Balliol College, Oxford & John Wycliffe

Erwin Lutzer at Balliol College:

Behind me is one of the oldest colleges here in Oxford, England. It is called Balliol College. And our interest goes back to the time of Wycliffe, who was in charge of this college for one full year. And then, of course, he had to move on. Now, Wycliffe was a man who insisted that the Bible be translated into English.

And he taught many of his students how to write out the scriptures, because that was the day before the printing press. And it would take them 10 months to make a full copy of the Word of God. And many of these were taken then and they were found by the Catholic authorities and burned at St. Paul’s Cathedral. But Wycliffe also taught his students how to die for the faith, because many of them became martyrs.

Now, he was not a martyr. He died a natural death. But 33 years after he was buried, his bones were dug up, because the Council of Constance said that if we dig up his bones and throw them into the river, there’s less chance that he will be resurrected. Remember that Wycliffe was one of the pre-reformers who began the process of reforming England. And of course, as a result, we honor him today.