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

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.