A Study Course on the Gospel of Matthew with the Revd Canon Professor Richard A. Burridge
Every Wednesday, between 12 – 26 November 2025 and 28 January – 25 February 2026 | 2:30pm-4:30pm and 6:30pm-8:45pm | The Baptist Church, 25 South Street, Exeter, EX1 1EB
Following on from his successful courses on Mark and John over the last two years, this year Revd Canon Professor Richard A. Burridge will be considering the Gospel of Matthew, which is the set text for the gospel readings on Sundays from Advent 2025 to 2026.
This will consider:
What does it mean to be Jewish? And to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ of God? Such questions are as much debated today as they were in the first century. Matthew is the most Jewish of the gospels, and one of the most Jewish texts in the New Testament. Yet, sadly, its verses were also used to justify anti-Semitic persecution from mediaeval pogroms to Nazi concentration camps, see Matthew 23 and Matthew 27:25.
This will provide us an opportunity to “go deeper” in three directions: deeper into the original text itself; deeper back to its origins, background and historical setting; and, thirdly, deeper forward to its meaning and significance for us today. The first three sessions in November will introduce the gospel, especially Matthew chapters 1-4, to help us celebrate Christmas and Epiphany. The other five weeks will study Matthew’s main account of the life and ministry of Jesus, leading up to his arrest and crucifixion, so we can observe Lent, and prepare for Holy Week and Easter.
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About The Revd Canon Professor Richard A. Burridge:
The Revd Canon Professor Richard A. Burridge is an internationally recognised biblical scholar, ethicist, theologian and social commentator. He was Dean of King’s College London from 1993 to 2019. Now a Research Fellow in the Department of Theology at the University of Manchester, with extraordinary appointments at Virginia Theological Seminary, USA, and the University of Pretoria, South Africa, he devotes his time to research and writing, as well as his public ministry lecturing and undertaking theological training for clergy and lay people. His best-selling Four Gospels, One Jesus? has made biblical scholarship accessible to a wider audience. His academic scholarship on Jesus and the gospels, and his contribution to the life of the world-wide church, was recognised when he was awarded the 2013 Ratzinger Prize by Pope Francis, the first non-Roman Catholic to receive this prestigious prize.
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Attending the sessions
To allow as many people as possible to attend, the sessions will be run twice:
- Wednesday afternoons, 2:30pm-4:30pm
- Wednesday evenings, 6:30pm-8:45pm
- 12, 19 and 26 November 2025
- 28 January, 4, 11, 18 and 25 February 2026
Refreshments will be available.
At both afternoon and evening sessions, there will also be the opportunity to participate instead on-line via Zoom (using a laptop, tablet or smartphone; no extra software needed).
For more details, please email Richard, stating if you wish to register for the afternoon or evening sessions, and whether you’ll be attending in person or on-line. You will then be sent further details.
