SPCK - N T Wright
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Last Supper
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Last Supper
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Last Supper Matthew 26.26-35 There is an article in the newspaper today about two families locked in a highly expensive legal battle. It’s all the sadder because they are next-door neighbours. The case turns on the right of one family to keep on the premises what by most peop…
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - Passover and Betrayal
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - Passover and Betrayal
by SPCK - N T Wright
Passover and Betrayal Matthew 26.14-25 ‘And I thought you were my friend!’ The words were meant to sting, and they did. I looked from one man to the other. The meeting had collapsed into bitter accusations, and this was the final one. The speaker got up from his chair and went ov…
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - Preparations for Jesus' Death
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - Preparations for Jesus' Death
by SPCK - N T Wright
Preparations for Jesus’ Death Matthew 26.1-13 I stood at the bottom of the rock face. It was cold. The sun never penetrated that side of the mountain. I looked at the massive boulders around the foot of the climb, and then let my eye wander up the different routes, made famous by…
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Sheep and the Goats
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Sheep and the Goats
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Sheep and the Goats Matthew 25.31-46 One of the most remarkable things to happen in the whole twentieth century was the establishment of an International Court of Justice, located at The Hague in the Netherlands. Not everyone approves of such a thing, but whatever your opinio…
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Parable of the Talents
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Parable of the Talents
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Parable of the Talents Matthew 25.14-30 As I write this, all over this country there are students – including one of my own children – who are taking examinations. In some cases these are not particularly serious. They will merely give the teachers and pupils a sense of how m…
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Wise and Wicked Girls
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Wise and Wicked Girls
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Wise and Wicked Girls Matthew 25.1-13 The guests had all arrived and were seated. The organ was playing. The bridegroom and the best man had been there half an hour in advance. The photographers were waiting. The flowers had all been beautifully arranged. The choir had practi…
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Wise and Wicked Slaves
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Wise and Wicked Slaves
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Wise and Wicked Slaves Matthew 24.45-51 The managing director was returning from a meeting out of town, when he saw a familiar but unexpected sight. There, turning out of a street ahead of him, was one of his own company’s vans. What was it doing here? The company didn’t do b…
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Unexpected Coming
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Unexpected Coming
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Unexpected Coming Matthew 24.36-44 It was a fine Saturday afternoon in the heat of summer. The family, some on holiday from work, were relaxing in the house and the garden. Books and magazines were lying around the place, along with coffee mugs, newspapers and packets of bisc…
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Coming of the Son of Man
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Coming of the Son of Man
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Coming of the Son of Man Matthew 24.29-35 A friend of mine is a composer. (It’s something I would like to have been myself, had things worked out differently, so I take a particular interest in what he does.) I watched one day as he worked on a particular piece he was writing…
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Desolating Sacrilege
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Desolating Sacrilege
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Desolating Sacrilege Matthew 24.15-28 In many countries, one of the things children look forward to is going away to a summer camp. The weather is warm, there is swimming and boating, there are old friends and new ones, there are songs round a campfire, there are sports and g…
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Beginnings of the Birth Pangs
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Beginnings of the Birth Pangs
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Beginnings of the Birth Pangs Matthew 24.1-14 We went together to see the doctor, one rainy day in the autumn. We were excited but also very apprehensive. We had a sense of going down a road we’d often heard about but had never quite believed we would travel ourselves. He tal…
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - Judgment on Jerusalem and It's Leaders
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - Judgment on Jerusalem and It's Leaders
by SPCK - N T Wright
Judgment on Jerusalem and Its Leaders Matthew 23.34-39 For many city-dwellers, myself included, life on a farm can appear idyllic. Memories of brief visits to farming relatives when I was a child combine with the view of peaceful rural life seen from a car or a train. Living in c…
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - Condemnation of Scribes and Pharisees (2)
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - Condemnation of Scribes and Pharisees (2)
by SPCK - N T Wright
Condemnation of Scribes and Pharisees (1) Matthew 23.13-22 I once preached a sermon in a church in America. I spoke particularly of the way in which the ancient pagan gods and goddesses were starting to infiltrate our culture once more, and how as Christians we should learn to re…
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - Condemnation of Scribes and Pharisees
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - Condemnation of Scribes and Pharisees
by SPCK - N T Wright
Condemnation of Scribes and Pharisees (1) Matthew 23.13-22 I once preached a sermon in a church in America. I spoke particularly of the way in which the ancient pagan gods and goddesses were starting to infiltrate our culture once more, and how as Christians we should learn to re…
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - Warnings against Scribes and Pharisees
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - Warnings against Scribes and Pharisees
by SPCK - N T Wright
Warnings against Scribes and Pharisees Matthew 23.1-12 The man in the camping shop was good at his job. ‘This is the kind of tent you’ll need,’ he said. ‘It’ll last through all weathers, enough room for all your kit, easy to put up.’ Gratefully, I added it to the pile of maps, so…
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Great Commandments, and David's Master
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Great Commandments, and David's Master
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Great Commandment, and David’s Master Matthew 22.34-46 I watched on television a tennis match between two of the game’s finest players. Both had been playing well, but towards the end one of them seemed to rise to new heights. The match ended with two stunning games, when the…
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Question of the Resurrection
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Question of the Resurrection
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Question of the Resurrection Matthew 22.23-33 I once sat on a college committee where two older members had a regular tactic for stopping any change that might have been proposed. When one of the younger members (myself, for instance) proposed doing something that would reall…
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - Paying Taxes to Caesar