Luther’s conduct on April 17 seemed strange, both to those who attended the diet and to those who reflect on it five hundred years later. Why didn’t Luther give an immediate answer to the question about his willingness to recant his writings? After all, Luther had to have expected the question was coming. At the very least, he should have inferred that from the emperor’s recent order that Luther’s writings be sequestered. In addition, Luther knew that the papal legate was in the emperor’s ear, insisting that it would be inappropriate to give a heretic opportunity to present his case. Finally, Luther had to realize that young Charles V wanted to show himself faithful to the church at Rome. The emperor could hardly defend Luther when the church had already passed its sentence on him.
Could it be that Luther was orchestrating the situation so that he could address the diet in plenary session? Was he concerned that he could be sent to the stake already that very night if he refused to recant, and he wanted to be certain that he was ready to die confessing what he had written? Did he want to craft “an answer that would also be an argument”[1]? Maybe the answer is as simple as this: Luther did not give an immediate answer because he was not prepared to face the question of recantation as the first order of business. The emperor’s invitation had given Luther reason to think that there would be a discussion of the teachings of Scripture, because they were seeking “information” about his writings. Luther anticipated that the emperor would assemble a dream team of scholars to destroy him in debate and demonstrate conclusively that Luther’s teachings conflicted with what the church has taught always and everywhere.[2] Had such scholars proved from Scripture that he was misleading people, he would have been ready to recant those teachings. In addition, what Luther said in response to von der Ecken’s question indicates that he was concerned about speaking rashly, in a way that might damage souls or rob God of the glory he deserves. He wanted to be in command of his thoughts, so that he would say neither too much nor too little. So great was his love for the Word of God, in which he learned of the righteousness God gives through faith in Christ, that he wanted to express himself carefully. If he refused to recant, it wouldn’t be because he was a stubborn German who enjoyed being contrary, but because of his love for the gospel of Christ, which addressed his fundamental need as a sinner.
That evening brothers in Christ encouraged Luther not to fear those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. They pointed him to the Lord’s promise to give his witnesses the words to say when they are called before kings.[3] Luther spent time in prayer, pleading with the Lord for strength to carry out his calling as a confessor of the truth. Recognizing that he was a mere instrument in the Lord’s hand he prayed,
Thou who art my God, support me in this struggle against the reason and wisdom of all the world. Do it! Thou must do it, Thou alone. This affair is not mine, but Thine. I have no personal business here with these great lords of the world. Indeed, I, too, would spend my days in undisturbed comfort and peace. But, O Lord, this affair is Thine, and it is righteous and of eternal importance. Stand by me, Thou faithful and eternal God![4]
In a letter he wrote that evening, he revealed what he intended to say the next day, as the Lord stood by him: “With Christ’s help, however, I shall not in all eternity recant the least particle.”[5]
[1]. Mansch and Peters, 117, quoting from Richard Marius, Martin Luther: The Christian Between God and Death (Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1999), 276.
[2]. Luther indicated as much in a letter he sent to Lucas Cranach on April 28, 1521, eleven days after his first appearance: “I thought His Imperial Majesty would have assembled one or fifty scholars and overcome this monk in a straightforward manner. But nothing else was done there than this: Are these your books? Yes. Do you want to renounce them or not? No. Then go away!” LW 48:201–2.
[3]. LW 32:108.
[4]. Ewald M. Plass, This is Luther: A Character Study (St. Louis: Concordia, 1948), 189. This is Plass’s translation of Luther’s prayer as it is found in the St. Louis edition of Luther’s Works, Volume 10, 1422.
[5]. Luther’s Correspondence, 200.