Why was Jesus so cryptic? Is divorce ever OK? Does Isaiah 53 predict Jesus? And which theologian is hardest to understand?
Ask NT Wright Anything

Why was Jesus so cryptic? Is divorce ever OK? Does Isaiah 53 predict Jesus? And which theologian is hardest to understand?

B2Upper-intermediateJuly 20, 202641 min

Why did Jesus often speak in riddles instead of plain language? What should Christians make of divorce in light of Jesus' teaching? And how should we understand Old Testament prophecies about Christ? In this episode of Ask NT Wright Anything, Tom Wright and Mike Bird explore three challenging questions that sit at the intersection of biblical interpretation and pastoral wisdom. Tom explains why Jesus' teaching often appeared mysterious, showing how his parables confronted first-century expectations about God's kingdom rather than simply hiding the truth. He then offers a thoughtful and compassionate response to one of the most...

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By Tom Wright from Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, where it is absolutely baking hot right now.

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Can I open by asking you, who's the hardest theologian you've ever struggled to understand?

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B2 · Upper-intermediate

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  • 174 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.

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0:00

Hello and welcome to Ask and Write Anything. This is the show where we try to answer your questions about Jesus, the Bible, and the life of faith. I'm Mike Bird from Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia, where it's nice and cool right now, and I'm joined by... By Tom Wright from Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, where it is absolutely baking hot right now. I bet, I bet. Well, let's try to cool things down with a bit of theological and pastoral discussion, Tom.

0:30

Can I open by asking you, who's the hardest theologian you've ever struggled to understand? Yeah, that's a good question. I had an aunt who was an Anglican nun at Fair Acres Convent here in Oxford, and she was a great reader. She loved John Henry Newman, and I've read some Newman, and I thought, yeah, that is okay.

0:48

I wouldn't say I loved him, but I understand why you would feel like that. She also absolutely loved Hans Urs von Balthasar and used to tell me to read von Balthasar. and each time I tried to read von Balthasar I just couldn't figure out what was going on and I think he was working in a different frame of reference from anything I knew. Now at the same

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