Readings in St. John's Gospel

by William Temple

Compiled from the Gifford Lectures given in Glasgow between November 1932 and March 1934 by William Temple.

Genres: Theology, New Testament, Reference

432 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1939

About the author

Archbishop William Temple

Reviews

[James Tetley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this whilst reading Johns gospel as part of the Bible in a year. This commentary was his reflective thoughts as he journeyed through Johns gospel. Some of them went over my head (I guess thats what makes you an Archbishop like he was!!) But some beautiful quotations. And his reflections helped me dig deeper into Jesus and all that he is. He ends the book with the following prayer.

O Lord Jesus Christ, thou Word and Revelation of the Eternal Father, come, we pray thee, take possession of our hearts and reign where thou hast right to reign. So fill our minds with the thought and our imaginations with the picture of thy love, that there may be in us no room for any desire that is discordant with thy holy will. Cleanse us, we pray thee, from all that may make us deaf to thy call or slow to obey it, who, with the Father and the Holy Spirit art one God, blessed for ever. Amen.

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

A looong, slow read but worth every minute. Yes, it's old school, and sometimes you have to read a sentence a few times to get what he's trying to say in today's English, but the depth of study in this book is amazing, and there are some passages of John's gospel where working through Temple's commentary takes days - but days well spent. Pragmatic and illuminating - a standard few writers obtain.