Luther's New Testament Translation

Hi, I’m Pastor Lutzer, and we’re here in Germany, in the Wartburg Castle. Now, you might remember that it was here that Martin Luther translated the New Testament into German in just 11 weeks. His translation became very influential. Eventually, Luther translated the entire Bible, but he had help for that, and it took several years.

Now, it’s impossible for us to overestimate the importance of Luther’s translation. He was actually captured and brought here. He was, in effect, a prisoner here because he was an outlaw, having refused to recant his writings. Because of that, he was taken here, and this was his dwelling place. This is where he slept. This is where he worked. He worked from early morning until late at night. He fought with the devil here. He had lots of doubts.

“Are you the only one who has found the truth?”

“Are you saying that 1,000 years of history and the Pope is wrong?”

It’s in this room that, in a sense, the world was changed. After Luther’s translation, the Bible began to unify the country of Germany with a unified language. The impact was huge, even impacting our own translations. I personally was brought up in a Christian home where my parents read the Bible to us in German. When you opened the fly leaf, you discovered the Luther translation. It gives me a great deal of emotion and a great deal of joy to stand here looking into the room where all that happened.

Now, one other thing. It was often said that Luther threw an inkwell at the devil, and they used to rub a little bit of soot on the other side of the stove to show that, after all, that’s where the inkwell landed. Actually, in his Table Talks, he said, “I fought the devil with ink.” What he meant was, “I fought the devil with a translation of the Scriptures.” You’ll never fight the devil by throwing an inkwell at him, but you will by translating and believing and trusting the Word of God.

Thanks so much for joining us directly from Germany, here at the Wartburg Castle.