Bible Study: Parody and Subversion in Matthew's Gospel
Episodes
99 episodes
Episode 1: A Parody of Pedigree: Matthew 1:1-16
In this episode, I describe how the genealogy in Matthew is actually a parody of a genealogy. In the gospel in which Jesus instructs his followers to "call no one on earth 'father,'" this list of fathers is intentionally ironic.I also t...
Episode 2: The Virgin Birth, Matthew 1:18-25
The "virgin birth" of Jesus, the title "Son of God," and the concept of the forgiveness of sins all had resonances in the first century Mediterranean world that they no longer have today. Understanding what those terms and concepts signaled, as...
Episode 3: Matthew As Parody
This episode is the only one that will not look at one particular text (all the other episodes will continue progressively through Matthew), but rather at the book as a whole. I make the argument in this episode that the whole Gospel of Matthew...
Episode 4: The Magi, Matthew 2:1-12
The story of the Magi evokes sentimental, feel good memories of Christmas for many of us, but this story, for its original audience, signaled hopes of liberation from a brutal occupation.
Episode 5: The Flight into Egypt, Matthew 2:13-18
In this episode, Jesus and his family become refugees. Fleeing their home country, which is under the brutal occupation of a foreign empire, they take refuge in Egypt, which, according to their national history, was both the place of their peop...
Episode 6: John the Baptizer, Matthew 3:1-17
If this series has not been controversial already, it gets even more controversial in this episode. I make the claim that Jesus joins a liberation movement already in progress to get his start as "Messiah." Also I will assert that temples in th...
Episode 7: The Temptations, Matthew 4:1-11
In this episode, we follow Jesus through his "vision quest," as he retraces his people's journey in the wilderness through a time of testing/temptation. Jesus has to prove what sort of Messiah or "Son of God" he will be.Please leave com...
Episode 8 A: The Calling of the First Disciples, Matthew 4:12-22
Jesus takes up John's work of leading a movement for The New Society (Kingdom of Heaven). Matthew's imagery reminds the reader of the setting of this story in the Roman Empire. Jesus liberates his disciples from bondage to the empire, setting t...
Special Coronavirus Easter Episode
In this episode, to address our current situation, I take a break from Matthew and hop over to the Gospel of Luke to look at the Parable of the Dishonest Manager - A strange parable for strange times. I am indebted to Ched Myers for op...
Episode 8b: Jesus Begins an International Campaign of Healing, Matthew 4:23-25
Jesus' campaign of healing provides an alternative to more conventional military campaigns (parody?) and signals the dawning of a new society.
Episode 9: The Beatitudes, Matthew 5:1-16
Jesus begins laying out his new law or teaching for the new Society. This new teaching inverts the male honor code of the first century Mediterranean World.
Episode 10: Reconciliation and Curtailing Male Sexual Abuse of Women Matthew 5:17-32
Jesus attempts to build a strong movement, urging solidarity between peasants and curtailing male sexual abuse of and power over women.
Episode 11: Oaths and Nonviolent Resistance, Matthew 5:33-48
What's the big deal about taking Oaths?Also, women in Nigeria in 2002 used a tactic that Matthew's Jesus prescribes.
Episode 12: The Peasant Economy of Mutual Aid versus The Empire's Economy of Patronage, Matthew 6:1-4, 16-34
Jesus lifts up the mutual aid economy of the peasants and tears down the patronage system of the empire.
Episode 13: The Lord's Revolutionary Prayer, Matthew 6:9-15
Jesus provides a prayer for his movement rooted in peasant realities of hunger, debt, and the threat of legal prosecution as well as the ancient story of the Exodus liberation.
Episode 15: Jesus Pronounces a Leper Clean, Matthew 8:1-4
Jesus usurps the power and authority of the priests.
Episode 16: The Centurion, Matthew 8:5-13
In this episode, I make a mistake in the recording. See if you can catch it...you don't have to be a Bible Scholar, you just need to be paying attention. I only caught it after it was all done; there is no way to fix it, and I don'...
Episode 17: An Honor Healing, Matthew 8:14-17
The third detailed healing: Jesus crosses the gender divide and continues his campaign of healing.
Episode 18: The Crossing; Jesus Battles the Empire, Matthew 8:18-27
Jesus crosses to "the other side" and encounters the demons of empire.
Episode 19: Jesus Heals and Forgives a Paralytic, Matthew 9:1-8
Who has the authority to forgive sins? Only God? Who has the authority to speak for God then? The ruling classes in antiquity used systems of temples, priests, and sacrifice to control the people. Jesus demonstrates to the people that they don'...
Episode 20: The Calling of Matthew; Matthew 9:9-13
The campaign of healing takes the form of a meal with "sinners."
Episode 21: Fasting versus Feasting, Matthew 9:14-17
Jesus has to explain why now is the time to party with the sinners.
Episode 22: Two Daughters and the Blind and Mute Men, Matthew 9:18-34
After having gathered in the lost - the tax/toll collectors and "sinners" - he suddenly gets called to a high status household, but on the way heals a marginalized woman suffering from menstrual bleeding. Chapters 8 and 9 have Jesus entering th...