On February 18th we commemorated the death of priest, theologian and Bible translator Martin Luther (b. November 10, 1483 – d. February 18, 1546).
Martin Luther
Around the 1400s, one of John Wycliffe’s followers, John Hus, was actively promoting Wycliffe’s ideas: that people should be permitted to read the Bible in their own language. Hus was burned at the stake in 1415, with Wycliffe’s manuscript Bibles used as kindling for the fire. The last words of John Hus were that, “in 100 years, God will raise up a man whose calls for reform cannot be suppressed.”
Almost exactly 100 years later, in 1517, Martin Luther nailed his famous 95 Theses of Contention into the church door at Wittenberg. Many people cite this act as the primary starting point of the Protestant Reformation… though to be sure, John Wycliffe, John Hus, Thomas Linacre, John Colet, and others had already put their life’s work and even their lives on the line for same cause of truth, constructing the foundation of Reform upon which Luther now built.
The prophecy of Hus had come true! Martin Luther went on to be the first person to translate and publish the Bible in the commonly-spoken dialect of the German people; a translation more appealing than previous German Biblical translations. His translation of the Bible also helped to develop a standard version of the German language and added several principles to the art of translation.
It is on the heels of men like Luther that Bible translators worldwide continue to make God’s word accessible to those who do not have it in their mother tongue. 353 million people are still waiting for any scripture in their own language. Could you play a part in history, participating in what God has been doing for hundreds of years - making himself known through the words of the Bible? Find out how.
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