JOHN LAMBERT
JOHN LAMBERT
John Lambert, who was converted by Bilney, fled the persecution of the time by going abroad, where he joined Tyndale and Frith and served as chaplain for the British living in Antwerp. After a little over a year, he was captured in 1532 and brought to London to answer forty-five charges before Warham, the archbishop of Canterbury; but the archbishop died in August 1532, and Lambert was set free.
This was during the reign of Henry VIII, shortly after the destruction of England’s monasteries and Henry’s divorce from Queen Catherine and remarriage, a time when supporters of the Gospel were generally safe in their beliefs.
On his release, Lambert returned to London as an instructor of Greek and Latin. In 1538, he was present at a sermon preached at St. Peter’s Church by Dr. Taylor, a Protestant who would later become the bishop of London and die under Queen Mary. When the sermon was over, Lambert approached Taylor to disagree with him on the matter of the sacrament.
In an effort to satisfy Lambert, Taylor discussed the matter with Dr. Barnes. Now Dr. Barnes was in favor of preaching the Gospel, but he thought bringing this issue up would only hinder the spread of the Gospel at that time, so he suggested Taylor talk to Archbishop Cranmer.
What had started as a private conversation was rapidly becoming a public matter. Cranmer hadn’t yet changed his mind on the sacrament—although he would later—so he called Lambert into open court to defend his case. Although we don’t know what went on in the meeting, rumors about their disagreement spread throughout the whole court.
The bishop of Winchester was one Stephen Gardiner, counselor to the king—a cruel, crafty man who was always looking for a way to hinder the Gospel. He went to King Henry and told him he was hated by the people for several reasons: for destroying the monasteries, abolishing the pope’s authority, and divorcing his wife. But if the king showed the people that heretics would still be punished, Gardiner said, Henry would regain his popularity with the people. The king immediately agreed, saying he would personally judge every heretic in the land.
Lambert was brought from prison under guard to be judged by Henry, with all the nobles and bishops in attendance. Given permission to speak, Lambert said that he was glad the king was willing to hear religious controversies, especially since he was a king with such judgment and knowledge.
“I didn’t come here,” Henry interrupted brusquely, “to hear my own praises! Go straight to the matter.”
Taken aback by the king’s harsh words, Lambert was silent.
“Why are you just standing there?” Henry demanded. “In the sacrament of the altar, do you say it’s Christ’s body or not?”
“I agree with Saint Augustine. It is the body of Christ in certain ways,” Lambert answered.
“Don’t answer me from Saint Augustine or anyone else. What do you say?” Henry was addressing Lambert in Latin.
“Then I deny it’s the body of Christ.”
Henry then turned the interrogation over to Cranmer, who, along with the bishop of Winchester and Tonstal, the bishop of Durham, attempted to change Lambert’s mind.
Lambert was overwhelmed. Besieged by taunts and threats from men of power, amazed at the majesty of the place and the king’s presence, and exhausted from standing for five hours, he lapsed into silence.
Finally the day was over. King Henry turned to Lambert once more. “What do you say now, after all the instruction of these learned men? Are you satisfied? Will you live or die? What do you say? Take your choice.”
Lambert answered, “I yield and submit myself wholly into your hands.”
“Commit yourself into God’s hands, not mine,” was the reply.
“I commend my soul into God’s hands, but my body I yield to your clemency.”
“If you commit yourself to my judgment, you will die,” Henry replied. “I will not be a patron to heretics.” The king turned to Cromwell, the chief friend of the Protestants. “Cromwell, read the sentence of condemnation against him.”
Through the advice of the bishop of Winchester, Satan had Lambert condemned by his fellow Protestants—Taylor, Barnes, Cranmer, and Cromwell—all of whom would later suffer for the Gospel’s sake. Of all the people burned at Smithfield, none was handled as cruelly as Lambert; yet in the midst of his torments, lifting up his mangled burned hands, he cried to the people, “None but Christ. None but Christ!”