The following videos introduce the Gospel of Matthew. We will use narrative criticism to examine what the shape of the infancy narrative and the larger gospel tells us about Matthew's pastoral concerns and theological themes, and the film on Roman imperial theology will help us to appreciate some of the social context within which Matthew is framing the gospel of Jesus. We will also practice our second critical method, redaction criticism, seeing how Matthew changed his source gospel Mark, as another way to identify his pastoral concerns and theological themes. The four numbered videos are required viewing; please watch them before our fifth class. Below the videos, you will find some optional videos and links.
Below the videos, you will find a video introducing Exercise 6 and the ATLA Religion+ Database. This will be helpful for you as you prepare the topic statement for your exegetical research paper for class on April 27. There are also some optional videos.
Use the links above right to access pdf files of the slides shown in the videos. Two formats are available: 1 slide per page and three slides per page. Both versions have slides for all four required videos.
The videos below are thumbnails; to enlarge the view, click the play button and select at the bottom of the frame either "YouTube" (to watch the video on YouTube, which in some cases will be clearer) or the full-screen icon ().
1
Matthew's Infancy Narrative
This video introduces infancy narratives, and then approaches our earliest example, Matthew's infancy narrative, as a kind of overture to the major themes of Matthew's gospel. We will use narrative criticism to identify motifs and allusions that Matthew repeats across the genealogy and five episodes of this opening narrative, so that we are primed to notice them as we continue reading the gospel.
22.53
2
The Narrative Structure of Matthew's Gospel
This video surveys the structure of the entire gospel of Matthew, with a special focus on the five narrative blocks in the body of the work: how they are structured, how they advance the plot, and what they tell us about Matthew's themes or interests.
22.42
3
Roman Imperial Theology
This video introduces ways in which politics and theology reinforced each other in the Roman imperial world. It describes the particular incentive that the founder of the initial Julio-Claudian imperial dynasty, Octavian, had in presenting himself as an agent of the gods, and surveys some techniques for how he did this. The video also touches on the imperial theology of the second major imperial dynasty, the Flavian dynasty, in power at the time of the gospels' composition.
26.33
4
How Matthew Edits Mark
This video shifts from narrative criticism to redaction criticism, describing the method and applying it to some passages in the first half of Matthew's gospel. It draws out the themes visible in this editorial activity, and compares them to those we discerned in the infancy narrative.
21.03
Introduction to Exercise
for Week 6 (May 4)
Using the ATLA Religion Database - This video shows you how to use the electronic database ATLA Religion + to expand your working bibliography for your exegetical research paper.
11.27
Optional Videos
Manuscript Evidence for Matthew - This video introduces the manuscript evidence for the Gospel of Matthew, with an emphasis on our earliest manuscripts.
3.07
Introducing Matthew: The Context and Construction of the Gospel - This video was recorded as a part of Catholic Theological Union's 2014 Spring Lecture series, "The Gospel According to Matthew," presented by biblical scholar Rev. Donald P. Senior, CP.
1.08.11
Further Reading on Religion & Empire
Angami, Zhodi. Tribals, Empire and God: A Tribal Reading of the Birth of Jesus in Matthew's Gospel. New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2017.
Carter, Warren. "Jesus’ Healing Stories: Imperial Critique and Eschatological Anticipations in Matthew’s Gospel." Currents in Theology and Mission 37:6 (2010) 488-96.
Segovia, Fernando F. Decolonizing Biblical Studies: A View from the Margins. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis, 2000.
--------. "Postcolonial Criticism and the Gospel of Matthew." In Methods for Matthew (ed. Mark Allan Powell; Methods in Biblical Interpretation; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009) 194-237.
The following videos introduce the Gospel of Matthew. We will use narrative criticism to examine what the shape of the infancy narrative and the larger gospel tells us about Matthew's pastoral concerns and theological themes, and the film on Roman imperial theology will help us to appreciate some of the social context within which Matthew is framing the gospel of Jesus. We will also practice our second critical method, redaction criticism, seeing how Matthew changed his source gospel Mark, as another way to identify his pastoral concerns and theological themes. The four numbered videos are required viewing; please watch them before our fifth class. Below the videos, you will find some optional videos and links. 
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