A Martyr's Faith

This account so deeply moved me that I would like to share it with you all. It is the July 15th entry in The One Year Book of Christian History.

Julins Palmer was the son of the mayor of Coventry, England. He went to Magdalen College, Oxford, distinguishing himself as a student. He spoke Latin with great facility and excelled in Greek as well...after receiving his bachelor of arts degree in 1550, he began teaching logic at Magdalen College.

Palmer was a committed Roman Catholic in what had become a largely Protestant university. Edward VI, the teenaged king of England, was a committed Christian and firm supporter of the Reformation. During Edward's brief reign, the Reformation accelerated throughout England, and so Palmer's views were not popular. Palmer was not bashful about his beliefs. As a result, he was often called before the officers of the university and disciplined for his aggressive Catholicism.

Shortly before the death of Edward VI in 1553, anti-Protestant signs attacking the college president were put on the walls and doors. Julins Palmer was the prime suspect. When questioned by the college officers, he denied that he was responsible. Yet in the interviews he attacked college leadership so aggressively that he was removed from the faculty. Palmer was forced to take employment as a tutor for a wealthy family.

Then Edward VI died, and the new queen, Mary Tudor, was an ardent Roman Catholic. She sent representatives to Oxford to get rid of the Protestant professors and to replace them with Roman Catholics. Julins Palmer promptly got his job back at Magdalen College.

Back at his teaching, Palmer became fascinated by the behavior of the many Protestants who were being burned at the stake by Queen Mary, who was earning her name "Bloody Mary." Under Edward VI, he had often said that the Protestants would never die for their faith, but now they were. He investigated in great detail how they were arrested, what beliefs they held, and how they died. He learned how brutally the martyrs were treated and how valiant they were in death. When the burnings started in Oxford, he went to see for himself.

Palmer was present when Latimer and Ridley were burned at the stake. God used the experience to begin to change his heart. Then as he earnestly began to study the Scriptures, God completed Palmer's change of heart.

Realizing he could no longer teach at Oxford, he resigned and became the schoolmaster of a grammar school in the town of Reading. Roman Catholics in the town, suspecting he might have become a Protestant, entered his study and found documents he had written against the Catholic Church. They threatened to expose him if he would not leave Reading.

Leave he did, not being able to take with him his belongings or his last payment for his work. He returned home to his mother to request the funds his father had left him in his will. His mother told him, "Thy father bequethed nought for heretics."

Returning to Reading to try to reclaim his belongings, he was arrested. On July 15, 1556, Julins Palmer was condemned to death for his faith. The sheriff gave him one last chance to recant, telling him that if he did, the sheriff would see that he had financial support for life. He even offered to find Palmer a wife. Palmer very graciously declined, saying that he had already given up two positions for Christ's sake and was now willing to give up his life.

The next day at 5:00 P.M., Palmer and two other martyrs were brought to the place of execution. The three dropped to their knees, and Palmer prayed Psalm 31, ending with the words, "Be strong and take courage, all you who put your hope in the Lord!" As the flames engulfed them, the three lifted their hands to heaven crying out, "Lord Jesus, strengthen us; Lord Jesus, receive our souls."

May we respond with like faith, by the grace of God.