The Bible and Beyond Podcast Episode

Unraveling the Blood Curse in the Gospel of Matthew

An Interview with Dr. Arthur Dewey

Dr. Arthur Dewey, photo by Greg Rust

Arthur Dewey explains how the “blood curse,” based on Jesus’s trial before Pilate, has been taken out of context and turned into a false basis for blaming Jews as a whole for the death of God. The “trial” in the Gospel of Matthew (which could not have taken place historically) was based on Mark’s original critique against the leaders of the Jews. This was another one of many squabbles among different Jewish factions.

Dr. Dewey is an award-winning and honors recipient Professor of Theology at Xavier University and has been a long-time chair of the Department of Theology. He is a specialist on the historical Jesus and the Gospels, and he has taught extensively on Paul and a number of extracanonical works. He is a scholar with great depth and experience in the world of early Christian texts. He is also a poet and becomes involved in places where the media gets wrapped up in religion. The topic of the blood curse is covered in detail in his book, Inventing the Passion (2017).