The monastery provided Martin Luther with a disciplined life. In fact, Luther was a disciplined man of prayer throughout his life. However, Luther was such a student of the law, he understood that he could not perfectly fulfill the law of God. It troubled him to his soul. He was filled with guilt and driven to discover forgiveness. A forgiveness he would not find in the monastery.
Luther was preoccupied by guilt while he was in the monastery. He would spend long hours in the confessional. He was involved in self-flagellation. He afflicted his body with great pain in order to purge himself of his sinful guilt.
At this time in church history, the church was very corrupt. The clergy were horrible in their ungodliness. Therefore, to enter into a monastery gave a person an inside track to heaven. Luther was hoping he would gain salvation by entering the most rigorous of monasteries.
Luther was asked once if he loved God. Luther responded, “Love God? Sometimes I hate God.” For Martin, there was always the question of guilt. Luther understood the law of God. He knew his soul was exposed to damnation. Luther did not rationalize his guilt. He did not ignore his guilt. The law of God terrified Luther. God terrified Luther.
This terror Luther felt towards God was visibly witnessed by many, including Luther’s family. This was strikingly evident when Martin celebrated his first mass as an ordained monk. In recognition of this momentous occasion in his son’s life, and perhaps as a way to further reconcile himself to his son, Hans brought his associates to the celebration of the mass.
However, when Martin was at the point of the transubstantiation of the elements, at the prayer of consecration, he froze. He couldn’t speak. Someone else said the prayer for Luther. Hans was embarrassed. When he later approached his son and began berating him, young Martin said to his dad, “Don’t you understand? I was holding the body and blood of Christ. I was utterly stupefied and terror-stricken.”
Johann von Staupiz was the vicar general of the Augustinian Order in Germany during this period of the 16th century. He received information about the intense monk known as Martin Luther and began to take an interest in the young man. It was Staupiz who recognized Luther’s academic abilities and sent him to Wittenberg to study the Bible and theology. Luther earned his BA in 1509 whereupon he returned to Erfurt and began to teach.
In 1510, the second “crisis” occurred in Martin’s life. Staupiz decided to send Martin on a pilgrimage to Rome so the Augustinian Order and the monasteries in Erfurt could renew their credentials. The pilgrimage to Rome would also give young Martin an opportunity to visit the holy city, see its various religious relics and perhaps even visit the Scala Sancta (Holy Stairs), reportedly the very steps Christ ascended at Pilate’s judgment hall in Jerusalem. But Luther’s trip to Rome would become the single most disillusioning experience of his life.
The trip was roughly 800 miles. Travelers would walk by day and then stop and spend the night at monasteries along the way. For Luther, the round trip took close to three months to complete.
When Luther arrived in Rome, he was shocked to witness the immoral behavior of the priests. Masses were spoken with little thought or interest. Priests engaged in heterosexual and homosexual behavior. Martin viewed Rome as having become a harlot. However, it was Luther’s visit to the Scala Sancta where his disillusionment reached its height.
One church historian explains, “These twenty-eight marbled steps are believed to be the very steps that led up to the praetorian of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem – the very steps Jesus walked on the way to His trial. The Emperor Constantine apparently had them removed and relocated to Rome. In 1510, there would be a table set up at the base of the steps where priests collected coins and handed out indulgences. Pilgrims, after they had turned over a few coins, would climb the steps on their knees, praying the rosary as they shuffled up and down. Luther waited his turn and then joined the stream of penitent pilgrims. When Luther reached the top, no spiritual awakening greeted him. No waves of peace rolled gently over his soul. All he could say was, ‘Who knows whether it be so’.”
What sincere act(s) are you pursuing in order to make yourself right with God? What sacrifice are you willing to give in order to assure yourself that your sins are completely forgiven? The Bible says there is but one way to know that you are reconciled to God and forgiven of your sins; faith alone in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone.
Soli deo Gloria!
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