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Will the Theologians Please Sit Down  /  Chapter 15: Luther, theologian in sheep's clothing  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 10
Bercot concludes, “it wasn’t really the Anabaptists they were putting to death. It was Christ”; if Jesus so identifies with his brothers (Matthew 25:40), what practical changes would have to happen in how we speak about, separate from, or “protect the church” from other professing Christians—especially those whose discipleship threatens our comfort, security, or control?
Another way to ask: Bercot says killing the Anabaptists was really killing Christ, since Jesus identifies with his people (Matthew 25:40). What practical changes should that make in how we talk about, separate from, or “protect the church” from other Christians—especially ones whose discipleship threatens our comfort or control?

Direct Answer Based on the transcript, practical change would mean refusing contempt, misrepresentation, and coercive “protection,” and instead recognizing that how we treat earnest disciples of Christ is how we treat Christ. It would also mean taking seriously a Christianity that requires obedience, love, and fruit, rather than seeing such discipleship as a threat.

Support from Transcript:

  • Bercot quotes Jesus: “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these, my brethren, you did it to me” (Matt. 25:40).
  • He applies it directly: Luther “murdered Christ's brothers,” and therefore his zeal “murdered the person of Christ.”
  • He says neither Luther nor the Pope were ready for Christians “to really start following Christ in life and to live by his teachings.”
  • Leaders feared genuine discipleship “as much as they feared the Turks,” and responded by murdering “children of the kingdom.”
  • Luther modeled contempt and dehumanizing speech (“papist and an ass are the same thing”), showing how language prepares the way for violence.
  • The Anabaptists are described as insisting on “living by Jesus' teachings…in practice” and producing “real fruit.”
Discussion Follow-ups When faithful discipleship threatens “public security” or church control, do we treat it as danger or as a call to repentance? What speech habits in our circles make it easier to harm fellow Christians?

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