Bible Study: Parody and Subversion in Matthew's Gospel
Episodes
99 episodes
Episode 53: Palm Sunday, Making an Ass Out of Rome, Matthew 21:1-11
Part of the title for this episode, "Making and Ass Out of Rome," is borrowed from Warren Carter, who entitled the section on this passage in his commentary with those words.In this episode, I mention The Yes Men, modern tricksters who ...
Addendum to The Little Apocalypse Series: What about that election language???
I did the whole series on The Little Apocalypse in Matthew and did not comment on the use of the term "the elect." So I did this little addendum to give my thoughts on the matter
Episode 61: The Little Apocalypse Part III, Parables of the Talents and of the Sheep and the Goats, Matthew 25:14-46
Jesus tells two parables that demonstrate what "staying awake" or "keeping watch" looks like.
Episode 60: The Little Apocalypse Part II, Matthew 24:36 - 25:13
In this second section of Matthew's "Little Apocalypse," Jesus starts talking parabolically, calling for his audience to "Stay Awake" for the "Coming of the Son of Man." But what does he mean by "Stay Awake," and what is the "Coming of the Son ...
Addendum to Episode 59
I thought I'd address an issue that might come up for some listeners regarding the accuracy of the prediction of the destruction of the temple/Jerusalem, and also express some additional thoughts I had, after recording the episode, about Jesus'...
Episode 59: The Little Apocalypse, Part I, Matthew 24:1-35
This is the first in a three part series on Matthew's "Little Apocalypse" in chapters 24-25. This first episode is considerably on the long side because there is so much imagery to unpack!
Quick note to let you know more episodes are coming...down the Rosarita Highway!
More episodes in the New Year!
Episode 58: Seven Woes and a Lament, Matthew 23
In chapter 5, Jesus gave 9 blessings. In chapter 23, he gives 7 woes.
Episode 57: Roman Taxes, Resurrection, and David's Legacy, Matthew 22:15-46
The Pharisees join forces with the Herodians and Sadducees to try to stop Jesus from plundering the house. They engage him in public debate...but that never ends well for them.
Episode 56: Jesus Plunders the House, Matthew 21:23-22:14
In chapter 12, Jesus talked about binding the strong man and plundering his house. In this episode, Jesus does that.Please consider making a donation to the Immigrant Worker ...
Special Episode: Sermon by Susan Cameron on Mark's Divorce Text, Mark 10:2-16
My good friend, Susan Cameron, who is a lawyer as well as a seminary graduate, gives us insights into the divorce text in Mark, which is different from but similar enough to the two divorce texts in Matthew that her work gives greater depth to ...
Episode 55: The Fig Tree, The Mountain, and The Sea; Matthew 21:18-22
Please consider making a donation to Christian Peacemaker Teams for the work in the West Bank, in Hebron/al- Khalil in Palestine. You can read more about their work and make a donation at https://www.cpt.org/....
Episode 54: What's in a ritual? Driving the Devil out of the Temple, Matthew 21:12-17
Why did Jesus drive the money changers and people selling animals out of the temple?Also, ancient people had their sacrificial rituals, but do we? What are the rituals of modern capitalism, and do we even know that we are performing the...
Episode 62: The Anointing and the Last Supper; Matthew 26:1 - 29
A woman anoints Jesus, and Jesus becomes the liberating sacrifice for the nation (and all nations or people).
Episode 52: The Crucible of Equality, Matthew 20:17-34
Equality is extremely difficult; there are always people who want to put themselves in positions of power and authority over others.Different accounts of the conquest of Jerusalem by David, Joshua, and Judah:
Episode 51: Parable of the Vineyard Workers, Matthew 20:1-16
Jesus warns against meritocracy in this often overlooked parable.A couple of resources mentioned in the podcast are:Clifton Mark's article, "A Belief in Meritocracy is Not Only False, It's Bad for You," can be found
Episode 50: Matthew 19:13-30
The rich young man man comes to Jesus. He's more sympathetic to the movement for a new society than we might think.
Episode 49: Divorce (again), Eunuchs, and Patriarchal Household Structures, Matthew 19:1-12
Jesus finally leaves Galilee, on his way to Jerusalem, and enters Judea. Pharisees ask him about divorce, and Jesus ends up talking about eunuchs. Good stuff!
Special Episode: Interview with Pastor Marcos Canales
This interview is focused on hearing the Gospel in today's context. I interview a local pastor of a bilingual Spanish-English congregation, Pastor Marcos Canales. Pastor Canales hears the Gospel as one who has lived the effects of colon...
Addendum to Episode 48
One of our listeners gives a brilliant modern-day analogy to help us understand and interpret "The Parable of the Tyrant King and the Unforgiving Servant."Also, Time magazine came out with an article on air conditioning, and one place i...
Episode 48: Parable of the Tyrant King and Unforgiving Slave, Matthew 18:21-35
The parable at the end of chapter 18 of Matthew is usually called "The Parable of the Unforgiving Slave" because it is understood to be about the behavior of one character in the parable. But a closer examination of the parable in its historica...
Episode 47: An Alternative Crimininal Justice System; Matthew 18:15-20
In this episode, I make the case that what normally has been understood as a passage about "church discipline" is actually about an alternative criminal justice system. The language used is language of ancient judicial proceedings in both Judea...
Episode 46: The Greatest in the New Society, Matthew 18:1-14
This episode starts a new section of Matthew, chapters 18-20, in which Jesus talks about the structure of the New Society, specifically how power, honor, and authority are distributed.
Special Episode: Ancient Palestine, Modern Israel, Matthew, Jesus, the Pharisees, and Us
The Gospel story has been used as a pretext for horrible persecution of Jewish people in the West. This persecution led to the modern state of Israel, perceived, for good reason, by many Jews as the only way to escape this persecution. The resu...
Episode 45: Interpretations, Moonstruck People, Temples, Drachmas, and Fish, Matthew 17:9-27
Fresh off the mountain of the transfiguration, Jesus counters the interpretation of the temple establishment, casts out a Roman demon, and cleverly undermines the authority of the temple system of the empire.