By no means do I wish to diminish the significance of Martin Luther posting the 95 Theses on the church door in the town of Wittenberg, Germany 500 years ago, but as I have been reflecting this month on that event, his life, and the Reformation, I have come to appreciate more and more that Martin Luther did not stand alone. There were many people who went before him and came alongside him that can easily be forgotten.

Who were some of those who came before Luther and “paved the way” for him? One was John Wycliffe, often called the “Morningstar of the Reformation”. Wycliffe was an Englishman who had many of the same concerns as Martin Luther, but who lived in the 1300’s. He might be best known for his passion of translating the Bible into the language of the people, but he also wrote about and had concerns regarding the authority of the pope, the role of sacraments in salvation, the understanding of the Lord’s Supper/communion, practices regarding the saints, and the authority of the Bible. All of these issues would be found in the discussions of Luther and the Reformers a couple hundred of years later. The Roman Catholic Church declared Wycliffe a heretic after his death, digging up his remains to burn them and throw them into the river, so his ideas were not seen in a favorable light at the time of Luther. Wycliffe’s ideas spread out beyond England through his followers, leading to the work of Jan Hus (whose name means “goose,” which I have always found cool). Hus was a Czech priest who had views similar to Wycliffe and even went further, calling into question the practice of selling indulgences (the very thing that Martin Luther had at the heart of his 95 Theses). As I recently learned via the podcast “5 Minutes in Church History” with Stephen Nichols, Hus said at his death that they can put to death the goose, but in 100 years the swan, who they could not stop, would emerge — and Luther came almost 100 years to the date later!  If these two men not written what they did, it is unclear if Martin Luther’s writings would have met the same response. Luther gets the credit for the Reformation, but in many ways he was just the next person in a line of others and may just have been in the right place at the right time.

In addition to these more distant influences on Martin Luther, there were also some people who guided him as he studied theology and rediscovered the key biblical teachings of the Reformation. Johann von Staupitz played a key role in Luther’s life, as he directed him to study the Bible more and also pushed Luther to earn his doctorate in theology. They also had conversations about Luther’s struggles with sin, and while Staupitz did not give Luther the answers that he later taught as part of the Reformation, these struggles and conversations played a role in Luther finding these doctrines and understanding their significance not just for heads but also for hearts.

Luther also had the support of many others to make possible what we know as the Reformation. In some ways these individuals were associates of Luther’s and can be seen as helping him, but they likely also influenced Luther and his work, as is the nature of any relationship. The most famous of these associates is Philip Melanchthon, who later succeeded Luther as the leader of the movement. Melanchthon was a fellow professor at the University of Wittenberg and advocated the importance of going back to the Bible for all beliefs at the same time that Luther was writing. He accompanied Luther to various debates and was a key writer of what would become Lutheran beliefs; he was more of a “systems developer” while Luther was a prophetic voice, with Luther even saying that if he did not have Melanchthon as a colleague, some of the key ideas of the Reformation many have not been developed as well as they were. Johannes Bugenhagen was the pastor to Martin Luther for most of his later life and thus was a key figure of support; he would take care of Luther’s family after Luther’s death. Bugenhagen also taught the doctrines of the Lutheran Reformation and helped spread the ideas to Northern Germany and Scandinavia. Justus Jonas was another individual who worked with Luther and Melanchthon, helping to translate their works to give them a wider audience and being present with Luther when Luther died. Nikolas von Amsdorf was with Luther as he spread his ideas and faced opposition, notably being with him as he posted the 95 Theses and when Luther faced trial at the Diet of Worms. Without a doubt there are many others that space prevent from discussing or history has even forgotten. In fact, a number of these figures I didn’t know much about until listening to one of the special episodes of “5 Minutes in Church History with Stephen Nichols about Luther’s friends and colleagues; this blog post does not stand alone but comes because of the good work of others!

Once again, my goal is not to downplay the importance of Martin Luther but rather to remind us that key historical figures do not come out of nowhere or work alone. This should be of great encouragement to us. I often wonder if I will accomplish anything significant, but I have been reminded lately that maybe the “significant” thing might not be done by me but through someone I have influenced. I may not have the right gifts or the right skillset to accomplish something great, and I may not be in the right place at the right time, but if life is not about me and my glory, this is fine — I am more concerned about advancing God’s glory than my own. In some ways, the Reformation can remind us of what Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 3:5-7, “What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” Some plant, some water, some reap, but it is all about our God who is designing the process. Martin Luther played a key role in church history, but he could not do it alone. We continue the story that includes him and so many others.

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