Tom Wright
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - On Judging Others
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - On Judging Others
by SPCK - N T Wright
On Judging Others Matthew 7.1-6 William Shakespeare based a whole play on the second verse of Matthew 7. Measure for Measure is classified as a ‘comedy’, and indeed everything works out very well in the end. But much of the play is dark and disturbing. Angelo, a noble but stern l…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Do Not Worry
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Do Not Worry
by SPCK - N T Wright
Do Not Worry Matthew 6.25-34 Has it ever struck you what a basically happy person Jesus was? Oh yes, we know that, according to the prophecies, he was ‘a man of sorrow, and acquainted with grief ’. We know that the darkness and sadness of all the world descended on him as he went…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - On Fasting and Lasting Treasure
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - On Fasting and Lasting Treasure
by SPCK - N T Wright
On Fasting and Lasting Treasure Matthew 6.16-24 The student looked crestfallen, as well he might. For weeks he had thought he was doing all right. Yes, he hadn’t been working as hard as he could have done; but he was in the college football team, and he was playing in a rock grou…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Lord's Prayer
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Lord's Prayer
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Lord’s Prayer Matthew 6.7-15 I was talking to a friend who had the reputation of being one of the finest preachers in the area. How did he go about it, I asked. He had no particular technique, he said; he just puzzled over the biblical readings that were set for that day unti…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Piety in Secret
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Piety in Secret
by SPCK - N T Wright
Piety in Secret Matthew 6.1-6 Once, when living in the Middle East, I went out for a walk in the afternoon. On my way home, feeling slightly hungry, I bought a bar of chocolate at a wayside stall. I got back home, went to my room, made a cup of tea, unwrapped the chocolate and br…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Loving Your Enemies
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Loving Your Enemies
by SPCK - N T Wright
Loving Your Enemies Matthew 5.38-48 There was once a father who had to go away from his young family for three or four days on business. Anxious that his wife should be properly looked after in his absence, he had a word with the oldest son, who was nine at the time. ‘When I’m aw…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - On Adultery and Oaths
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - On Adultery and Oaths
by SPCK - N T Wright
On Adultery and Oaths Matthew 5.27-37 As I was getting ready to write this section, an email arrived from an old friend in another country. His church, he said, was facing a question that troubles a great many churches in our day. What did Jesus really mean in his teaching about …
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - On Murder and Reconciliation
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - On Murder and Reconciliation
by SPCK - N T Wright
On Murder and Reconciliation Matthew 5.21-26 It happened again the other day. It is sadly common. A leading politician makes a gesture of contempt towards the opposition. Someone on the other side reacts angrily. Soon dozens of people are on their feet, shouting. Insults fly to a…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Fulfilling the Law
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Fulfilling the Law
by SPCK - N T Wright
Fulfilling the Law Matthew 5.13-20 We all know what happens when a revolutionary party suddenly finds itself in power. It’s one thing to shout angrily from the sidelines, but quite another to form a government and run a country. All sorts of things have to be organized and dealt …
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Beatitudes
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Beatitudes
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Beatitudes Matthew 5.1-12 Many years ago there was a dramatic movie about the first test pilots to break the sound barrier. No plane had ever flown faster than the speed of sound. Many people didn’t believe it was possible. Some thought the plane would disintegrate under the …
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Jesus Calls the Disciples
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Jesus Calls the Disciples
by SPCK - N T Wright
Jesus Calls the Disciples Matthew 4.18-25 If you go to Galilee today they will show you a boat that might have belonged to Andrew and Peter, or perhaps the Zebedee family. In one of the most remarkable archaeological finds anywhere in the Holy Land (which is full of them), a boat…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Announcing the Kingdom
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Announcing the Kingdom
by SPCK - N T Wright
Announcing the Kingdom Matthew 4.12-17 I once knew a small boy (no, it wasn’t me, actually) who used to telephone people at random. When a voice answered the phone, he would say, ‘Are you on the line?’ ‘Yes,’ the unsuspecting victim would reply. ‘Well, get off quick!’ he would sh…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Temptation in the Wilderness
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Temptation in the Wilderness
by SPCK - N T Wright
Temptation in the Wilderness Matthew 4.1-11 Jennifer went for a long walk in the woods. It had been an exhausting six months, and she needed time to think. She had concentrated on the campaign. Ever since her local party had told her, to her surprise, that they wanted her to be t…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Jesus' Baptism
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Jesus' Baptism
by SPCK - N T Wright
Jesus’ Baptism Matthew 3.11-17 It’s safe to say that John was as surprised as we are. Or at least, as we should be if we read this passage without knowing what’s coming. To get the flavour, imagine that we are going to a huge concert hall, packed to the doors with eager and excit…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Preaching of John the Baptist
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Preaching of John the Baptist
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Preaching of John the Baptist Matthew 3.1-10 The road, the water, the fire and the axe. Four powerful symbols set the scene for where the story of Jesus really starts. Think first of a police motorcade sweeping through a city street. First there appear motorcycles with flashi…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Travels to Egypt
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Travels to Egypt
by SPCK - N T Wright
Travels to Egypt Matthew 2.13-23 I was once preaching at a big Christmas service where a well-known historian, famous for his scepticism towards Christianity, had been persuaded to attend by his family. Afterwards, he approached me, all smiles. ‘I’ve finally worked out’, he decla…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Magi visit Jesus
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Magi visit Jesus
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Magi Visit Jesus Matthew 2.1-12 I was convinced it was a helicopter. It was a dark night, and a bright light was shining just above the nearby town. Surely, I thought, the police must be out looking for a criminal; or perhaps there had been an accident. We had just come from …
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Birth of Jesus