CHARACTER/BOOK REFLECTION : John Knox
John Knox was a 16th century spiritual giant (1514-1572). He faithfully continued the weighty work of the Protestant Reformation in Europe amidst terrible circumstances. He stood against the Roman Catholic church, declaring that they practiced their faith based off of “the brain of man” rather than through the Word of God.*
John Knox raised up leaders around him.
He was tireless, countercultural, known, and fearless.
Preface/Context. Unfortunately, major veins of the Roman Catholic Church’s hierarchy lost sight of the Word of God and the deeper Christian life by the time of the Protestant Reformation in the early 16th century. Church leaders were abusing the money being given to the church, priests and bishops and popes were corrupt in character and practice, and yes the common man was nearly uneducated in all facets of the things of God.** Furthermore, because the Word of God was not readily available in peoples’ native tongue, the theology and primary mega-themes of the Christian faith were masked completely. Due to each of these mentioned things, the Roman Catholic church remained in power quite easily. (How could the average soul know the Lord...when His Word was unreadable? How could the average soul be educated well...when the educated themselves were corrupt? How could society thrive apart from the Roman Catholic Church...when so much was reliant upon the Roman Catholic Church?) Such were the trials of pre-Reformation Europe!
And so, in such a timely manner, came humble men of God with a certain fiery passion to ignite a flame in a spiritually needy Europe. (Yes...John Knox was one of these men).
A Very Brief Summary of Knox
Born into a Roman Catholic home in 1514, Knox was assumedly raised with structure and Christian morals by two loving parents. Mom and Dad were wealth-off to some degree from what historians can tell, based mostly off of the fact that Knox was given a liberal education. As he grew, higher and higher expectation was put before him as he began to be trained as a friar in a Franciscan monastery.
Following this, In terms of furthering education, Knox was placed under the famous John Major at Glasgow. Having already learned Latin and well-versed in much, he was set to thrive in university studying aristotelian philosophy, scholastic theology, and common law. Upon reading more and more Augustine and Jerome, however, he began to pull away from Roman Catholic practices and superstitions. His logic and learning of Hebrew and Greek later on in life would begin to solidify such beliefs as well. Yet, for the time being (1529-1543), he remained part of the Catholic church as a priest and notary.
By 1547, however, Knox had entered into the Reformed movement. Men such as George Wishart, William Kirkcaldy, and Henry Balnaves personally influenced Knox’s growth and Reformed ideas in many ways. Though Luther had done the same from afar in a more impersonal manner, these men helped mold Knox directly. A lasting impression from Wishart to John Knox was that the Protestant ways would someday be seen as “the only true conception of the primitive Church, as based on the teaching of Christ and the Apostles.” Thus, the pressing forward of a more pure and Holy Gospel was the hope for Knox until his death.
A Very Brief Analysis of Knox’ Character
Knox was Tireless. (We as believers should be too.)
Knox was made a galley-slave for two years after being captured as a protester of Catholic ways. Even though many around him were tortured, they refused to give up on their newly acquired faiths.
John Knox often preached twice a Sunday and three times during the week.
He was “accustomed to threats against his life.”
When he was about to die, making his “goodnight of the world” as he put it, he said this: “whenever I see the church and the commonwealth seriously in danger, I forget my infirmities and mingle in the conflict.” He fought for the Church, he fought for Gospel growth.
His attitude, even within his last days of life, was this: “Come, Lord Jesus: into Thy hand I commend my spirit.”
Knox was Counter-Cultural. (We as believers should be too.)
When it came to being counter-cultural, Knox and other Protestant reformers abolished “all observances of the Roman church, such as the use of the sign of the cross in baptizing, kneeling at the Lord’s table, and holy days”. Because it was common for people to gather “almost everyday to hear the Scriptures read and prayer offered” anyway, reformers had countless opportunities to advance such instruction consistently. However, such instruction and breakage from the Roman Catholic church did have its resistance and consequences. Many men in Scotland and England and throughout all of Europe were killed. Relational tension with the thrones of both England and Scotland complicated such Reformation, too.
Knox’s words to Mary Queen of Scots, who was fighting to restore Roman Catholic ideals amidst Knox’s plea to not work against the Protestant Reformation....“I am not master of myself, but must obey Him who commands me to speak plainly and to flatter no flesh upon the face of the earth.”
“Knox exercised strict vigilance over the morals of Reformed ministers. He knew that much of the unpopularity of the Roman clergy came from their scandalous lives. He was doubly anxious that the people’s new spiritual guides be men of pure lives and conversation.” He actually wrote letters to two Scottish churches urging them to practice purity in all that they did.
Knox was Known. (We as believers should be too.)
As any reader of the Bible knows, Christ was known by many. He put Himself out there in so many ways time and time again. Knox is known for doing much of the same as seen in the quotes below:
“No life in the nation (Scotland) was as closely watched as his by both friends and foes.”
He was called the “chief instrument” of the Reformation of Scotland, as told by his statue’s inscription in Glasgow.
He befriended Calvin and other Reformers. He put himself around those he sensed God wanted him to be like. “Knox and Calvin were nearly the same age. They had similar beliefs and strength of purpose. Knox’s piety and talents impressed Calvin; Knox, in turn, had a higher opinion of Calvin than of any other Reformer.”
Knox was Fearless. (We as believers should be too.)
He had a goal to be “a simple soldier and witness bearer unto men.” We learn this from a letter he wrote to his mother-in-law.
“Here lies one who never feared the face of man.” ...that was his eulogy by Morton.
“His hard experiences while a captive seriously affected his health for the remainder of his life.” He wasn’t willing to comply to other belief systems “just because of torture.” Wow.
In full, John Knox fought to simplify the Christian faith and steer it away from Roman Catholic ideals. He is known for encouraging ordinary men and women to read the Bible, encouraging evangelism, encouraging the care for the poor, encouraging education, and encouraging the “in Christ alone” doctrine.
*(I am not here to argue Catholicism versus Protestantism - it’s not the point of my writing. Just as a caveat, I will even say that I firmly believe there are righteous Catholics and unrighteous Protestants, unrighteous Catholics and righteous Protestants.)
**(This is not to say that every Protestant viewpoint was/is right, or every Roman Catholic theology wrong).
