Matthew for Everyone: Part 1, Chapters 1-15

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Synopsis

Matthew for Everyone: Part 1 is a study of the first fifteen chapters of the Gospel of Matthew in which theologian N. T. Wright employs his own fresh interpretation of the biblical texts and breaks it down into bite-sized portions. Each passage includes his own scholarly insights written in an accessible style that is easy for all to understand.

Review

Matthew for Everyone: Part 1 is a Bible study or devotional book that covers the first half of the Gospel of Matthew. It breaks down chapters one through fifteen of this biblical book into short snippets that have been specially translated by the author. Following each scripture passage is a brief mini-sermon that gives additional interpretation and insights on those verses, offering the reader something upon which to ponder.

I can't recall for certain where I first heard about Rev. N. T. Wright, Anglican minister and renowned theologian, but I believe his work was cited in some other book I read, perhaps Rob Bell's What Is the Bible?. In any case, upon looking him up, I discovered that he'd written a full series of study books that cover the entire Bible. I was looking for something that would encourage me to read the Bible more regularly and that might offer helpful interpretation in easy-to-understand language and thought this looked like a good place to start. First of all, I like that, unlike other traditional devotional books, this one doesn't have days of the week that make me feel like I'm failing if I don't keep up. I can just read it when I have time and not feel guilty if I don't.:-) I also like how the book breaks the Gospel of Matthew down into easily digestible pieces and that Rev. Wright offers some of his own wisdom regarding each of these passages. Each little section is approx. 3-4 pages long, which as a slow reader takes me about ten minutes or so to finish. By doing this regularly the reader will eventually be able to read their way through the entire Bible, which is what I was hoping to do when starting this endeavor. It's been coming along extremely slowly, though, because in the beginning, I was only picking it up occasionally. I've been trying to step up my efforts more recently and managing to read a passage at least a few times per week now, but it remains to be seen if that pace continues. Although some passages were more insightful and spoke to me more than others, overall, I enjoyed this first volume and my first foray into Rev. Wright's work. I wouldn't necessarily say that this book blew me away, but it generally met my needs in the way that I was hoping, so I definitely plan to continue with the series.

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