In 1525, Germany was going through a civil war. Every state that was ruled by a prince or council needed to make a decision as to whether they would be part of the Reformed church—a Protestant— or part of the Roman church. Whatever decision the leaders made, all of the citizens of that community automatically became a Protestant or a Roman Catholic. If a citizen did not want to be what their leaders chose, then they had to leave.
In that year, there was also another group of Bible students, who felt that even the Protestants weren’t following the Bible close enough. They were called Anabaptists because they taught that everyone who was baptized as a baby should be re-baptized as an adult. They held out for a more radical reform that was closer to what the Bible taught. These Anabaptists were despised by both the Catholics and the Protestants.
His Story:
Michael Sattler was a monk who had heard the ideal of the Reformers. He studied Scripture and wanted to change his monastery to be closer to the teaching of the Bible. He became discouraged at the lack of devotion to God in the monastery and the monk’s lack of commitment to the way of Jesus.
Late in 1525, a group of Protestant soldiers came to Michael Sattler’s monastery in order to see if the community that lived there would be Protestant or Catholic. While the monastery was unharmed, Michael Sattler listened to the Protestant soldiers and their idea of what the Bible teaches. Then Sattler met two Anabaptist soldiers who told them of the new reform that radically followed the Bible. Sattler decided that he would join this community that was interested in following exactly what the Bible says. Thus, Sattler and the two soldiers left together to another part of Germany where Anabaptists settled.
Michael Sattler studied Scripture with the Anabaptists for a year and determined one thing with them—whatever Jesus said, that we must do. Sattler then came up with his own vision for Anabaptism—a radical commitment to being committed to Jesus through obeying the Sermon on the Mount. He taught that Jesus said we must never participate in war or violence, but to be separate from the governments of this world. He taught that we should not swear oaths, even as Jesus said. He taught that we should not focus on religious ceremony, but on meeting the needs of brothers and sisters. He taught that we should love our enemies, not harm them.
After Michael was baptized, he brought his proposal to Schliechim—a gathering of Anabaptists who sought unity in their many disagreements. Of all the proposals, it was agreed that Sattler’s proposal of peace, love of enemies, and separation from the government was the most Biblical and was affirmed by the majority of Mennonites there.
WWJD
Jesus was very firm that whoever would follow him must obey his teachings. He must have been very disappointed when most of those who claimed his name ignored what he said for centuries. For so long, the heart of Jesus—obeying his teaching—has been avoided and even ridiculed and punished by death! But Jesus must have been very pleased when Michael Sattler—more than anyone else in the Reformation begun by Martin Luther—focused on obeying Jesus. This is the heart of Jesus, brought back to be focused on by Jesus’ people.
Final Word (of men)
Later, Sattler and some others were in a Catholic part of Germany, teaching about the commands of Jesus. They were caught by the Catholic magistrates there and put on trial. Sattler was accused of leaving the monastery, teaching that Christians shouldn’t be at war against the Muslims, and that all true believers must be baptized again as an adult. Sattler refused to have a lawyer, because, he said, he cannot dispute what is clearly in Scripture. Sattler was condemned to have his tongue clamped down and to be torn to death with red hot tongs as a heretic.
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| A 16th century tongue screw |
A Word From Our Sponsor:
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell-- and great was its fall." Matthew 7:24-27
Helpful Hint: The Teaching of Jesus as Life and Breath
In order to gain the whole of Jesus, all of these faithful had to know the teaching of Jesus inside and out. It was not enough for them to just know what everyone knew about Jesus. Rather, they had to read the gospels for themselves and see what Jesus was teaching them. George Fox focused on reading the Bible with the Holy Spirit to understand what it really said. Ignatius and Antony would spend every day learning from the life of Jesus. Peter Waldo had to find someone to translate the gospels for him in order to learn the teaching of Jesus. The teaching of Jesus was not just a dead book to these faithful, but it was their life and breath. When these faithful were at their best, it was because they were living out what Jesus did and said. Everything else in their lives was just footnotes.
Check It Out:
The Life and Thought of Michael Sattler by Arnold Snyder
The Martyrs Mirror
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