Last words of the faithful
Martin Luther
Died 18 February 1546 · Eisleben, of natural causes
Martin Luther died at Eisleben on 18 February 1546. Two days earlier he wrote a final note ending 'Wir sind Bettler. Hoc est verum.', we are beggars, this is true. On the night he died, his friend Justus Jonas asked whether he would stand firm in Christ and the doctrine he had preached, and Luther answered plainly: yes.
The last words
The story behind them
He had spent nearly thirty years arguing. He had argued with popes, princes, professors and, often enough, with his own friends. He had written more than most men read. And at the end of it, on a scrap of paper two days before he died, he wrote down what the whole argument had been for.
The note runs through a short thought about how nobody understands Virgil or Cicero without long experience of the things they wrote about, and then says the Scriptures are further beyond us still. Then the last line: 'Wir sind Bettler. Hoc est verum.' We are beggars. This is true. The man remembered for insisting on justification by faith alone signed off by saying, in the plainest possible words, that he had nothing of his own to bring.
The whole Reformation, in five words, from the man who started it.
On the night of the 18th, in the town where he had been born, his friends could see he was going. Justus Jonas leaned close and asked him the question they all wanted answered: would he stand firm in Christ and in the teaching he had preached? The eyewitness account records that Luther said yes, distinctly, and that this was the last word he spoke aloud.
What they died for, you can meet
None of these people died for an idea. They died holding onto a Person, convinced that death was not the end because he had already walked out of a tomb. The Living Bread is a quiet place to meet that same Jesus, read the Gospels for yourself, and ask your honest questions.
Jesus Christ is Lord.
Frequently asked questions
- What were Martin Luther's last written words?
- Two days before his death, on 16 February 1546, Luther wrote a note ending 'Wir sind Bettler. Hoc est verum.', which means 'We are beggars. This is true.' It is preserved among his papers.
- What did Luther say as he was dying?
- According to the eyewitness account written by Justus Jonas and the others present, Luther was asked whether he would stand firm in Christ and the doctrine he had preached, and he answered yes. That was his last spoken word.
- Where and when did Martin Luther die?
- He died on 18 February 1546 in Eisleben, the town where he had been born, of natural causes, aged 62.
