My bf jokes about beating me?

we live in different towns and he is pretty caring, around 4 and a half yrs older than me, a guy who would do anything for me but what alarms me are his jokes about "baby u need a beating" and "I will give u the beating of your lifetime". are these just jokes or could it turn out into something else later. Plus he is really supportive but too possessive, when I once told him about a guys birthday who had hared me he said gudnite and nest morining he said sorry and told me it badly enraged him when I took that guys name