The Gospel of Matthew: A Poetic Analysis

By J. Clontz

The Gospel of Matthew contains poems by Jesus, John the Baptist, the Angel of the Lord, as well as other individuals in the Gospel. Jesus creates several poems in the Gospel of Matthew. Chief among these poems is the Lord's Prayer. The Lord's Prayer incorporates an amazing series of rhymes based on the Hebrew word for "Forgive." The verses immediately before and after the Lord's Prayer contain a series of rhymes based on the Hebrew word for "Reward." The entire poetic structure is composed of three stanzas. The first and last stanzas utilize a rhyming wordplay for "Reward" that brackets the rhyming wordplay in the middle stanza for "Forgive." The transitions in rhyme match the transitions in conceptualization in the passage.Jesus also creates a poem using performance art in the passage concerning the fig tree in Matthew 21:19. The Hebrew word for fig tree is spelled the same as the Hebrew word used in Judges 14:4 for "occasion [ground of quarrel]." Jesus uses performance art to create an implied wordplay involving the double entendre for "fig tree/occasion [ground of quarrel]." Jesus' actions obviously depict a quarrel with the fig tree yet the word "Quarrel" never appears in the verse. On a literary and media basis this is the highest form of literary connection possible where the poet creates portions of the poem through their actions and not only by their words. This passage is one of the oldest historical examples of performance poetry. John the Baptist creates a poem during his dialogue with the Pharisees in Matthew 3:7-9. His poem is comprises of three rhyming couplets that form an AABCBC rhyme scheme. The first rhyming couplet is based on the Hebrew word for "Pharisee" and the Hebrew term for "Bearing Fruit." This rhyming couplet also appears in several passages in the Gospel of Matthew as part of Jesus' dialogue with the Pharisees. The second couplet utilizes wordplay between Hebraic terms for "God" and "Raise Up." This particular wordplay reappears near the end of the Gospel of Matthew as part of the narrative for the resurrection. Thus this rhyming couplet from John the Baptist's dialogue with the Pharisees foreshadows Jesus' resurrection. The third couplet employs a wordplay between the Hebrew words for "Son" and "Stone." This is the most prevalent wordplay in the Gospel of Matthew and appears in many passages including The Temptation, The Sermon on the Mount, The Confession of Peter, The Olivet Discourse, and The Passion. The Angel of the Lord creates a portion of a poem concerning The Nativity in Matthew 1:18-25. The angel contributes three rhyming couplets. The first couplet is a wordplay on the Hebrew words for "Conceived" and "Holy Spirit." The second couplet is the well known Hebrew rhyme between "Jesus" and "Save." This couplet reappears during the crucifixion where the rhyme adds dramatic tension to the events at the cross. The third couplet is between the Hebrew words for "People" and "Sins." This particular rhyme is notable since it expands the rhyme from the Old Testament passage from Isaiah that is quoted immediately afterwards which includes the words "Virgin," "Immanuel," and "God With Us."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1521440050
• ISBN13: 9781521440056
• Release Date: June 2017
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 125 Pages
• Weight: 0.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.3" x 6.0"