Tom Wright
John for Everyone part 2 - If the World Hates You
John for Everyone part 2 - If the World Hates You
by SPCK - N T Wright
If the World Hates You John 15.18-27 We are all amateur psychiatrists now. Our modern culture has learnt enough from the founders of modern psychology and psychiatry for people to toss bits and pieces of it into ordinary conversations, articles in popular newspapers and televisio…
John for Everyone part 2 - Obeying and Loving
John for Everyone part 2 - Obeying and Loving
by SPCK - N T Wright
Obeying and Loving John 15.9-17 John for Everyone Part 2 Like an innocent child wandering by itself into a kitchen and pressing the switches that will set the house on fire, some biblical texts have been taken out of their original setting and used in ways that would have horrifi…
John for Everyone part 2 - The True Vine
John for Everyone part 2 - The True Vine
by SPCK - N T Wright
The True Vine John 15.1-8 One of many areas in which I possess near-total incompetence is gardening. We have moved house so many times that I have never had the chance to develop an instinct for which plants do well where and in what kind of soil and light. Once or twice I have p…
John for Everyone part 2 - My Peace I Give to You
John for Everyone part 2 - My Peace I Give to You
by SPCK - N T Wright
My Peace I Give to You John 14.22-31 ‘I’m going to tell the whole world about it!’ She had just got engaged. This was the moment she’d dreamed about. The happiest day of her life. She wanted everyone to know. But what did she mean by ‘the world’? We found out quite quickly. It me…
John for Everyone part 2 - Another Helper
John for Everyone part 2 - Another Helper
by SPCK - N T Wright
Another Helper John 14.12-21 ‘If only we’d been there when Jesus was around!’ people often say. ‘It would have been so much easier. He would have explained everything to us, and told us what to do. And he’d have been such an encouragement. Whatever we were doing, he’d be positive…
John for Everyone part 2 - The Way, the Truth, the Life
John for Everyone part 2 - The Way, the Truth, the Life
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Way, the Truth, the Life John 14.1-11 ‘Are you sure there’ll be room for us all?’ We were on our way back to a friend’s house. There were two carloads of us, relaxed and happy after a football match which we’d won. The match had been at another school several miles away, and …
John for Everyone part 2 - Love One Another
John for Everyone part 2 - Love One Another
by SPCK - N T Wright
Love One Another John 13.31-38 The question from the Greeks at the feast told Jesus that his time had come (12.23). In the same way, the disappearance of Judas, going out into the night, tells Jesus that his time, his great moment, is rushing upon him like a tidal wave. As the do…
John for Everyone part 2 - Judas Goes Out
John for Everyone part 2 - Judas Goes Out
by SPCK - N T Wright
Judas Goes Out John 13.21-30 A priest working in the villages outside Cambridge reports that when sheep are taken off to be killed, they know instinctively that the slaughterhouse is a bad place. They can smell or sense something which warns of danger. The lorry carrying them wil…
John for Everyone part 2 - Like Master, Like Servant
John for Everyone part 2 - Like Master, Like Servant
by SPCK - N T Wright
Like Master, Like Servant John 13.12-20 I was given a beautiful present this week. To celebrate a special anniversary, someone close to me spent hours and hours weaving a careful tapestry, a needlepoint work of art. The theme comes from one of the early Celtic gospels, and is a p…
John for Everyone part 2 - Washing the Disciples' Feet
John for Everyone part 2 - Washing the Disciples' Feet
by SPCK - N T Wright
Washing the Disciples’ Feet John 13.1-11 I had never washed anyone else’s feet (bathing my own children doesn’t really count) until I went to work in a church where they acted out this scene every Holy Week. On the Thursday, the day before Good Friday, many churches arrange a ser…
John for Everyone part 2 - The Final Challenge
John for Everyone part 2 - The Final Challenge
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Final Challenge John 12.44-50 One of the oldest clichés in the movie business is the final showdown between the arch-opponents. The hero and the villain have been plotting against one another all through the story. Their allies and helpers have struggled and fought. There hav…
John for Everyone part 2 - Glory and Blindness
John for Everyone part 2 - Glory and Blindness
by SPCK - N T Wright
Glory and Blindness John 12.37-43 It was seven o’clock in the evening when Susan called the family in. She had worked hard all day to prepare this meal, and she was excited, eyes sparkling, on edge to see what they would say. Delicious smells came from the kitchen. She sat them d…
John for Everyone part 2 - The Hour Has Come
John for Everyone part 2 - The Hour Has Come
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Hour Has Come John 12.27-36 As I was walking into my study to begin working on this passage, I was alarmed to hear three loud explosions from the other side of the street. We live close to some important national buildings, and there is always a danger that terrorists will so…
John for Everyone part 2 - The Seed Must Die
John for Everyone part 2 - The Seed Must Die
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Seed Must Die John 12.20-26 Every autumn, when I was a boy, we used to collect horse chestnuts. We would watch the trees as the chestnuts started to fall, usually in late September or early October. The prickly, green outer shell would often split; if it didn’t, we would slic…
John for Everyone part 2 - Jesus Enters Jerusalem
John for Everyone part 2 - Jesus Enters Jerusalem
by SPCK - N T Wright
Jesus Enters Jerusalem John 12.9-19 Even now in Western culture most people know what the symbols mean. If someone went into a deep sleep, then woke to see shops full of stockings filled with presents, they would know it was nearly Christmas. If they woke up to see people with ch…
John for Everyone part 2 - Mary and her Ointment
John for Everyone part 2 - Mary and her Ointment
by SPCK - N T Wright
Mary and her Ointment John 12.1-8 I always hate it when, in a movie or a novel, a social event suddenly becomes tense and fraught. People who write novels and screenplays seem to like them: anger and bitterness bubbling to the surface, family members losing their tempers with eac…
John for Everyone part 2 - The Plan of Caiaphas
John for Everyone part 2 - The Plan of Caiaphas
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Plan of Caiaphas John 11.47-57 We hadn’t been in the country very long when we noticed that our host was driving in a strange fashion. At first, being sleepy from the journey, we thought we were just imagining it; but then it became quite unmistakable. He would drive along an…
John for Everyone part 2 - The Raising of Lazarus