Each week, hundreds of items of gospel literature are distributed to enquirers at open-air meetings led by Open-Air Mission Evangelists and Associates. This is a thrilling part of our work, as gospel seed is being sown through these publications.
What is especially encouraging is the number of portions of God’s Word—John’s Gospels, New Testaments, and sometimes complete Bibles—that are also gladly received.
To have the Word of God in English is a great blessing. And we have one man—and one machine—to thank for that: William Tyndale and the printing press!
Tyndale’s exact birth date is unknown, but he was born sometime between 1490 and 1494. He was converted through reading the Scriptures while at university, and became passionate about gospel literature. A gifted linguist and a lover of words, Tyndale knew the power of God’s Word to change hearts. He made it his life’s work to ensure that ordinary people could read the Bible for themselves and discover the good news of Jesus Christ. His motivation was “the ploughboy in the field”—his way of expressing what we might now call “the man in the street”.
At that time, the Pope and the doctrines of the pre-Reformation Roman Catholic Church held almost total sway over Christian teaching in England. Confronted one day by a clergyman who insisted that only the religious elite should interpret Scripture, Tyndale famously replied:
“I defy the Pope and all his laws. If God spare my life, ere many years, I will cause a boy that driveth the plough to know more of the Scriptures than thou dost.”
Tyndale’s heart burned with gospel love for the common people of 16th-century England, most of whom were ignorant of saving truth. Having discovered the gospel for himself, he longed for others to do the same.
Often called the “Father of the English Bible”, Tyndale was the first to translate and publish the New Testament in English directly from the original Greek. His great ally in this task was the newly invented printing press. The first sheets of his New Testament came off the press 500 years ago, in 1525.
Having discovered the gospel for himself, he longed for others to do the same.
It was not the first time the Bible had been read in English. Around 150 years earlier, John Wycliffe and his Lollard followers had produced hand-written English Bibles. But Tyndale’s work marked a new era. Printed rather than copied by hand, the New Testament was now available in a more manageable size—and at a lower cost. Crucially, it was also more accurate, as Tyndale translated from the Greek rather than from the Latin Vulgate, which Wycliffe had used.
The impact was dramatic. Here was the Word of God, printed in plain English. Though expensive at first, it could be bought and taken home. No longer could the Church of Rome conceal error behind an inaccessible Latin text. No longer could priests keep people in ignorance of gospel truth.
Within a year of the first pages being printed, the complete New Testament was rolling off the press. It might well be said (to borrow a biblical phrase!), “Wycliffe has written his hundreds, but Tyndale has printed his thousands!”
Tyndale had to do this work on the Continent. In England, he was a wanted man. He kept his location and that of the presses secret. Copies of his New Testament were smuggled into England hidden in sacks of flour and other produce. Despite many efforts to suppress them, the books found their way into homes across the country. Such was the hunger for God’s Word that people began learning to read just to be able to understand it. Literacy in England soared as a result.
In 1535, Tyndale was betrayed by an Englishman named Henry Phillips, who handed him over to the authorities. He was imprisoned in the castle of Vilvorde near Brussels under harsh conditions. On 6 October 1536, after 18 months in captivity, Tyndale was tied to a stake, strangled, and burned. His last recorded words were:
“Lord, open the King of England’s eyes.”
God answered that prayer. In a surprising turn of events, Henry VIII broke with Rome and declared himself Head of the Church of England. The very king who had once opposed an English Bible now ordered that a copy be placed in every parish church for public reading.
As history unfolded, this led eventually to the Authorised Version of 1611 under King James I. Tyndale’s influence on this translation cannot be overstated. One estimate suggests that 83% of the New Testament in the King James Bible is drawn directly from Tyndale’s work.
So, in this 500th anniversary year, every time we hand out a portion of Scripture in the open air, let us thank God for a man—and a machine. Both were used mightily by God to make the glorious gospel of Christ plain in our own language.