Every year, I usually write something about Martin Luther. Usually, it’s about how he changed the world or helped us better understand Scripture. Today, I want to talk about his death. Luther had to deal with a lot of physical and emotional trauma throughout his life. For one thing, he dealt with “sorrow” for most of his life—what we today would call “depression.” He had such an acute case of it in 1527 that some believe he suffered a heart attack that year, as he experienced extreme moodiness afterward and went several Sundays without preaching. Luther also suffered the loss of two of his children before his own death. He lost a daughter who did not survive a year, and in May of 1542, his 14-year-old daughter died from an infection.

In his personal life, Luther suffered from Meniere’s disease, vertigo, fainting, tinnitus, and a cataract in one eye. In 1536, he also suffered from kidney and bladder stones.

His last sermon was in Eisleben, the place of his birth, three days before his death. At the church, he suffered a fainting spell and was taken up to his room to lie down. He was given wine to help him sleep. He awoke at 9 p.m. to a room full of people, including his children. He asked his sons to pray for our “Lord God and his Gospel.” Later in the night, he recited John 3:16 and Psalm 31:5. Afterward, he slept peacefully for about a quarter of an hour. He then let out a sigh that sounded like “Ja.” Shortly afterward, his face grew ashen, and despite frantic efforts to revive him, he gave a deep sigh and moved no more.

At 2:45 a.m. on Feb. 18, 1546, Luther died. Some have tried to paint Luther’s death as some horrifying experience, but he seems to me to have died of heart complications and old age. He died with a house full of people mourning his passing.

A short time before his own death, he attended the peaceful deathbed of an old aunt, Lene. She was Katie’s relative who had been living with Luther and his family. He said to her: "Your faith rests upon the sweet Lord Jesus. He is the resurrection and the life. Thou shalt not want. Thou shalt not die, but fall asleep as in the cradle, and at dawn, you will rise into eternal life." What a beautiful way to look at death.

[Some of the biographical information came from: H.G. Hail “Luther: an experiment in Biography”. Doubley and company 1980. Page 325.]