The Protestant Reformation remains one of the most important events in church history. Many of the same problems that troubled the church in the 16th century are still with us today. Corruption, false authority, and a neglect of Scripture continue to weaken the body of Christ. But how did this great recovery of the gospel begin?
The Lord had been preparing the ground long before Martin Luther. God raised up faithful men who stood against the errors of Rome, even at the cost of their lives.
John Wycliffe – The Morning Star of the Reformation
John Wycliffe (1320s–1384) is rightly called the “Morning Star of the Reformation.” He boldly challenged the corrupt and power-hungry Roman Church of his day. In 1378 he wrote The Truth of Holy Scripture, declaring that the Bible alone is the final authority for faith and life. Church councils, traditions, and even the Pope himself must submit to the Word of God.
Wycliffe insisted that every Christian should be able to read the Bible in their own language. This was revolutionary. At that time, the Church not only controlled the interpretation of Scripture but forbade ordinary people from owning or reading it. Wycliffe responded by translating the Bible into English so the common people could hear God’s Word for themselves.
He also rejected the doctrine of transubstantiation and declared that the office of the Pope was a human invention, and even calling the Pope the Antichrist for exalting himself above Christ. Wycliffe’s greatest legacy was putting the Scriptures into the hands of the people.
Charles Spurgeon later said: “The blood of martyrs is on the Bible, the blood of translators and confessors. The doctrines we preach to you are doctrines that have been baptized in blood.”
Wycliffe died of a stroke in 1384, but the fire he lit would not be extinguished.
John Hus – The Goose That Became a Swan
John Hus of Bohemia carried Wycliffe’s torch forward. He preached the gospel in the language of the people instead of Latin and called for the translation of Scripture so all could understand it. Like Wycliffe, he rejected the supreme authority of the Pope.
In 1415, Hus was arrested, tried for heresy, and burned at the stake. Before his death he declared:
“I do affirm before you all, that there is no more just or effectual appeal, than that which is made unto Christ.”
As the flames rose, he cried out: “What I have taught with my lips I seal with my blood. You are now going to burn a goose, but in a century you will have a swan which you can neither roast nor boil.”
Hus (whose name means “goose”) was prophesying. One hundred years later, a man whose family crest was a swan would arise — Martin Luther! The Lord was preparing His swan.
