes) and Balaam, and a real messenger of the devil.”
Diethelm Roist, the Mayor of Zurich from 1524 to 1544, became the
chief supporter of Zwingli’s Reformation in Zurich. Without Roist’s support and
protection, it was unlikely that Zwingli’s Reformation would have succeeded.
Zwingli was a patriotic Swiss Republican. He was able to create an
entirely new Switzerland without any compromise with old, unBiblical customs, and free
from all foreign bondage and interference.
With the support of the City Council, Zwingli launched a
comprehensive programme of Reform. The City Council of Zurich put an end to mercenary
service. All images, statues and relics were removed from the church buildings. The mass
was abolished. Altars, processions and other trappings and superstitions were discarded.
The school system was Reformed. Monastery buildings were turned into hospitals and
orphanages. The Bible became the basis for all law. All Zurich clergymen were ordered to
preach only from Scripture. Priests, monks and nuns were permitted to marry.
WORK ETHIC RESTORED
Zwingli worked hard to shift the Swiss economy from dependence on
mercenary service to agriculture and trade. He urged the people to productive labour:
“You are a tool in the Hands of God. He demands your service… how fortunate you
are that He lets you take part in His work.”
FROM DEATH TO LIFE
Zwingli compared the moral sickness and spiritual death of sin to
the plague, which had killed one out of every three people in Zurich, and he compared
their physical recovery to health to the need for spiritual Reformation of the church and
society.
THE BIBLE TRANSLATED
Zwingli began to translate the Scriptures into Schweizer-Deutsch
(Swiss-German). His lively and dynamic translation reflects his upbringing amidst the
towering mountains and lush valleys of Switzerland’s Alps. For example in Psalm 23 he
wrote: “In schoner Alp weidet Er mich”(In the beautiful Alps He tends me).
Zwingli compared the Word of God to the mighty Rhine river that
flowed out of the Alps: “For God’s sake, do not put yourself at odds with the
Word of God. For truly, it will persist as surely as the Rhine follows its course. One can
possibly dam it up for a while, but it is impossible to stop it.”
A SOLEMN DUTY
Zwingli took his pastoral duties most seriously, writing that they
“inspired in me more fear than joy, because I knew, and I remain convinced, that I
would give an account of the blood of the sheep which would perish as a consequence of my
carelessness.”
MARRIAGE
Earlier, on behalf of 11 other priests, Zwingli had written to the
Bishop of Constance seeking permission for priests to marry. This the Bishop had refused.
Now, after 2 years of secret marriage, Ulrich married Anna Reinhart, a young widow with 3
children. Ulrich and Anna Zwingli were blessed with another 3 children in their marriage.
EVANGELISING IN THE MARKET PLACE
Zwingli preached in the market place on Fridays that the crowds
from surrounding villages might hear the Word of God. He proclaimed the sufficiency of
faith in Christ, the deficiency of superstition and indulgences, the necessity of true
repentance and holy living. He also emphasized the importance of caring for the poor and
needy, the widow and orphan.
Grace could not be bought or sold. Zwingli confessed his own sins
publically, including an affair with a nun while a priest in Einsiedeln, and declared
Christ’s saving grace to be sufficient for the salvation of all who truly repent.
Zurich’s freedom loving city, known for their efficient army and love of political
independence, found themselves drawn to this dynamic preacher and Reformer.
THE DISASTER OF DISUNITY
It is unfortunate that attempts to bring about a unity between the
Swiss and the German Reformations failed. Prince Philip of Hesse, in his attempt to bring
about a political alliance of Protestant states, sponsored the Marburg Colloquy between
Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli. This historic meeting was held at Prince Philip’s
castle at Marburg. Although Zwingli and Luther agreed quickly on 14 Articles of Faith,
there was sharp disagreement on the 15th Article - concerning the Lord’s Supper.
Luther and Zwingli came from very different backgrounds, and
perspectives, and at several points the debate was harsh and acrimonious. At other points
the parties appeared to seek each other’s forgiveness for name-calling and for the
break down in charity. Ultimately, however, their attempt to forge a theological union,
that could be the basis of a political and military alliance, failed.
As Reformers, Zwingli and Luther had so much in common. They both
rejected the authority of the Pope and held to the authority of Scripture alone. They both
agreed to the principle of justification by faith alone and rejected the concept of the
mass as a sacrifice.
Zwingli had been very complimentary of Luther, describing him in
classical allusions “that one Hercules…who slew the Roman boar.” Zwingli
also attributed Biblical titles to Luther: “Here indeed you were the only faith David
anointed hereto by the Lord and furnished likewise with arms.” But Zwingli did not
think that Luther’s Reformation went far enough. While Luther taught that whatever is
not condemned in Scripture is permitted. Zwingli taught that whatever is not specifically
commanded in Scripture should be prohibited.
Luther regarded Zwingli as a Schwarmer (a fanatic). Luther
insisted that they had to take the Lord’s Word’s “This is My body”
literally. Zwingli maintained that this has to be understood as a metaphor (as in “I
am the Vine” and “I am the Bread of Life”). After the resurrection, Christ
ascended bodily into Heaven and sits at the right hand of God. Christ is omnipresent only
in His Divinity, not in His humanity. “The Spirit gives life, the flesh is of no
avail.”
THE LORD’S SUPPER
To Zwingli, the chief significance of the Lord’s Supper was
that it was a meal eaten in celebration, in remembrance, and in thanksgiving, for what God
has done in Christ, but also to exhibit the transformed fellowship of believers. Zwingli
had limited the number of Eucharistic services to 4 times a year, while Luther’s
Eucharist services were held every Sunday.
Zwingli maintained: “I believe that the real Body of Christ
is eaten in the Lord’s Supper, sacramentally and spiritually by the religious,
faithful and pure mind, as also St. Chrysostom held.”
WHILE THE ENEMY MOBILISED
It was one of Zwingli’s greatest regrets that he and Luther
could not come to any point of agreement on this 15th doctrinal point. Zwingli urged
toleration for the different views. Luther regarded Zwingli’s plea for toleration as
an indication that the Zurich pastor did not take his own views seriously enough.
With the forces of Charles V, of the Holy Roman Empire, mobilising
against them, Philip of Hesse was frustrated in his attempts to bring about a union
between the Protestants in Switzerland and Germany.
THE BATTLE OF KAPPEL
From the time that Zwingli began his expository preaching on the
Gospel of Matthew, 1 January 1519, he only had 12 years to establish the Reformation in
Switzerland. He died in battle, fighting to defend Zurich from attack, in 1531. In 1529, a
Protestant missionary from Zurich was burned at the stake for preaching the Gospel in the
Catholic Canton of Schwyz. Zurich stopped trading with Schwyz in protest. The Catholic
Cantons declared war. In October 1531, 8,000 Catholic soldiers met 1,500 Protestant
soldiers in battle at Kappel. Historian Myconius described Zwingli’s death at the
Battle of Kappel: “Three times Zwingli was thrown to the ground by the advancing
forces, but in each case he stood up again. On the fourth occasion, a spear reached his
chin and he fell to his knees saying: ‘They can kill the body, but not the
soul’.”
STEADFAST TO THE LAST
Zwingli’s successor, Heinrich Bullinger, added these details:
“While the Catholic forces were looting the bodies of the dead and dying, they found
Zwingli still alive, lying on his back, with his hands together as if he was praying, and
his eyes looking upward to Heaven… He was stricken with a mortal wound, so they asked
whether a priest should be fetched to hear his confession. At this, Zwingli shook his
head… They encouraged him to call upon Mary, the Mother of God and upon the
Saints.” When Zwingli again shook his head, the Catholics cursed him, and said that
he was one of the obstinate, cantankerous heretics and should get what he deserved. One of
the Catholic captains then drew his sword and thrust Zwingli through. When his body was
identified, there were tremendous shouts of joy throughout the Catholic camp. It was
decided to quarter his body and burn the portions, throwing into the fire the entrails of
some pigs and mixing the pig offal with Zwingli’s ashes, scattering it to prevent a
burial of the great Reformer.
AN ENDURING LEGACY
Although Zwingli’s career had been cut down at the Battle of
Kappel, he laid firm foundations, which were later built upon by Heinrich Bullinger and
John Calvin.
Zwingli succeeded in establishing a thoroughly Reformed Church in
Zurich, which served as a model for the Swiss National Protestant Church. Zwingli’s
model of Reform was adopted in Berne, Basel, Shaffhausen, Zurich and later Geneva. His
courageous preaching was successful in putting an end to the Swiss custom of selling its
soldiers for mercenary service to the French and to the Papacy.
The deep internal divisions between the various Protestant cantons
were healed shortly after Zwingli’s death by a military alliance (The Christian Civic
Union), which succeeded in securing the independence of Switzerland. Zwingli’s dream
of establishing a European wide alliance against the Hapsburgs was not fully realized, but
Berne did make an alliance with Hesse, Strassburg and Constance. Without Berne’s
military support, Geneva could never have become the international centre of
Protestantism, which it achieved under the leadership of John Calvin.
Zwingli’s successes and sacrifices were effectively built
upon by his successor Heinrich Bullinger, who from 1531 to 1575 served as pastor in
Grossmunster. Until the founding of the Geneva Academy by Calvin in 1559, the Carolinum in
Zurich was the only theological college in Europe where students could study Reformed
theology. The Academy in Geneva, and universities of Heidelburg and Holland, built upon
the good foundations laid in Zurich.
The English Prayer Book, the 39 Articles, and the Puritan emphasis
on Head and Heart, Doctrine and Devotion, as well as the Reformed Episcopacy, adopted by
the Church of England, were all built upon the teachings of Ulrich Zwingli and Heinrich
Bullinger - which English exiles learned during their time in Zurich. Bullinger, Farel,
Viret, Calvin and Beza all consolidated and continued the Reformation begun by Ulrich
Zwingli.
“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain”
Philippians 1:21
The above chapter is taken from The Greatest Century of Reformation by Dr. Peter
Hammond, available from:
The Reformation Society
P.O. Box 74
Newlands
7725 Cape Town
South Africa
Email: info@ReformationSA.org
Web: www.ReformationSA.org
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