What was John the Baptist doing when he baptised Jews before Jesus’ ministry began?

Ask NT Wright Anything

Premier Unbelievable

Religion & Spirituality, Christianity, History

4.8 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 4 January 2026

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Do ordained ministers have “more” of the Holy Spirit than lay people? What exactly was John the Baptist doing when he baptised Jews before Jesus’ ministry began? And are the Thirty-Nine Articles still fit for purpose today? Tom Wright and Mike Bird tackle three questions that sit at the heart of church life, theology, and Christian identity in today's episode of Ask NT Wright Anything. Tom explains why ordination is not about spiritual hierarchy but authorised service, why the Holy Spirit belongs fully to the whole people of God, and how clergy exist to equip, not outrank, the church. He then situates John the Baptist firmly within Israel’s story of exile and hope, showing how baptism functioned as a powerful symbol of repentance and new Exodus rather than an early version of Christian conversion. Finally, Tom reflects candidly on the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England: why they were written, what they were trying to hold together, and why many of their answers belong to 16th-century debates rather than today’s questions. Throughout the conversation, Tom calls the church back to Scripture as the supreme authority, urges humility toward our theological inheritance, and reminds us that reform is not rejection—but faithful listening across time. Support us: https://www.premierunbelievable.com/geolink/donateGot a question for Tom? Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠askntwright.com⁠⁠⁠Start going deeper in the Bible with a free trial at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠logos.com/NT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠👉 Refer a friend to become a subscriber like you - they can get 10% off by clicking here (Embed URL: https://askntwright.supportingcast.fm?sc_promo=ASK10) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:39.2	Hello and welcome to another episode of AskMT, Write Anything, the program where we answer your questions about Jesus, the Bible and the Life of Faith. I'm Mike Bird from Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia,
0:46.2	and I'm joined by Tom Wright from Whitcliffe Hall in Oxford. Tom, it's great to be with you.
0:53.5	We've got some really good questions this week.
0:55.9	Here's my favorite question we received from a listener in Guatemala, from Zona 13, who asks,
1:05.0	come visit Guatemala, which I need to point out is not really a question, but I actually did do a bit of a search on leading Guatemala podcasts, particularly Christian podcasts.
1:19.6	And the leading Guatemala Christian podcasts are Access Church Guatemala, Radio Maria Guatemala, and Union Church of Guatemala Sunday
1:30.4	sermons.
1:31.2	Well, well.
1:31.7	And I regret to say, Tom, we don't rank very high in the Guatemala Christianity
1:36.8	podcast ratings, but I think we can make some good progress there.
1:41.3	We can go, so I say, Access Church, Guatemala, we're coming for you.
1:47.2	We're coming for you.
1:48.9	Coming for you like a falcon in a dive.
1:51.3	More seriously, Tom, this week we've got questions about lay people and the spirit, Jewish baptism, and the 39 articles.
2:06.6	So our first question is from Hallie Lining in Olympia, USA, and she's got a question about lay people and the Holy Spirit. And Hallie asks,
2:12.5	Hi Tom, I am a lifelong non-ational, evangelical, recently turned Anglican.
	...

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