Cambridge Sermons includes eight sermons preached in Trinity College Chapel from 1861 to 1875, along with eleven additional sermons preached at Cambridge between 1868 and 1883. This volume includes sermons on the life of Esau, the relationship between Edom and Israel in Isaiah’s prophecy, and sermons on numerous New Testament texts.
The ease with which [Lightfoot] passes. . . from one subject to another, from a review of commentaries on St. Paul’s Epistles to an emendation of the text of Euripides, from an investigation of the meaning of ‘Caesar’s household’ to the position of the Long Walls at Athens, represents the work of [one] who regards the New Testament as the goal of all his studies.
—Brooke Foss Westcott, author
Lightfoot’s research is characterized by clarity and precision, and a historical sense that sees the details within the larger movement of history.
—William Baird
Joseph Barber Lightfoot (1828–1889) was born in Liverpool. He attended King Edward’s School in Birmingham before enrolling at Trinity College, Cambridge. He edited the Journal of Classical and Sacred Philology from 1854 to 1859.
In 1852 he was elected a Fellow of Cambridge, and was ordained in 1854. He became tutor of Trinity College in 1857, professor of divinity in 1861, and anon of St. Paul’s Cathedral in 1871. Lightfoot preached regularly and participated in various ecclesiastical activities. He gained enormous popularity for his defense of the New Testament in response to Walter Richard Cassel’s Supernatural Religion. Lightfoot also participated on the committee for an English revision of the New Testament.
In 1879, Lightfoot became Bishop of Durham, where he continued his theological study, writing, and preaching. In addition to the works included in this collection, Lightfoot also wrote commentaries on Galatians, Philippians, and Colossians and Philemon. Lightfoot was succeeded as bishop by his lifelong friend, Brooke Foss Westcott.