How was this possible? It was necessary to bring the Bible out of the shadows. For ages, the Bible had been locked away in a dungeon and the religion of Rome insisted that people could only hear the Word of God spoken in Latin (even though people couldn’t understand it). They were certainly not permitted to have the Bible in their own homes. Therefore, the protection of the purity of the gospel came through a rediscovery of God’s Word.
Standing upon the shoulders of Martin Luther was another man—William Tyndale. He was born in 1494 in rural western England. At age 12, he entered a preparatory grammar school at Oxford University. He learned grammar, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music, rhetoric, logic, and philosophy. He had a gift for the languages and made great progress as he earned a bachelor’s degree in 1512 and his master’s degree in 1515.
While studying theology, he came into contact with the writings of Martin Luther. In 1521, Tyndale stepped away from academic atmosphere in order to pursue his thoughts on the Reformation. During this time, he would be called upon to preach in small churches. His beliefs were aligning with Luther and people were noticing it. He would have meals with priests often and he became appalled at their ignorance and false doctrines.
In 1523, Tyndale traveled to London to seek official authorization for a translation project. He was denied permissions. In 1524, Tyndale at the age of 30, started his translation work without consent—which was a breach of the law. In 1526, the English New Testament was printed.
In the spring of 1526, Tyndale was smuggling the Bible into England in bales of cotton. They were quickly circulated throughout England to students, brick masons, tailors, weavers, and peasants. All types of people were hungry for the Bible in their language. By the summer, just a few weeks after the Bible smuggling project started – the church officials found out. Both the archbishop of Canterbury and the bishop of London were enraged.
They condemned the Bible and confiscated as many copies as they could get their hands on. They called it a crime to read it, sell it, or even handle it. Bishop Tunstall preached a sermon against Tyndale’s New Testament at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London and burned copies of the Bible. The archbishop of Canterbury decided to purchase all of the copies of Tyndale’s Bible. He thought this would stop the spread – so he purchased them and quickly burned them.
The money went to Tyndale and actually allowed him to produce a second edition which included some necessary revisions for accuracy and a larger print font. Over the next 8 years, two revised editions followed. In May of 1528, Tyndale published his first major theological work The Parable of the Wicked Mammon. In it, he focused on the heart of the gospel – the theme of justification by faith alone. Sola Fide was a major drum beat of the Reformation.
On June 18th, 1528, the archbishop of York, Thomas Wolsey, dispatched agents to search for Tyndale. The arrest of Tyndale was a major work – but Tyndale had disguised his location by printing a false printer name in the front of the book along with a false location for the printing.
A man by the name of Henry Phillips, was hired by a church official of London to travel and find Tyndale. In 1535, he arrived in Antwerp. He located Tyndale (something nobody else was able to do) and befriended him. After earning his trust, he set a trap and lured him into a certain location where soldiers were waiting on him. They finally captured Tyndale after 12 years as a fugitive.
October 6th, 1536, Tyndale was taken to a place of execution outside the southern gate of the town. He was given a moment to pray. He was asked to recant. He refused. The guards tied his feet to the bottom of a cross and his neck was tied with a chain. They packed straw and brush around the bottom of the cross. They added gun powder to the brush pile. It was at this moment that Tyndale cried, “Lord, open the king of England’s eyes.”
The executioner tightened the noose around Tyndale’s neck, strangling Tyndale. They took a lighted wax torch and lit the brush and straw. The brush caught fire as Tyndale’s life was strangled from his body. As the fire grew – the gun powder exploded the body of Tyndale. The entire corpse eventually dropped into the glowing flames below. Within a few short moments, the English Reformer was gone. Another hero of the faith- 'one of whom the world was not worthy.'"
If you want a good introduction to the Reformation read Christopher Catherwood's short book, "Five Leading Reformers: Lives at the Watershed of History."
Article written by Pastor Josh Buice.
While studying theology, he came into contact with the writings of Martin Luther. In 1521, Tyndale stepped away from academic atmosphere in order to pursue his thoughts on the Reformation. During this time, he would be called upon to preach in small churches. His beliefs were aligning with Luther and people were noticing it. He would have meals with priests often and he became appalled at their ignorance and false doctrines.
In 1523, Tyndale traveled to London to seek official authorization for a translation project. He was denied permissions. In 1524, Tyndale at the age of 30, started his translation work without consent—which was a breach of the law. In 1526, the English New Testament was printed.
In the spring of 1526, Tyndale was smuggling the Bible into England in bales of cotton. They were quickly circulated throughout England to students, brick masons, tailors, weavers, and peasants. All types of people were hungry for the Bible in their language. By the summer, just a few weeks after the Bible smuggling project started – the church officials found out. Both the archbishop of Canterbury and the bishop of London were enraged.
They condemned the Bible and confiscated as many copies as they could get their hands on. They called it a crime to read it, sell it, or even handle it. Bishop Tunstall preached a sermon against Tyndale’s New Testament at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London and burned copies of the Bible. The archbishop of Canterbury decided to purchase all of the copies of Tyndale’s Bible. He thought this would stop the spread – so he purchased them and quickly burned them.
The money went to Tyndale and actually allowed him to produce a second edition which included some necessary revisions for accuracy and a larger print font. Over the next 8 years, two revised editions followed. In May of 1528, Tyndale published his first major theological work The Parable of the Wicked Mammon. In it, he focused on the heart of the gospel – the theme of justification by faith alone. Sola Fide was a major drum beat of the Reformation.
On June 18th, 1528, the archbishop of York, Thomas Wolsey, dispatched agents to search for Tyndale. The arrest of Tyndale was a major work – but Tyndale had disguised his location by printing a false printer name in the front of the book along with a false location for the printing.
A man by the name of Henry Phillips, was hired by a church official of London to travel and find Tyndale. In 1535, he arrived in Antwerp. He located Tyndale (something nobody else was able to do) and befriended him. After earning his trust, he set a trap and lured him into a certain location where soldiers were waiting on him. They finally captured Tyndale after 12 years as a fugitive.
October 6th, 1536, Tyndale was taken to a place of execution outside the southern gate of the town. He was given a moment to pray. He was asked to recant. He refused. The guards tied his feet to the bottom of a cross and his neck was tied with a chain. They packed straw and brush around the bottom of the cross. They added gun powder to the brush pile. It was at this moment that Tyndale cried, “Lord, open the king of England’s eyes.”
The executioner tightened the noose around Tyndale’s neck, strangling Tyndale. They took a lighted wax torch and lit the brush and straw. The brush caught fire as Tyndale’s life was strangled from his body. As the fire grew – the gun powder exploded the body of Tyndale. The entire corpse eventually dropped into the glowing flames below. Within a few short moments, the English Reformer was gone. Another hero of the faith- 'one of whom the world was not worthy.'"
If you want a good introduction to the Reformation read Christopher Catherwood's short book, "Five Leading Reformers: Lives at the Watershed of History."
Article written by Pastor Josh Buice.
