On Theology and the Christian Life The Reformation: A Brief History - Exsurge Domine, by Martin Luther (1545)

When last Luther left us, dear Christian reader, he told of the Leipzig Debate of 1519. There, he spoke in more definite terms with regard to the authority of the Roman pontiff — or the lack thereof, as the case had it. Though not by name, Luther ended this brief history of the Reformation with reference to a 1520 papal bull “Exsurge Domine,” writing “the pope condemned me unheard and raged with his bulls.” Bulls, again, were papal decrees. This one was issued one year after the Leipzig debate, June 15, 1520. However, it did not reach Luther until Oct. 10, 1520. “Exsurge Domine” is Latin for “Arise, O Lord,” which was the first line Pope Leo X penned. This bull condemned “the pestiferous virus of forty-one errors” in Luther’s theology as it was advanced from 1517-1520.

As devoted to the truth as this German Reformer, Martin Luther, was, so much the more was Pope Leo X devoted to squelching what he found to be heretical doctrine. Therefore, in “Exsurge Domine” he wrote “Arise, O Lord, and judge thy cause. A wild boar (referring to Luther) has invaded thy vineyard.” Here, Pope Leo refers to Psalm 80:13 “The boar out of the woods uproots it, And the wild beast of the field devours it.” In the original context of the Psalm we hear the pleas of the 10 northern tribes of Israel who were to be — and ultimately would be — destroyed by the Assyrians, the boar. They plea God would restore them rather than allow their enemies to carry them off and annihilate them. This was no doubt, then, a sharp charge from the so-called head of Christendom. Luther was not merely perceived to be a pest, but one who sought to destroy Christ’s church.

So, Pope Leo continues, invoking the whole church to stand opposed to Martin Luther. “Arise, O Peter, and consider the case of the Holy Roman Church, the mother of all churches, consecrated by thy blood. Arise, O Paul, who by thy teaching and death hast and dost illumine the Church. Arise, all ye saints, and the whole universal Church, whose interpretation of Scripture has been assailed.”

This was, in effect, a call to arms. It seems an excessive reaction considering that Luther clearly expressed he was not an advocate of disobedience toward the Roman pontiff. On the other hand, Luther had legitimate concerns about papal indulgences, the extent of papal authority and, at this time, also about the nature of forgiveness, justification and salvation. However, the time for disputations had come and gone. Was the Roman pontiff really to hold a free and open council because of the demands of one German priest? Perhaps Leo thought this would encourage more dissent from the teachings of the holy Roman Church.

Nevertheless, Leo’s sharp condemnation did not successfully squelch what became Luther’s cause (though he saw it as the cause of the Lord).

Luther wrote, “Our warfare is not with flesh and blood, but against spiritual wickedness in the heavenly places, against the world of rulers of this darkness. Let us then stand firm and heed the trumpet of the Lord. Satan is fighting, not against us, but against Christ in us. We fight the battles of the Lord. Be strong therefore. If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Bainton, 143).

This “wild boar in the vineyard” had no intention of relenting. What urged him on? Nothing other than the truth; this, much to the dismay of our relativistic day-and-age, is established by God’s holy Word.

In any case, the papal bull declared, “Now therefore we give Martin sixty days in which to submit, dating from the time of the publication of this bull in his district (which, again, happened in October)” or otherwise face excommunication. By “submit” Pope Leo meant that Luther must recant and subject his writings to examination and, ultimately, to the flames.

“Anyone who presumes to infringe our excommunication and anathema will stand under the wrath of Almighty God and of the apostles Peter and Paul,” the bull concludes.

How did Luther respond to all of this?

“On the tenth of December” the final day of the sixty-day papal grace period, “Melanchthon (who was Luther’s right-hand man) on Luther’s behalf issued an invitation to the faculty and students of the university to assemble at ten o’clock, where, in reprisal for the burning of Luther’s pious and evangelical books, the impious papal constitutions, the canon law and works of scholastic theology would be given to the flames. Luther himself threw in the papal bull — ‘Exsurge Domine’ — for good measure,” (Bainton, 160). Luther remarked, “Since they have burned my books, I burn theirs.” To say things had heated up would be a cliché and a pun, but that is exactly what happened.

The story, as told by Luther, will conclude Friday, Oct. 26, with Luther’s reflections on the discovery of the Gospel and Charles V convening the Diet of Worms. For now, we are left here, dear Christian reader, in the suspense of flame-engulfed parchment.

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Pastor Marcus Williams

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Havre

Zion Lutheran Church, Chinook