George Wishart: Scotland's Forgotten Forerunner Season 1 | Episode 32
St Andrews today is famous for two things.
Number one, it's the home of golf.
And number two, it's the town where Prince William met Kate
whilst he was studying at university.
But it's the spiritual history of this town that is most interesting and significant.
St Andrews was the town in the 1500s where the first Protestant Scottish martyr
was burned for his faith.
His name was Patrick Hamilton,
and he is remembered by a spot with his initials on the ground.
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But we fast forward to the year 1538 when Cardinal David Beaton took over
and made it his mission to catch a reformer by the name of George Wishart
and stamp out what he saw as the growing heresy in Scotland.
At the time, George was only a young man, 25 years old.
And he stayed one step ahead of the cardinal
and escaped and went to Cambridge University
where he met with Hugh Latimer, and together they went on to Bristol.
He was only there for about six months
when he got into trouble again and had to flee the city.
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He went to Switzerland where he spent three years travelling to various cities,
including Geneva and Zurich,
and he had the chance to meet with John Calvin and Bullinger
where he was able to study and crystallize his views on the gospel.
In 1542 he returned to the British Isles
and went to Cambridge where he taught at the university.
After teaching for one year, he then returned to Scotland
where he began to preach the gospel in cities around the country.
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He went to Montrose to teach the book of Romans,
and then he went to Dundee.
Beaton followed him there but Wishart hid from him.
Then he went to Perth to preach and then to Ayr.
The archbishop followed him, but he could not catch him.
He then went back to Dundee
and a priest by the name of John Wighton was sent to kill him,
but the crowd turned against him.
George Wishart was much loved by his countrymen
as he didn't just preach, but had a very practical side to his ministry.
In one instance in the city of Dundee,
when the plague broke out most people fled the city,
but George Wishart went into the city
so he could care for the sick and the suffering.
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Towards the end of his life,
he met John Knox, who was a young man at the time,
and would go on to be a great leader in his own right in the Scottish Reformation.
He started out essentially as a bodyguard for George Wishart,
carrying a two-handed sword with him as he travelled around the country.
They built a strong bond as teacher and student
until finally Cardinal Beaton,
with 500 soldiers, captured George Wishart.
John Knox wanted to follow George into captivity,
but was told to stay with the words,
'One is sufficient for sacrifice.'
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He was brought here to the castle
and put here in the sea tower where he was imprisoned.
He was then tried, and as he was tried,
he answered all his accusations from the Bible.
They were not satisfied, and he was condemned to death.
Outside the castle walls,
the initials GW are imprinted on the ground,
marking the exact spot
where George Wishart gave his life at the young age of 33.
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Two things we learn from this man.
Number one, in his ministry and life he was incredibly faithful
and was ministering to the sick and suffering
as he traveled around the country.
Number two, we learn about the power and importance of preaching.
How in two years as he traveled around the country,
he caused great revival,
making a lasting change and impression here in this country.
The thing that stands out to me the most though, is how young he was.
That he died at the age of 33.
He was a teacher at Cambridge at the age of 29.
He gave his youth to God, and God used him in a powerful way.
God is calling for young people again today,
young people who will give their talents and their gifts to Him
and allow themselves to be used in a powerful way.