Zwingli and the Swiss Reformation

Today's Reading

While Luther was reshaping Germany, another Reformation was erupting independently in Switzerland. Huldrych Zwingli, a Catholic priest in Zurich, had arrived at many of the same conclusions as Luther — not through Luther's writings, but through his own study of the Greek New Testament, particularly the writings of Erasmus.

In 1519, Zwingli began preaching straight through the Gospel of Matthew, verse by verse, abandoning the traditional lectionary that selected readings for each Sunday. This was itself a revolutionary act. It meant that the congregation would hear the whole counsel of Scripture, not just the portions the church had chosen.

By 1523, Zwingli had persuaded the Zurich city council to reform the church along biblical lines. The changes were dramatic. Images and statues were removed from churches. The organ was silenced. The mass was replaced with a simple communion service. Monasteries were dissolved. The Bible, not tradition, became the sole standard for church practice.

Biblical Connection

Zwingli's approach was rooted in Jesus's own confrontation with religious tradition. When the Pharisees criticized His disciples for not washing their hands before eating, Jesus replied: "Why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?... In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men" (Matthew 15:3, 9). The principle was clear: human tradition must never override divine command.

Luke commended the Berean Christians for precisely this posture: "Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so" (Acts 17:11). The Bereans did not accept teaching on the basis of authority alone. They tested it against the Word.

Going Deeper

Zwingli's reformation was, in some ways, more thoroughgoing than Luther's. Luther was willing to retain any practice that Scripture did not explicitly forbid. Zwingli insisted on removing any practice that Scripture did not explicitly command. This difference in method led to different outcomes — and eventually to a famous disagreement between the two reformers over the nature of the Lord's Supper at the Marburg Colloquy of 1529.

Alister McGrath observes: "The Reformation was not a single river but many streams, all fed by the same spring: the conviction that Scripture alone is the final authority for faith and life" (Reformation Thought, Chapter 1). The Swiss stream and the German stream flowed from the same source but carved different channels. Both remind us that genuine reformation requires not just courage but careful, sustained engagement with the biblical text.

Zwingli was killed in battle in 1531, defending Zurich against Catholic cantons. He was forty-seven years old. His work continued through his successor, Heinrich Bullinger, and through his influence on a young French refugee who would soon arrive in Geneva: John Calvin.