What is a Bible Worth?

“Never judge a book by its cover” is a warning against premature judgments. The truth of this proverb has never been reinforced more aptly than when one gazes at the cover of an English Bible printed in 1537 in Antwerp. The leather cover is discolored and torn. There is nothing attractive about it. One is almost tempted to set it aside, but this would be a grave mistake because there is a fascinating history associated with it.

William Tyndale arrived in Antwerp sometime before 1530, after he had printed the first complete English New Testament in Worms, Germany in 1526. He came to Antwerp for three reasons: (1) the relative safety of the English Merchants’ House, (2) the numerous printing houses located in Antwerp, and (3) the access to ships taking cargo to England in which he could conceal copies of his Bibles. However, in May 1535, after betrayal, the authorities arrested Tyndale. While Tyndale was in prison, Miles Coverdale, one of Tyndale’s trusted helpers, completed Tyndale’s translation and printed it as the first complete English Bible. This Bible, known as the Coverdale Bible, had to be smuggled into England because the English clergy had banned vernacular translations of the Bible.

In 1537, an English clergyman named John Rogers, who had come to true faith in Christ through his contacts with Tyndale, undertook a revision of the Coverdale Bible. Rogers completed the revisions and published the revised edition under the name of Thomas Matthew. Copies of this Bible, known as Matthew’s Bible, were sent to Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Thomas Cromwell, Lord Chancellor, who favored the distribution of the English Bible. They showed a copy to King Henry VIII. When assured by his officials that it was an accurate translation, Henry replied with stirring words, “Then let it go forth to the people!”

Henry’s order reversed the 130–year ban against vernacular translations of the Scriptures. For the first time since Wycliffe, an individual could legally own a copy of the Scriptures in English. Tyndale’s prayer, uttered in 1536 while being burned at the stake, “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes,” was gloriously answered.

However, how did the stained copy of Matthew’s Bible we opened with come to be known as the Martyr’s Bible? The discoloration is apparent on nearly every page. Adding to the drama was a note, written nearly 200 years ago, stating, “This book was owned by one of the early martyrs.” The note was an allusion to the persecution and martyrdoms carried out during the reign of Queen Mary between 1553 and 1558.

It was a common practice during those times to put a copy of the Scriptures in the hands of those condemned for heresy. The intention was to associate heresy with the ownership of the Bible. Frequently, those who would witness the executions would snatch these Bibles out of the hands of martyrs. Consequently, the stain on this copy of Matthew’s Bible of 1537 came from the owner’s blood!

Of the first five translators of the English Bible, three of them—Tyndale, Rogers, and John Frith—sealed their testimony with their lives. More than 300 others, many whose names we do not know, were executed during the Marian persecution. In fact, the exact name of the owner of this particular copy of Matthew’s Bible remains unknown. Yet we can state with conviction that in some sense every English Bible is a “Martyr’s Bible,” because every page witnesses to the blood of the one who paid for its dissemination with his life (Van Kampen Collection at The Scriptorium Museum in Orlando, Florida).

These men understood that no doctrine connected with the Christian faith is more important than the one that has to do with the basis of true religious knowledge. When all is said and done, the only true and dependable source for Christianity lies in the book Christians call the Bible.

With these words, Pastor Mike Harding opens a longer article under the title “Sola Scriptura.” No doctrine is more important than the doctrine of inspiration. Our plan is to serialize Pastor Harding’s article to rehearse again those truths most precious to the saints, the ones concerning the source of all other Christian doctrine, the Bible. We republish Dr. Harding’s material by permission.

Mike Harding is the pastor of First Baptist Church of Troy, Troy, Michigan.