Matthew 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit because the kingdom of the heavens is of them." The first thing Jesus teaches in the book of Matthew is that the poor in spirit are blessed. Over the next few episodes I'll present an exegetical interpretation of the first eight "beatitudes" or "makarisms" according to Matthew. Whilst there are plenty of …

Just a 5-minute update on some minor changes to the podcast, namely replacing Critical Study of Matthew and Masculinity with Matthean ExegesisBy Dr Timothy Lewis

Matt 4:23-5:2 and 7:28-29 The Frame for the Sermon on the Mount What is "not like the scribes"?By Dr Timothy Lewis

The first four to join Jesus on a mission to ... do what, exactly? To "catch people"? Is it a manly thing? Peter, Andrew, James (Jacob), and John accept the invitation to become people catchers. Why? Matt 4:18–22By Dr Timothy Lewis

Matt 4:12–17 And so it begins. Jesus begins his ministry in the North. Why?By Dr Timothy Lewis

Matt 4:1–11 Jesus refuses to take the easy way outBy Dr Timothy Lewis

After Jesus is baptized, God is pleased . . . with what exactly? (Matt 3:16–17)By Dr Timothy Lewis

Matt 3:13–15 John wants Jesus to take over the ministry and does not want to baptize Jesus. Jesus has different plans.By Dr Timothy Lewis

John the Baptist warns of coming wrath/judgement Does this fit Matthew's portrayal of Jesus?By Dr Timothy Lewis

Episode 19 (Matt 3:1–6) Noting two points: 1. Validating the Outlier Perspective of John the Cleanser (I say "outsider" but "outlier" is probably a more accurate term; 2. Cataloging John's Various Credentials.By Dr Timothy Lewis

Part 1 of Matthew chapter 3John the Baptist calls for national repentanceResponse is massiveBy Dr Timothy Lewis

Why poetics of Matthew research is not quite masculinity studies. Should I remove the term "masculinity" from the name of the podcast? This question is once more on my mind since I have recently received my first book review by Sébastien Doane.By Dr Timothy Lewis

Matthew 2:19–23. Jesus grows up in a small town (Nazareth) in Galilee, at a safe distance from Jerusalem. Why?By Dr Timothy Lewis

Matthew 2:16–18 Herod kills the children. "Rachel" weeps for her children.By Dr Timothy Lewis

In the middle of the night, Joseph hides the child and the child's mother in Egypt. Verses 13–15 of Matthew chapter 2.By Dr Timothy Lewis

Matthew 2:7–12 The Magi do not follow all of Herod's instructions Why are they warned in a dream?By Dr Timothy Lewis

The first six verses of Matthew 2. Why does it say "and all Jerusalem with him" was troubled?By Dr Timothy Lewis

In this episode I offer some conclusions for Matthew chapter 1 as I begin to prepare to move on to study other chapters. In the last 9 minutes I read from the Epilogue of my forthcoming book looking at how Matthew 28 corresponds to Matthew 1.By Dr Timothy Lewis

Finally in this episode I get to answer the question: Why does the genealogy in Matthew chapter one refer to five stories of how particular heirs were produced in a particular way by particular patriarchs from particular mothers ...? So why five? Why five stories? Is there some pattern? Last time in episode nine I compared the first story with the …

PG Contains mild adult themes and sexual references. This episode is about the parallel story to how Joseph almost does not become known as the father of Jesus because he thought it would not be right for him to claim to be the father of Mary's child nor pursue marital relations with Mary. There's actually a parallel story that for some reason we h…

This episode is about what connects the first unit and the second unit in what we usually call Matthew chapter one, as if they might be intended to function together as a single, whole as a single unit? It's very easy to treat them separately as two distinct literary units. But how are they meant to be connected together as a single unit? And what …

This is the second part of episode 7 which completes the structural analysis of Matt 1:18-25 by examining the centerpiece of the literary unit, namely verse 22. What is verse 22 referring to when it says "this whole thing happened..." if it has not yet happened (not yet been narrated)? The solution turns out to be pretty obvious.…

This episode is about the seemingly vague heading at the beginning of the story unit in verses 18 to 25 of Matthew chapter 1, which says: "The Jesus Messiah's progeneration was this way." What is it saying..? What was this way..? What actually ends up being narrated in the story unit is presumably what the heading is trying to introduce. It might a…