The year was 1525, and the fires of the Reformation were raging across Europe. Hardly a single person, from peasant to nobility, was not impacted in some way by these strange new doctrines that threatened the established religion of the day. By this time, most of Switzerland had converted to the Reformed theology as taught by Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli, and many cantons had made it the enforced state religion.
In Zurich, there was a zealous group of men who were serious about living a life of following Jesus. They were not satisfied with the changes brought about by the Reformation. They claimed that Scripture was being compromised to pacify the city council. These men declared that infant baptism was not Scriptural and that baptism should only be administered to adults upon public declaration of their faith in Christ Jesus. These men also believed that faith could not be regulated by the government, but that each person had to choose for himself who and what he would serve. However, their efforts to obey Scripture were met with much resistance.
On January 17, a public disputation was held between Zwingli and these zealous believers to debate their positions. The city council declared Zwingli the winner and ordered them to discontinue their meetings and no longer speak of their beliefs. They were ordered to have all their unbaptized children baptized within eight days. On the evening of January 21, a despondent group of sixteen men held a secret meeting in the home of Felix Manz, one of their leaders. As they were on their knees, crying out to God for guidance, an impulsive man named George Blaurock sprang to his feet. “In the name of God, baptize me,” he entreated. Conrad Grebel proceeded to baptize him, and George Blaurock in turn baptized all the rest. Thus, Anabaptism was born.
What followed was a movement that spread like wildfire, with multitudes being converted. Felix Manz was very active in evangelizing publicly, using his language skills to translate Scripture into the language of the common people. But within ten days, he was arrested and put in prison. Zwingli tried to convince Felix to change his mind, but he would not be persuaded. After managing to escape prison and flee Zurich, Felix Manz went back to preaching and writing. A few months later, he was again arrested and deported back to Zurich. The authorities reported him as being an opinionated and obstinate person, not even deterred by the threat of death. This time, his imprisonment was much longer. After enduring a winter with nothing but bread and water, the court sentenced him to lifelong imprisonment. But once again, Felix Manz pulled off a spectacular escape. Along with thirteen male and seven female prisoners, he climbed through a hole in the roof of his cell and dropped down over the outer prison wall. Once more, he traveled the country, preaching and baptizing fearlessly until he was again arrested. The authorities were determined he would not get away this time, and they sentenced him to death by drowning for refusing to renounce the error of his ways.
On January 5, 1527, at 3:00 in the afternoon, Felix Manz was put on a boat with his executioner and taken out to the middle of the Limmat River. His mother and brother stood on the riverbank, encouraging him to remain true unto death. The executioner stripped his bound hands over his knees, placed a stick between his knees and arms, and pushed him into the icy water, thus sealing his faith with his life. His final words were, “Into thy hands, O God, I commend my spirit.” At twenty-nine years old, Felix Manz became the first Anabaptist martyr. But there would be many more.
George Blaurock, previously a Catholic priest, has often been called the second Apostle Paul because of his fiery disposition and skillful oratory abilities. His powerful preaching and successful evangelizing made him a target for the Protestant authorities, who were desperately trying to stamp out the Anabaptist movement. Soon after Blaurock’s baptism, he was arrested for the first time and put into prison for a while. Then he was released with severe warnings to stop spreading his heretical doctrines. But the day after he was released, he was back at it again, preaching the Word of God and holding Communion with the believers. Blaurock went to the village of Zollikon the first Sunday after his release and preached to a crowd of several hundred people, which led to numerous baptisms.
These questions beg an answer:
What are we doing with the truth that God has given us?
Are we gaining or burying?
Which of the three men are we like?
During the next few years, George Blaurock was arrested numerous times, enduring horrible suffering. In 1527, after a severe beating on the same day Felix Manz was drowned, Blaurock was permanently expelled from Zurich. Choosing to obey God rather than man, he kept moving through Switzerland, preaching and teaching the Gospel. After his arrest and fourth banishment, he left Switzerland, never to return.
From there, George Blaurock went to Austria, where he conducted a very successful ministry. Many believers were baptized, and churches were founded. In August of 1529, George was arrested for the last time and was cruelly tortured. On September 6, he was burned at the stake along with a fellow minister. George remained steadfast and confident to the end, quoting Scripture even as the flames ate his flesh.
George Blaurock is considered one of the most influential figures of early Anabaptism. His zeal could not be suppressed; his passion could not be subdued. He wrote two hymns that are preserved in the old Anabaptist hymnal, the Ausbund. The hymns are entitled, Gott Führt Ein Recht Gericht, and Gott, Dich Will Ich Loben.
Buried beneath the layers of Anabaptist history is a name that appears briefly then disappears again. Marx Boshart was a young man from the village of Zollikon in the canton of Zurich. He was baptized along with many others from his village in the early stages of the Anabaptist movement. He was arrested soon after that for attending illegal meetings. After a ten-day imprisonment, he received a stern warning to attend the state church and was released. A few months after his release from prison, Marx Boshart was ordained a minister for the Anabaptist congregation in Zollikon, which was growing rapidly. It was an exciting yet suspenseful time for the believers. They never knew who would be the next one to be apprehended and hauled off to prison.
During the summer of 1525, Marx Boshart traveled to neighboring villages with Conrad Grebel, preaching and baptizing. In July, he was summoned to appear before the council in Zurich to explain some of his beliefs on baptism. The summons to appear in court ended up being a baited trap set by the authorities to put him back in prison. Marx was likely an active young man, and the weeks in prison were a severe trial to him. He became very homesick for his young family. The city council said they would release him if he signed a bond of one hundred pounds, agreed to desist from teaching and preaching completely, and had his children baptized. Marx Boshart signed the pledge, was released from prison, and disappeared from the pages of history. I think we can safely assume that he recanted his Anabaptist beliefs, as there is no further record of him anywhere. The cost was greater than he was willing to pay.
As we consider the lives of these three men, we are truly grateful for Felix Manz’s and George Blaurock’s resolute dedication to the truth. Many generations have reaped great spiritual benefits because of their sacrifices. But the story of Marx Boshart is sobering, and one from which to take warning. We are all given an allotment of truth—some more, some less. How we respond to that truth determines whether we are given more or have taken away what we already have. What are we doing with the truth that God has given us? Are we gaining or burying? Which of the three men are we like?
