<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

GYC Southeast

Great in God's Sight Season 3

Rhonda Grakov

Martin Luther: Captive Conscience

Ulrich Zwingli: Of Switzerland and Sola Scriptura

Marguerite of Navarre: Faith over France

William Tyndale: Singing the Same Note

Menno Simons: A Forbidden Book

Albrecht Dürer: Brushstrokes of the Reformation, Part 1

Albrecht Dürer: Brushstrokes of the Reformation, Part 2

Katherine Parr: The Survivor

Philipp Melanchthon: Nothing but Heaven

Ursula Von Münsterberg: Escape Artist for God

Hello and welcome to Greating God's Sight, the podcast that explores underrated heroes.

This is Season 3, and we're so glad you've joined us for this episode entitled, William Tyndale Singing the Same Note.

Please be sure to subscribe and check out the terrific artwork that goes along with today's story on our website, thegreatpodcast.org.

2 Englishmen were just leaving a house in Antwerp, Flanders, chatting amiably.

1, apparently in his twenties, was tall, handsome, and finely dressed.

His older companion, though equally charming, was of gaunter figure and paler face, and judging by his simple garments, was not quite as well off.

Suddenly, the younger man paused and frantically began digging through his pockets.

Would his friend be willing to lend him 2 pounds?

The older man instantly agreed, and handed over the money with a gracious smile.

Although it was a warm afternoon in May, The narrow streets of Antwerp were sunless and shadowy as the 2 men resumed their walk.

As they were about to enter a particularly constricted passageway, both courteously stepped aside to allow the other to go first, but the young man gallantly insisted it was a matter of course that he should follow his friend.

No sooner had both entered the dark claustrophobic alley than the older man, who was ahead, spotted a pair of soldiers ready to pounce.

He hastily turned back to see his young companion, who had been so charming a minute before, pointing straight at him with a cold, evil glint in his eye.

William Tyndale had been ambushed on all sides.

The great English reformer William Tyndale was born around the year 1494, 2 years after Christopher Columbus' famous journey across the Atlantic.

Tyndale was a contemporary of Luther and Zwingli, but very little is known about his family or his earliest years.

As an adolescent, he was sent to Oxford University, where he attended a preparatory school and then earned both his Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees.

At Oxford, young William distinguished himself with his scholastic achievements and was ordained as a priest towards the end of his time there.

Some time later, he continued his education at Cambridge University.

Martin Luther's teachings, including the 95 Theses, had recently reached England and began sparking discussions among several Cambridge scholars, Tyndale among them.

Wrestling with the new Protestant ideas he was absorbing, the young priest and academic left Cambridge and became a private tutor to the young children of Sir John Walsh, a Gloucestershire nobleman.

William became a well-loved member of Sir John's household, and during the 2 years he remained there, began studying the Greek New Testament that Erasmus, an eminent Dutch scholar, had published several years before.

Tyndale was a veritable genius when it came to languages.

Not only was he a master of the English tongue, but was also fluent in ancient Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, as well as French, German, Spanish, and Italian.

However, as William Tyndale read the New Testament in its original language, a passion began to grip him to translate the Bible into English for all his fellow Englishmen to be able to read.

At the time, the Roman Church allowed Bibles to be printed in Latin only, and furthermore, these Bibles were primarily accessible to VIPs such as ecclesiastics and scholars.

As it was taught that priests alone stood a chance of properly understanding and interpreting scripture, opposition for a Bible translation in English ran high.

Therefore, in the 1500s, publication of the Bible in the common tongue was a risky undertaking that could very well lead to detention, incarceration, torture, and death.

While at Sir John's Manor, Tyndale encountered several local priests who often dined there.

On 1 occasion, As Tyndale spoke with them, the conversation burgeoned into a heated debate.

The flustered priest exclaimed, "'We were better to be without God's laws than without the Pope's!' To which Tyndale retorted, "'I defy the Pope and all his laws, and if God spares my life, before many years, I will cause a plowboy to know more of the scriptures than you do." In 1523, 2 years after Luther appeared at the Diet of Worms, Tyndale asked the Bishop of London for permission to translate the Bible.

Bishop Tunstall was known as a liberal and broad-minded gentleman, the only bishop who might possibly be ever so slightly open to reform.

However, when Tunstall flatly refused to back Tyndale's work, the young linguist realized that his options in England were exhausted.

Undaunted, Tyndale traveled to Germany and, unauthorized by any bishop in England, began translating the New Testament from Greek into English.

He met with severe difficulties and was chased from city to city by enemies of the Reformation, but by the grace of God, Tyndale successfully completed and printed his first edition of the English New Testament in 1526.

6000 copies were immediately smuggled into England.

The religious authorities were infuriated.

Said 1 of the New Testament in English, It is not worthy to be called Christ's testament, but either Tyndale's own testament, or the testament of his master Antichrist.

The ecclesiastics set out to purchase as many of Tyndale's Bibles as they could get their hands on, with the intention of eradicating them.

Their dark joke turned on them, however, because the profits Tyndale earned from the extensive sales allowed him to print a second edition, revised and improved, of the English New Testament.

Although John Wycliffe had created an English version of the Bible during the 14th century, William Tyndale's work was groundbreaking because he translated directly from the original Hebrew and Greek texts.

Wycliffe had used the revered Latin Vulgate, and although for the 14th century that was a daring leap of progress, Wycliffe's English translation retained Latin sentence structure and was generally clumsy reading.

Tyndale swept this aside by going straight to the original languages and exploiting the rich vocabulary of his native tongue to create a literal, precise translation that would also ring true in English.

News of Tyndale's work eventually reached the ears of the King of England himself, Henry VIII.

A copy of Tyndale's New Testament came into the possession of Anne Boleyn, Henry's soon-to-be second wife.

Her curiosity was awakened and she even managed to interest Henry.

The wily monarch soon perceived that there were numerous scriptures that might be construed to justify his break with the papacy over his planned divorce and subsequent marriage to Anne Boleyn.

Henry saw that as a brilliant Protestant Bible scholar, William Tyndale might prove useful to him if he was willing to sing in tune with the king's wishes.

Henry sent a message to Tyndale abroad, requesting him to go back to England while promising him safe passage and a salary.

Tyndale, justly suspicious of the invitation, hinged his return on the King's authorization of the Bible in English, even if the translation was not his own.

The emissary sent by the King to collect Tyndale wryly remarked, I find him always singing 1 note.

Negotiations with Henry VIII quickly ground to a halt, and William Tyndale remained in mainland Europe.

He had begun translating the Old Testament and was now staying with a trusted merchant friend in the city of Antwerp, where he enjoyed relative safety.

Tyndale was known to be a man of great piety and charity, and devoted 2 days each week to ministering to the poor.

On Sundays, he would hold Bible readings for the English merchants in town.

Someone would later say that the scriptures proceeded so fruitfully, gently, and sweetly from him.

During this time, a mysterious but delightful young Englishman named Harry Phillips joined Tyndale's entourage.

He was a scoundrel who had gambled away a sum of his father's money and was now on the continent, alienated from his wealthy family.

But Tyndale knew or suspected none of this.

He drew Harry Phillips into his confidence much too quickly, and the young trader lost no time in arranging for Tyndale's ambush in that Antwerp alley.

It is still unknown who exactly financed Phillips' treachery, but there were many in England and locally who exulted in the reformer's capture.

Although he had successfully completed his mission, for the rest of his short life, Harry Phillips was hunted for his own crimes and died a prisoner in rags 7 years later.

Meanwhile, William Tyndale was confined to a dank Flemish prison for 18 months.

He absolutely refused to recant any of his beliefs and was finally strangled and burned at the stake.

Moments before his execution, he cried out, Lord, open the king of England's eyes.

And the Lord answered his martyr's prayer.

Within 4 years after Tyndale's death, 4 English versions of the Bible were authorized and published in England, including Henry VIII's so-called Great Bible.

All 4 were based on Tyndale's original work.

In the early 17th century, when King James I commissioned another English translation, his team of scholars drew 80% of their wording from Tyndale's solo translation.

Of the 18, 000 copies printed during his lifetime, 2 complete volumes and 1 fragment of William Tyndale's New Testament still exist today.

1 is on display at the British Library in London.

Let us remember and appreciate the life work of William Tyndale, who sacrificed all to give his generation, and indeed the whole world, the Bible in the English language.

In his own words, do you know who taught the eagles to find their prey?

Well, that same God teaches His hungry children to find their Father in His Word.

Thank you for listening to Great In God's Sight, a podcast by GYC Southeast.

We hope you have enjoyed this adventure through time and pray it serves to deepen your relationship with God.

While we strive to bring you a unique perspective on each believer, We encourage you to use your God-given curiosity to explore these topics for yourself.

Please remember to hit the subscribe button and share this episode with your friends via text or social media.

Until next time, we wish you God's blessing as you seek to be great in His sight too.

Series

Great in God's Sight Season 3

William Tyndale: Singing the Same Note

Transcript

Parent Series

Sponsor

Recorded

Great in God's Sight Season 1

William Wilberforce, Part 2: The Great Cause

13m

Great in God's Sight Season 1

Jerome, Cyril, and Methodius: Bibles for East and West

10m

Great in God's Sight Season 1

Mark: One Young Man

10m

Great in God's Sight Season 2

The Celestial Railroad: Part 1

13m

Great in God's Sight Season 3

Albrecht Dürer: Brushstrokes of the Reformation, Part 2

12m

Great in God's Sight Season 3

Martin Luther: Captive Conscience

11m

Great in God's Sight Season 2

The Celestial Railroad: Part 2

13m

Great in God's Sight Season 3

Philipp Melanchthon: Nothing but Heaven

11m

Great in God's Sight Season 2

John Bunyan: Progress in Prison

9m

Great in God's Sight Season 1

Patrick: Unlikely Freedom

10m

Great in God's Sight Season 1

Thomas: The Other Half of Faith

9m

Great in God's Sight Season 1

Columba: The Dove of Scotland

10m

Sound Doctrine