William Barclay Quotes

“There are two great days in a person's life - the day we are born and the day we discover why.”

William Barclay

“Jesus is to God as we must be to Jesus.”

William Barclay

Source: The Gospel of John, Volume One: 1

“Jesus insisted that the greatest ritual service is the service of human need. It is an odd thing to think that, with the possible exception of that day in the synagogue at Nazareth, we have no evidence that Jesus ever conducted a ‘church’ service in all his life on earth, but we have abundant evidence that he fed the hungry and comforted the sad and cared for the sick. Christian service is not the service of any liturgy or ritual; it is the service of human need. Christian service is not monastic retreat; it is involvement in all the tragedies and problems and demands of the human situation.”

William Barclay

Source: The Gospel of Matthew: Vol. 2, Chapters 11-28

“A reverent agnosticism can be on occasion a better evangelism than a religion which knows all the answers.”

William Barclay

Source: Many Witnesses, One Lord

“Jesus promised his disciples three things—that they would be completely fearless, absurdly happy, and in constant trouble.”

William Barclay

Source: The Gospel of Luke

“All life is based on the fact that anything worth getting is hard to get. There is a price to be paid for anything. Scholarship can only be bought at the price of study, skill of craft or technique can only be bought at the price of practice, and eminence in any sport can only be bought at the price of training and discipline.”

William Barclay

William Barclay (1964) The Gospel of John. Vol. 2, p. 77