Remain standing for prayer. Dear Lord, we thank you for another Lord's Day as we come together and look into your word. We also thank you for the opportunity to look into history and see the mighty men of God that you have put into place. And we thank you that you equip us by your grace to fight the good fight. I pray for the Sunday school hour and be with all the children and teachers as they deliver their lesson as well. I pray all these things in Jesus' name, amen. So last week we touched upon a couple things as a precursor into the life of Zwingli. We looked at why we should study history as Christians. We saw that there's instruction, encouragement, praise, and prayer as derivations of looking at history. We took a brief introductory look at Zwingli. Why should we look at the life of Zwingli? Why was he important? What richness did he add to the Christian Reformation? And then we also look at the cultural context. We saw the Renaissance was in full swing at that time. We took a quick look at the political context, that of the Holy Roman Empire, seeing the advent of the printing press from a technological perspective, and then also taking a brief look at Christian humanism. So this really sets the stage for today when we'll take an in-depth look at Zwingli's life. He was born and raised in a small alpine village in Wildhaus. He was an ordinary boy on most accounts. Wildhaus was a small village of not significant importance in Switzerland. However, from a young age, Zwingli already displayed tremendous intellect, passion, and wit. He learned Greek and Hebrew to better understand the scriptures, and then later in life copied by hand the Pauline epistles, and he memorized all the letters by heart. He was the lover of arts and music. He learned to play five musical instruments, and he was actually nearly persuaded by the Dominican order to join them on account of his beautiful singing voice. But most importantly, and why we are taking a look at Zwingli, is that he had a tremendous impact on preaching an adulterated gospel to the people of Switzerland, and he was used by God mightily in the advance of the gospel there in that country, and of course, an impact on the broader Reformation around the world. So taking a look at Zwingli's birth, he was born on January 1st, 1484 in Wilthaus, Switzerland. It's a town approximately 80 kilometers away from Zurich, close to the border of present-day Liechtenstein. He was born just seven weeks after Luther, who was born in Eiselben, Germany. And of course, at this time, neither Germany nor Switzerland were countries. They were part of the Holy Roman Empire, like we discussed last week. understanding the political context. Also, we saw how God even used that for the protection of the nascent Reformation, of the gospel there, because we had Lutheran princes protect that gospel as well. So, Wildhaus was a small town. It was less than 100 people. That's a picture of Wildhaus today. And, of course, on the right we see actually Zwingli's birthplace. It's a quintessential Swiss mountain village. And at this time, the Swiss people living in the cantons of modern day Switzerland, they were largely farmers and peasants. They weren't serfs like much of their continental countrymen. Around this time, the cantons of present-day Switzerland, it was much more democratic. There were city councils. There wasn't aristocracy or noblemen. So that's a key difference as well. However, for the Swiss people, besides being peasants and shepherds and farmers, they engaged in a lot of mercenary trafficking. So basically, they would fight for money. And actually, if you look at today, and perhaps we'll see this more in the news, especially as Pope Francis' health declines, The Vatican guard there is the Swiss guard. The Swiss people are and were known for exemplary fighting abilities, and today they're still used as the Vatican guard. But when they weren't fighting abroad, the Swiss people, especially in the higher altitude villages like Wildhaus, the crisp mountain air and slopes were better suitable for grazing than farming. So, Zwingli's father was the chief magistrate of Wildhaus, and Zwingli grew up in a politician's house of sorts. Young Ulrich would spend the majority of his life in academics, or in the city, as we'll see, but he never forgot his village roots, and this really came through his preaching as well. He used simple language, he talked in the language of people back home in his village that they would understand. Of course, at this time, too, Latin was really the language of academia, but Zwingli preferred German. He was from a family of some relative means, and he manifested his erudite abilities as a keen student. So Zwingli's father ensured a good education. When Zwingli was five years old, he moved with his uncle Bartholomew, who had been a priest in Wildhaus, and had moved to Weissen, a day's hike from Wildhaus, to now where uncle Bartholomew, his uncle, was a dean of a small rural school. The next five years of Swingly's life, there's not much detail on. What we can surmise is that he would have received a classical late medieval education. He would have been schooled in Latin, and specifically he would have looked at the Vulgate, which is the Catholic Latin translation of the Bible at that time. And he was also schooled in other religious texts, and now being the Renaissance, increasingly that of the classics. In 1494, at the age of 10, Zwingli moved to Basel, and he continued his education in Latin at the school of Saint Theodore. The school was overseen by the magistrate, a distant relative, Gregory Bunzli. So here he continued on in his rigorous education. He furthered his Latin abilities, he developed a keen musicality, and he studied logic and rhetoric, which is the art of arriving at the truth by the exchange of logical arguments. In 1497, at the age of 13, Swingly entered the school of Heinrich Wofli in Bern. Wofli would later join the reform movement in 1522, helping the city of Bern become a beacon of the Reformation. And here, according to Heinrich Bullinger, Zwingli would later leave the school because the Dominican monastic order was trying to persuade Zwingli to join their order on account of his beautiful singing voice. But Zwingli left, whatever the case. In 1498, at the age of 14, Zwingli began his studies at the University of Vienna. And of course, like we saw last week, as we understand the historical context in which Zwingli lived, he was truly a Renaissance man. At the University of Vienna, he would have studied the ancient classics, as well as philosophy, astronomy, and physics. And like I just mentioned, similar to Luther, Zwingli was an accomplished musician. It's recorded that he knew how to play the lute, harp, violin, flute, and you're gonna have to ask Eva what this is, but the dulcimer, the dulcimer. So he was an accomplished musician, and again, a renaissance band in his education. Graduating from his studies in 1502 at the age of 18, Zwingli returned to his rural home, Wildhaus. He found that returning home, he was, you know, of course, spent much of his life already in a rigorous study. It wasn't to his liking. He wanted more, so he left Bildhaus for Basel to teach Latin there. Basel, of course, was quickly becoming one of Europe's greatest centers of learning. and having just joined the Swiss Confederacy, that is Basel, a year earlier, and it was home to the region's oldest university, Basel had reliable transportation, churches, hospitals, infrastructure, and so on. So he would spend four years in Basel before fulfilling a call elsewhere. So in 1506, Swingly was 22 years old. He filled a vacant position as a local priest in the town of Glarus, and this is only a day's walk from Vilthaus, so he's closer now, back at home. And though scholarly, Swingly lacked a practical religious education. He was thoroughly knowledgeable in Latin and the ancient texts, but he wasn't as practiced and skilled in dogma, liturgy, and priestly care. In the service of the congregation of 1,300 or so, Zwingli would continue on in his studies, and he would establish a grammar school. And again, there's increasing literacy at this time, but still large portions of the population were illiterate, so he was helping to promote literacy there and, of course, teach theology. So he enjoyed these days. These were days filled with study, teaching, and preaching. Unlike Luther's abrupt experience, Zwingli's personal relationship with Christ was one that God gradually opened his heart to. It was during the years in Glarus through study, personal correspondence with Erasmus of Rotterdam, and Erasmus' Greek translation of the New Testament, that God in his timing was working on Zwingli's heart. Zwingli read the words off the page for himself for the first time, and his lack of training in church dogma and interpretation of the scripture was actually providential. He wasn't steeped in Catholic thought per se, and reading the Bible, given Erasmus' translation, he really had an open mind, and much more importantly, the Spirit of God clearly was working on his heart at that time as well. In 1516, at the age of 32, Zwingli becomes the parish priest in Einzidown. It's a day's walk to Zurich near the bottom of Lake Zurich. And according to scholars, 1516 would also mark the first year of the Swiss Reformation. Actually, one year before, of course, 1517 in Germany. There was no historical evidence, primary or secondary, that suggests Zwingli had read any of Luther's writings before 1521. So in the normal course of history to a non-Christian, and again, we kind of touched upon this last week, a non-Christian would take a look at Zwingli, take a look at Luther, see the reforming work happening in Germany and Switzerland at that time, It's a tremendous coincidence that these two men, independent of each other, not even reading each other's writings, that they would come to justification by faith, that they would begin to realize and critique the Catholic prevailing dogma of the day. But of course, as Christian historians, we can see the almighty hand of God working providentially both in these men's lives. The time spent at Einstein Down was a time of intellectual flourishing for Zwingli. He spent his days reading, studying, and gathering with godly men to read and discuss the scriptures. writings of the early church fathers such as Augustine, Origen, Jerome, and Ambrose, and he was also still an avid reader of ancient classics and texts. His preaching by this time, by Zwingli's own admission in his later writings, he would say that he leaned too heavily upon the teachings of the early church fathers instead of directly dealing with the scriptures. He thought the teachings of the early church fathers, having written in a time, of course, closer to that of Christ, were somehow purer, that they somehow had a purer sense of doctrine. And of course, this is utterly nonsense if that doctrine does not stand on the Word of God. So he would later realize that, again, as we see all these things come together, of course, providentially through God and by his hand, but having a translation of the Bible in his own language, reading it for the first time, that his heart was open, his mind was open. And he would come to stand more in the Word of God rather than relying perhaps on prevailing church dogma or even that of the ancient fathers or early church fathers, which some of the theology is fine, but of course, if it's not based on the Word of God, then it doesn't hold anything. So with the passage of time, Zwingli would come to the proper view of scriptures, that it is inerrant and altogether sufficient, and the only source text in which to evaluate and examine theological conclusions. So in Einstein down, he also began taking aim at various erroneous teachings and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. This included the mercenary trafficking, which we talked about. I mean, the Swiss love to engage in battle. This is a huge revenue source for them. It also brought glory and honor to the Swiss people. But Zwingli actually railed against that common practice. He railed against the worship of Mary, along with the veneration of the saints. And then, of course, he railed against the sale of indulgences. So at the same time, Johann Tetzel was going through Germany, and there was a man named Bernhardin Sanssen. He crossed the Alps from Italy, and he was very much doing the same thing, hawking indulgences to the people. And Zwingli, he really, he laid into this guy. He quote said, Jesus Christ, the son of God has said, come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Is it not then most presumptuous folly and senseless temerity to declare on the contrary, by letters of indulgence, hasten to Rome, give to the monks, sacrifice to the priests, and if thou doest all these things, I absolve thee from thy sins? Jesus Christ is the only oblation and the only sacrifice, the only way. So at this point, Zwingli still has not severed ties with the Catholic Church. He was an advanced humanist in the Catholic Church. He was a liberal who questioned dogma, but he still advocated for renovation instead of reformation. He did not imagine a split from the church yet. In 1518, upon recommendation of his friend Miconius in Einsiedaun, Swingly would receive a call to fill the pulpit in Zurich at the Great Minster Church, or Grossminster. You see that church there. It's a spectacular church. We were able to visit it, I guess, last summer. And again, it was wonderful to be there actually on Sunday morning in Zurich. It's a city populated full of churches, of course, Grossmünster being the primary church there. And just hearing the cacophony of bells from all the churches in the city, it's honestly quite deafening. It's a fantastic place to be. And so he would come to fill the call to the Zurich pulpit in 1519. So on January 1st, his birthday actually, January 1st, 1519, his 35th birthday, Ulrich Zwingli assumed the role of priest at the Grossmünster Kirche in Zurich. Arguably, of course, the most influential pulpit in the land at that time. The church was already, the structure was 300 years old at the time, the congregation was about 200 years old, continuously going there. This installment of the pulpit at Grossmünster was actually sanctioned by the Catholic Church. They thought that instead of, of course, as we look back in history, we see Zwingli being a great reformer, the Catholic Church thought that they could reform Zwingli. They, of course, heard his critiques, his fiery preaching in Einstein down in the years prior, and they thought that they could ply him with a nice position. and a nice pension, you know, kind of sounds like Jagmeet Singh here, but Zwingli was not going to be persuaded. So actually, he filled this great pulpit, and the Catholic Church, of course, looking back in time, that was, we see the hand of God, and it was a catastrophic mistake for the church there. So this began a great ministry at this church. He undertook a number of theological, ecclesiastical, and homiletical practices we very much embrace today. And first and foremost, arguably, of course, is expository preaching. It was a new phenomenon in a time where the mass and the one portion of the mass that might be in German, that was still revolving around very much a church calendar. It was topical preaching. And here comes Swingly, January 1st, 1519, and he comes and does expositional preaching. So he started with Matthew 1.1. And he would work verse by verse through the book of Matthew, and then after Matthew, he would work through the rest of the Gospels, and then the book of Acts, and then so on and so forth. And he went through the whole New Testament. So his teaching ministry was tremendously productive. He quote says, the life of Christ has been too long hidden from the people. I shall preach according to the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, drawing solely from the fountains of scripture, sounding its depths, comparing one passage with another, and seeking for understanding by real and earnest prayer. So that actually certainly sounds like Trinity. Our motto text is Acts 20 verses 27, where Paul says, he does not shrink from declaring the whole counsel of God. And that is very much in the spirit of expository preaching, which, again, this is revolutionary for this time as well. We, you know, especially reformed circles, we, you know, it's a status quo, so to speak, or we take it for granted. But this is really revolutionary for that time. So the crowds began to swarm to hear Swingly, thirsty for truth that was being faithfully presented to them from the lines of scripture itself. And soon the powerful sermon would eclipse the liturgical malaise of the mass, and much of the mythical fable-ism and clerical ignorance that, of course, over the medieval period had seeped much into church doctrine and in the service. And this really speaks again as we think about the historical context, the Renaissance again placing a big importance on the primacy of original texts, reading those texts for oneself. And so here you have Swingly presented to them and now the people increasingly illiterate and having a Bible in their own hands are able to look down and verify what is being said off the pulpit as well. So having lived a life of academic hermitage in many ways, filling his days with intense study and intellectual rigor, Zwingli would use simple language, the language of the people, and something even the people back at home in Wilthaus in a very simple Swiss alpine village would understand. This was not theoretical Christianity, this was not some church dogma that was not only not spoken in Latin, but he spoke very simply. He wanted the people to understand. According to Myconius, a good friend of Swingly and the individual that commended him to the post, he would note Swingly's preaching, quote, saying, there were no gimmicks, no rhetoric, no violent gestures or theatrical denunciations, but simple conviction combined with humor, allusions to current affairs and local personalities, all set with rare simplicity, clarity, and honesty. So some church historians will contend that Swingly was the first true expository preacher. Like I said, they were moving away from the erratic, topical preaching of the Catholic Church. And like I said, much of the vernacular portion of the Mass at that time was very, very revolving around the church calendar. Lent, Easter. the various feast days, that kind of thing. And so here we have teaching finally from the pages of Scripture and moving through it in a very systematic way. Calvin would indeed take up this biblical approach, of course, preaching the word systematically and in earnest. His systematic preaching, of course, is a phenomenon as well. He preached, for example, no less than 353 sermons expounding Isaiah from start to finish, and 186 sermons working through 1 Corinthians. When he was expelled from Geneva in 1538, he spent the next three years of his life exiled in Strasbourg. And then when he came back to Geneva three years later, he picked up on the exact same verse where he left off on. So Calvin, of course, was another excellent expository preacher. So Wingly, during this time in his ministry at Grossmünster, he had a rigid schedule. He continued to refine his thinking through continual study. So a typical day might look like this. From dawn to mid-morning, he undertook his most rigorous academic studies, which of course includes studying the Bible, but he would still be involved in academic study of other texts and classics as well. He would take a break to eat, and during this time as well, he would visit members of the congregation. And then he would resume his studies at 2 p.m. And Zwingli would often amuse the children with his musical talents, and his flock treasured him. Again, this is revolutionary as well as we think about this time. I mean, the priest really didn't engage with his congregation like this. I mean, this was a shepherd of the people. He loved the people. He spent time with the people and got to know them very well. And then after an evening meal, and like still most good Europeans today, an evening walk after your evening meal, he would then spend the time, until midnight usually, writing letters. Of course, his good pen pal was Erasmus of Rotterdam, and he would work often until midnight. So this time was an exciting time as well. Pamphlets were being published and broadly distributed, again, thinking of the technological context of the Reformation, the printing press, of course, the invention of that, which means literature can now be broadly distributed. So many pamphlets were being published, and you could imagine what Zwingli might have come across his desk. Perhaps it was the latest Luther pamphlet that he wrote, or maybe some academic arguments making their way out from the halls of the University of Basel. So much theological reasoning and thinking, pamphlets were spread. And again, people, in light of the Renaissance, you see these working in tandem. Of course, God providentially working in society, working, and then of course, most importantly, in terms of people's personal lives, opening up their eyes as they read and hear for themselves as scripture preached to them. So over the course of the next several years, Zwingli's tremendously productive and fruitful Grossmünster ministry would not sit well, of course, with the Catholic Church. It had been tolerated for some time, but he continued to rail against established church doctrine concerning his denouncement of monks, veneration of saints, and of feast days. He raised questions on purgatory, celibacy of priests, which, of course, in the meantime, he had actually secretly married Anna Reinhart. That marriage was kept secret for two years because priests, of course, cannot marry. So he railed against celibacy. And he railed against the practice of selling indulgences. He saw, of course, the abhorrent practice, allowing the bishops and the pope in Rome to adorn the halls of the Vatican and the basilica. St. Peter's Basilica was being constructed during this time. In fact, Tetzel and many of these traveling, you know, snake salesmen, they were raising money specifically for St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. which is the primary object now in the Vatican City. So he saw that the people were being abused and exploited. the simple country men and women that he loved. He fought for the biblical free will tithe reflected in scripture and for a local congregation holding to account and supporting the local ministry. After having been in attendance of a meal where Swiss sausages were eaten during Lent, which is of course a big no-no according to church teaching at that time, tensions between Zwingli and the Catholic Church were now boiling to a very high degree. In 1523, three years after Zwingli had taken up the role of preacher at Grossmunster, the city government accepted his request to hold a public debate on the nature of the authority and traditions of the church. He had hoped to bring what he saw as abuses and unbiblical teaching into quite literally the open square. These were not ivory tower exercises. Of course, academic debates in that time were held in Latin. This was to be held in German. Anyone could be in attendance, which it was very well attended. I believe it was over 500 people. And by the working of the Spirit ultimately, Swingly prayed to that end that his biblical persuasion from the lines of Scripture itself would persuade those in attendance. to see the Word of God for themselves and ultimately as well, not only of course their personal need for salvation, but seeing the real abuse that the church, this ugly transformation, this completely abiblical structure that the Catholic Church had really transformed into. So what's interesting is that, again, the reason we talked about the political context as well, the Holy Roman Empire being a very loose association of many different regions, counties, cantons, some ruled by princes and nobility, others, like in Switzerland at this time, ruled quite democratically, actually, with city councils. We see a real democratic bent to Zurich and the other Swiss cantons at this time. And this, again, I think God used for the furtherance of the gospel and in some ways for the protection of the gospel at that time as well. What's interesting is that this almost direct democracy-esque approach is still used in Switzerland today. If you can gather, I think it's 50,000 signatures within 100 days, you can challenge a law passed by Parliament. That's called an optional referendum. And then if you can gather 100,000 signatures in 18 months, you can propose a constitutional amendment that goes to a nationwide vote. So, for example, in 2014 there was a referendum on immigration with a majority of the Swiss voting yes to slapping quotas on EU migrants, reversing Switzerland's open border policy at that time. And then in 2020, perhaps more of the mundane aspects, but it shows the Swiss people are engaged. And I think this really goes back to Zwingli's time. There's a sense that as a Swiss citizen, you have to be informed, engaged, and there's an avenue for you to participate directly in what goes on in your civil government and society. So, in 2020, they had a referendum on whether they should spend $6 billion on fighter jets. And so it can go from, you know, big topics to, you know, what are we actually spending money on? So it's kind of interesting seeing how, you know, even today you see that direct democracy-esque type of participation from the Swiss people. So three major debates were held over the course of 1523, which Zwingli, of course, he wanted to have. He wanted the people to hear, to be engaged, and he was not afraid, too. And you don't have to be afraid. He was fully in recognition that if you stand on the Word of God, You do not have to be embarrassed, ashamed, and he unabashedly stood on the Word of God for his whole life. So the bishops of, during these debates, of course, Swingly fighting for, quote, the Protestants, the bishops of Constance, the major diocese for that region, and the bishop of Basel, they of course make a dumb mistake, which is not to be represented there. They didn't show up. And so Zwingli kind of had the floor. There was opposition in who was called Dr. Faber. He was the Vicar General of Constance. But Zwingli could really speak to the people in the public square. And again, using scripture and of course the logic that scripture holds, the consistency of scripture as well. So Zwingli's faithful defense of the gospel and biblical teaching through his rhetoric, logic, and exposition of scripture was a resounding success. So, I mean, it's during the course of 1523, there's three major debates, but he really covers, he checks kind of all the major boxes. I'll go through them. I mean, he utterly dismissed the veneration of saints. He likened it to idolatry. Likewise, the gospel of Christ's full and free forgiveness does away with the myth of purgatory, obligatory confession to the priest, and the nonsense prayers to the saints. He argued that the hierarchy of the church had no basis, and the church is not made visible by any human leader. That is, of course, the Pope, but rather the visible church consists of local, equal groups of believers living together in Christian community, with church discipline being carried out by the local congregation and not some installed puppet from Rome. On civil government, he argued that God's righteousness remains the standard for civil laws, but the state, not the church, was the enforcer of civil laws. And in other practical matters, I mean, he covered really everything, but to name a few, he contended for brief and natural prayers, simple clerical dress, and lambasted prayers for the dead and religious orders with their triple vow of poverty, chastity, and obedience. And of course, he all fought this from the pages of scripture. So all in all, Zürich would really become a Zwinglian evangelical preaching stronghold, and the civil government there upheld and enforced biblical teaching and a godly standard for behavior in their civil society. Masses were outlawed, images to be taken down, church relics and treasures were sold, and the proceeds given to the poor, and evangelical preaching from the pages of scripture was to be the only standard for preaching. He upheld Christian freedom as liberty from non-biblical regulations of the Catholic Church, as well as true freedom to obey God according to his law. So as you can imagine, this puts Zurich at increasing odds with the rest of the cantons, which were predominantly Catholic at that time. And in the summer of 1524, ties were formally cut between Zurich and the Bishop of Constance. Skirmishes between villagers and other cantons would break out, Zwingli's own home would be vandalized, and he was the target of some attempted kidnappings as well. Zurich was facing increasing isolation as the Confederacy remained Catholic. The other cantons also, of course, did not appreciate Zwingli's, you know, his attacks on the mercenary fighting. This was a huge source of revenue and wealth for the Swiss, and Zwingli really attacked that full force. In 1525, the city of Zürich was undoubtedly reformed from top to bottom and ruled by civil magistrates who were all friendly to the gospel. He set about reforming education as well. He established the Collegium Carolinum. It was the Protestant Latin grammar school and theological seminary attached to Grossmünster. Swingly advocated for a comprehensive classical curriculum, including the study of languages, mathematics, music, history, and, of course, theology, because a great weakness among that time, too, is clergy that were not schooled and did not have the ability to expound scripture in the proper way. This was all done in the light of the reality that the beginning and end of all knowledge is found in Christ, the Word of God. And like we saw last week, a bunch of our universities to this day, here in this country, in the U.S., and most universities, in fact, that they acknowledge that fact. McMaster's own motto text for that university is from Colossians 1, that in Christ all things exist. And Zwingli really had, he really recognized that in Christ, there you have all knowledge, and it's hard to operate in life, of course handling the Scriptures, but in every facet of life, if you do not acknowledge Christ Himself So during this time, Swingly also composed the all-important work, Commentary on True and False Religion. It was really the first Protestant systematic theology. He would say himself that, quote, he did not have the leisure of an artist, unquote, because the quickly composed work prevented it from being memorialized and cemented in history, as Calvin's Institutes of Christian Religion work would really be some 11 years later in 1536. Swingly dedicated the work to the King of France, Francis I, very much like Calvin actually dedicated his anthology, The Institutes of Christian Religion, to King Francis I as well. There was this hope that perhaps France could be persuaded into, I mean, really to the true gospel, into Reformation thinking. Calvin fleeing France to Geneva, of course, in his life, but unfortunately France, to this day, remains staunchly Catholic. So in his commentary, Zwingli declared more boldly than ever that the Bishop of Rome, that is the Pope, is the Antichrist and the embodiment of false religion and all true believers should reject in the fanciful inventions of religion that Rome has created through the centuries. He devoted much of the systematic work to the topic of civil government and that of communion. And speaking of communion, this was certainly one area that led to a real and lasting rupture between the Swiss and German reformed movements. Late in 1524, Luther's former colleague, Andreas Karlstadt, he wrote five pamphlets, and he opposed Luther's consubstantiation arguments. Of course, consubstantiation is a co-mingling of the physical and spiritual elements in the elements of the Eucharist. It's not quite transubstantiation that the Catholic Church taught, so it's consubstantiation. So this former colleague of Luther wrote several pamphlets disagreeing with him. Zwingli's approval of these pamphlets led to the great two reformers to several years of exchanging barbs. They would each publish, you know, their own pamphlets and sometimes by name, mostly not by name, but they would really, you know, go after each other. So heated were the exchanges that Luther refused that Swingly was even a Christian at all, and Swingly would call Luther a crypto-Catholic. Naturally, standing on the basis of sola scriptura, neither Swingly nor Luther were inclined to compromise. And again, speaking of last week, how going against any kind of church hegemony of the day, the Catholic Church, you can rarely do that in political abstraction. Because the Catholic Church in the States at that time in medieval Europe, and of course still at this time, they go together like this. So you cannot really make certain spiritual theological statements without, of course, immediately making some political implications as well. So the Turks were actually beginning to encroach on Christian Europe at this time, and of course the Catholics, sensing a division between Luther and Zwingli, seek to exploit that as well, to quite literally divide and conquer. So in the minds of the Protestant Lutheran princes, it was therefore in the best interests of Protestantism to resolve these conflicts between the two great reformers so they could present a united front against the Catholics, that of the Holy Roman Emperor in Brussels, and of course the Pope in Rome. And then there's even a greater existential threat to Europe at this time in that of the Turks. So the Protestant princes in Germany really kind of wanted to get these two together and kind of say, can't you figure out your differences? We really need to be a united front here. So Prince or Duke Philip of Hesse, a now converted Lutheran prince who met Luther at the Diet of Worms in 1521, and he was subsequently converted. He was a strong Lutheran. He convened the Marburg Colloquy in 1529. He brought Luther and Zwingli to sort out their differences for the sake of Protestantism. Swingly was happy to attend. Luther kind of dragged his feet. Duke Philip had to really compel him to attend. Prince Philip, on the first night of the several days that the debates and hopefully some kind of reconciliation would occur, he held a banquet in their honor, hoping that even at that point they could kind of get on in a more friendly manner. But unfortunately, the heated debate went on for days in the presence of theologians, nobles, and other dignitaries. It was increasingly apparent that neither side would budge from his position. In the realization that union on this matter could not be made, Zwingli actually wept. He had once written from his own pen nine years earlier that Luther was, quote, a mighty upholder of God who has closely studied the Bible and with greater seriousness that had not been done on this earth for a thousand years, unquote. So it was difficult. It was difficult to have a dispute with a man that he held in high regard. But Swingly would not be persuaded from what he read from the lines of Scripture. It was his biblical persuasion. and he could not be swayed. So the two mighty men of God could not reconcile each other's positions on communion, but in the end, and with some major reluctance from Luther, who was a bit of a character, he had certainly a strong personality, they did shake hands at the end. In a summary of Marburg, Luther wrote, quote, and although at present we are not agreed on the question of whether the real body and blood of Christ are corporately present in the bread and wine, yet both the interested parties shall cherish more and more a truly Christian charity for one another, so far as conscience permits. And we will all earnestly implore the Lord to condescend by his Spirit to conform us in the sound doctrine. So by 1531, the Reformation in Switzerland, though decidedly now isolated from the German Reformation, given the split between Luther and Zwingli on the topic of communion, the Swiss Reformation was strong. In addition to Zurich, the cantons of Bern and Basel were strongly reformed after the magistrates there were persuaded by Zwingli's evangelical arguments at the Baden Conference in 1526. However, the reformed cantons and the Catholic cantons of Jury, Schwyz, Unterwalden, Lucerne, and Zürich had an uneasy peace of mutual toleration. Each canton could democratically decide for themselves whether they were to be Catholic or Protestant, and there was unprecedented legal equality of Catholics and Protestants, although in reality this didn't really play out at that time. This was certainly a very uneasy piece of mutual toleration. The canton of Bern had urged a blockade of some of the Catholic cantons. They had the goal of achieving either a submission of the Catholics to the Reformation, and if there was no submission, they would declare open war, as the Protestant states were confident of winning. Swingly opposed a blockade, but nonetheless, the blockade went into action on May 15th, 1531. This tactic of the blockade spectacularly backfired. It was deeply unpopular. It was seen as inhumane as well. It was a public relations disaster and ultimately unhelpful to the Protestant cause. Zwingli presented his resignation of his post as the minister of Grossmünster to the Council of Zurich, although his resignation was not accepted. And then after three days of much personal consternation and self-reflection, he returned to the council and recommitted himself to the task until death. The Catholic cantons, rallied by loss of their livelihoods and facing starvation, they gathered for war secretly. Additional troops, paid for by the Pope, marched toward Switzerland. The Catholics were biding their time, and in this time, of course they're preparing for war secretly, Zürich grew complacent. The army was partially disbanded amid pleas from other Protestant cities to stand down. This was a bit of a fatal mistake. On October 9, 1531, the five Catholic cantons declared war on Zurich. Once a wonderful display of direct democracy, that town council became a bit of a paralysis in decision-making. They could not gather the full council in time, and many on the smaller council, there was varying degrees of the size of the city government at that time. The small council wanted to make the decision until everyone was gathered. And of course, this takes time. Some people had disagreements. And so really, there was a paralysis. And that paralysis was, of course, not very good and proved to be fatal. Eventually, the council was able to sound the alarm and gather a small fragment of soldiers, counting swingly in their mists. They marched towards Kappel to meet the Catholic army. But a more fulsome army could not be gathered in time. So there's about 700 soldiers. If they had complete capability and enough time, they would have around 15,000. So this really was a small fragment. The next morning at Kappel, 3,500 Zürichers faced the forces of the five cantons that had twice as many men. Unsurprisingly, on October 11th, 1531, the Zürich army was absolutely decimated. Amid the dead and wounded lay a mortally injured 47-year-old theologian, the minister of Zürich and the great reformer, of course, Ulrich. He had been attending to a wounded comrade when he was struck in the head by an enemy stone, and upon rising, he was struck repeatedly and then pierced by a lance. According to historian Philip Schoff, as Swingly noticed his state and as he was pierced by that lance, his last words were, quote, what matters this misfortune? They may kill the body, but they cannot kill the soul. Eventually, the Catholic and Reformed cantons would make peace. There were several other skirmishes and battles, but they would eventually make peace. Each region was free to choose its own faith. The Swiss Federation would stay intact, though the cause of the Reformation was temporarily halted. Swingly's successor at Grossmunster would be the 28-year-old Heinrich Bullinger that would have a mighty ministry of his own holding that post for 40 years until his death in 1575. Perhaps Bullinger's own assessment on the conflict could have been more taken to heart by some of these reformers. Though fallen, they were still yet strongly used by God. Bollinger would say, quote, Blessed are those who die in the Lord. Victory will follow in time. A thousand years before the eyes of the Lord are but as one day. He too is victorious who suffers and dies for the sake of the truth. So, that's a very quick look at the life of Zwingli. There's a lot there. We didn't have time to cover other issues. There's some ideas that at least pop to my mind as we take a look at the life of Zwingli. First of all, you see he's a sinner saved by grace. I mean, he certainly was not a perfect individual. We didn't have time to cover the Anabaptist controversy. The Anabaptists at that time were greatly persecuted. And again, there's much to say there if given more time, but that certainly is a regrettable incidence. We did not speak on Swingly's sexual promiscuity. There's a reason he vouched for marriage for the priests. He had a lovely marriage to his wife, Anna Reinhardt, but as a young man, he was certainly guilty of certain sins relating to that. And then we could talk about Zurich during that time, which had a very intricate marriage between state or civil government and church, which the lines were greatly blended at times, and I think at times quite unhelpful, certainly for our own day and age, because we must ultimately keep in mind Ephesians 6, verse 12, where Paul writes, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. But I think despite his failings in his personal life and in other regards, we need to remember God redeemed sinners, just like He redeemed us. I mean, we all have our own indwelling sin. And like we said last week, I mean, especially as we act as Christian historians, there's a sense of humility that one needs to undertake, and understanding historical context also aids in our examination of historical figures as well. And then thirdly, most importantly, God used Zwingli mightily in the work of the Gospel and in the advance of the Reformation in Switzerland. Second, he was a shepherd who truly loved the people of God. He introduced the novel concept of minister as a husband, minister as a father, and really he was a great shepherd of his people. For the first time, perhaps ever, the Swiss people experienced a minister who really lived among them and enjoyed the presence of the flock he was granted charge over. Of course, the Bible speaks to everyday life and is the foundation to everyday life, family, art, music, education, politics, so on. So true Christian faith is not a theoretical thought exercise. It's lived out practically, and Swingly was with his people, practically living every day with them. Thirdly, he was a powerful expositional preacher. And again, church historians would contend that he was the first expositional preacher. The scriptures alone were the basis for all godly instruction and ecclesiastical life. Unlike the topical preaching of the time, Zwingli would systematically preach through the word. Fourth, he was an advocate for more biblical interpretation of communion. One of the many great contributions Zwingli made to the theological understanding at this point in the Reformation is that of communion. I think we would hold to a more Zwinglian view than, of course, we would Luther, Catholic, of course, and even some other Reformers. And then fifthly, in true embodiment of the Reformation, he was sola scriptura, sola fide, sola Christos, and he did everything to the glory of God alone. He stood unabashedly on the word of God. He was a passionate teacher and defender of the truth. Sometimes that passion could have been bridled better in certain ways, but he certainly was passionate of the truth. He knew it inside and out, which is certainly a commendation to us today. Being able to read it in its original languages and, of course, with his amazing gift of recall, he memorized long passages and often entire books of the Bible. So like I said, he was sola scriptura, sola fide, to his core. He was a man who believed in justification by faith, that was by faith alone, in Christ alone, and then all, of course, to the glory of God alone. So we have perhaps two minutes. It's a very quick overview. There's only so much we can cover. I mean, like I said, we didn't touch on some other areas of his life, but it gives you a broad overview. We talked about the historical context last week, and I think it's helpful as we take a look in history, we can learn from the great men and women of God that have stood on the scriptures, and it really commends us to stand on it today, and also, for example, like Zwingli, memorize it and really take it to heart. So, yeah, do you have a question or a comment? Do you think it's fair to say that Yeah, yeah. So, I think there's, as we look back in history and we see that, you know, the civil government, especially in Zurich during this time, I mean, it was a strong upholder of the gospel. And And there's, I think God used that. Today we, as our societies are more structured today, there is a separation between church and state. The Puritans really advocated for that as well. And I think they saw some of, of course, during this time there was abuse, there were some difficulties when you have the church and state intricately linked. And I think we would, we want a government that is of course founded upon biblical laws and rules, but yet God has ordained certain spheres to both civil government and church. So there's some, some areas of agreement as we look back at this time specifically, I think, that we can see tremendous instruction, helpfulness, but also some difficulties. And it is true that, you know, Zwingli was much more of a, he was a very strong humanist. And I don't think any of the reformers really were strong proponents of the separation of church and state like that we have today. And I think that even as we look back at some of the difficulties that create, we see that God actually used that in this specific time. So, for example, I mean the Protestant Lutheran princes really protected Luther. And I think God was using that, of course, to protect this, you know, small group of men and women in the Reformation. In the town of Zurich, you know, there was, of course, an intricate link there between civil government and the church. I think today, as we look back, we see some helpful things in the historical context, but not everything was sublime there when you come with that model. And I think, yeah, in addition to communion, there would be differences between Luther and Swingly, how they view that as well. That's a difficult point, too. You look at some of the decisions, some of the events that occurred around this time, and you know, you can't condone everything that happened. But I think, again, the great thing about looking past, looking back in history, you see God's overarching providential hand in it all. It's, I mean, and going back to last Sunday, we really see, as we look at history, I mean, it really encourages our own faith. I mean, things can look pretty grim now. You see rampant secular humanism. You see the state now being weaponized against the church. So, complete opposite from Zurich during that time, and there's massive problems, of course, that we face today. But just throughout history, as we see, I mean, God really protects his church. He protects those who are faithful, and like Swingly, and like Luther, those, of course, that stand on the word of God. I think we'll have to close it there. If anyone has any questions or comments, of course, you can come up to me afterwards and we can talk, but I think we'll leave it there. Dear Lord, we thank you for your providential hand throughout history, how you've upheld your church and you protect, most importantly, spiritually, your church and all those who put our faith in you. We thank you that you have used mighty men and women of God throughout time. We thank you that you are faithful. Your promises stand up to the test of time. And we thank you that we have this word in our possession today. May we treasure it and cherish it. May we memorize it and live by it. We ask that you would bless this upcoming worship hour, that you would be with Pastor Josh as he proclaims from your word. And may you, by your spirit, apply it to our hearts. We pray all these things in your name, amen.