Mission in Matthew
Roots of Redemption: Mission in Matthew’s Genealogy of Jesus
Ever since I decided to join the crazy world of mission, I haven’t been able to read the Bible the same way. It’s hard not to see the thread of God’s plan to redeem every tribe and nation throughout His Word.
I love how the Bible crackles with the excitement and anticipation of people across the world being brought into God’s family.
This applies to some of the most dry passages. This includes the beginning of Matthew 1.
Genealogies may not seem important. Often we’re not particularly interested in them.
Be honest. You’ve skipped this section in your Bible readings. Or you’ve just given them a glance. So and so was the father of so and so. But hidden in these names is the whisper of a divine promise.
Previously in the Bible
When you’re watching a series on TV, you’ll often get the “Previously on…” section. This is especially the case if it’s a new season, and the last season ended in a cliffhanger.
It will show a highlight reel of the most crucial and exciting moments from previous episodes. It will also pick out the moments that are crucial to understand what will happen next.
This is what this genealogy is. It is the “Previously in the Bible” highlight reel that reminds us of God’s promises. The last season—the Old Testament—had a lot of loose threads that this new season was going to tie up. And the last episode was a couple of hundred years ago. So, this highlight reel was much needed.
Let’s have a little look at some of these highlights.
Abraham
It starts with Abraham. We’ve all probably heard of him. He’s the one who went around saying his wife was his sister and then was about to murder his son on a mountain. It’s crazy stuff. We’re often just a bit numb to how gripping the stories are due to years of fuzzy-felt Sunday school stories.
But that’s not why he’s mentioned. It’s not so you can just reminisce and say, “Oh, good ole Abraham…”
The reason he’s mentioned is not because of what he did. Rather, he’s mentioned because of what God did for him.
When God called Abraham (then called Abram), he told him this:
“I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
(Genesis 15: 2–3)
At the end of this promise, God says that all peoples on earth will be blessed because of those who come from Abraham. God’s promise in the very beginning was far-reaching and for everyone.
God gave Abraham another promise:
No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God. (Genesis 17: 5–8, NIV)
Notice that Abraham will be called the father of many nations. The nation has become nations! The rule of Abraham’s descendants is growing.
Of course, we know that this promise came true. Jews, Christians and Muslims all call Abraham their spiritual (and for many—literal) forefather. So, God’s promise checks out on this one.
However, this is also a hint of God’s mission mentioned in his call. Abraham’s spiritual children will go on to influence many nations and these nations will become God’s.
We’re only one name in and the genealogy is already crackling with the excitement of missions.
Jacob
Jacob receives a similar promise to his granddad’s:
Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. (Genesis 28:14, NIV)
Currently, there are about 2.3 billion Christians. There are Christians in Western Sahara, East Timor, North Korea and South Africa. There are descendants of Jacob everywhere. They are so numerous, they are like the dust of the earth.
God’s promise of missions made those thousands of years ago is coming true.
Judah
Judah will have a ruler come from his descendants, and the nations will obey him (Genesis 49:10). Again, it talks about nations. God’s promises are not just for Israel but for the whole world.
There are very few nations left where there is not a Christian there somewhere. The nations have people obedient to God.
David
There are many promises to David that point to missions. But a key one is this.
When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. (2 Samuel 7:12–13, NIV)
Global Mission is the fulfilment of this promise: God’s kingdom being established across the world. This kingdom will not die and will cover the globe.
So far, the kingdom that Christ ushered in has lasted just short of 2,000 years. It continues to grow across the world.
Mothers of Mission
There are only a few women mentioned in the genealogy. Why were Sarah, Rebecca, Leah, and all the other women forgotten about? It’s because the women mentioned remind us of something: God’s history always included the messy moments and the nations.
Tamar dressed up as a prostitute and seduced her father-in-law. She was probably a Canaanite, but this was not clear.
Rahab was another prostitute and she was a foreigner. She, however, became the great-great-grandmother of the King of Israel. Ruth, more modest than her mother-in-law, was also a foreigner.
Bathsheba was also mentioned as Uriah’s wife, to remind us of the whole awkward wife-stealing and murder part of David’s life.
But why include them? These are the sordid stories that we would ignore. And it would have been easy to brush them under the carpet. If Matthew just mentioned the men, these moments could all be forgotten about.
These women all remind us that God chooses the unlikely and the foreigners. These are the mothers who revealed God’s missional plan.
Matthew’s Messiah
Matthew didn’t just want to include the genealogy because he had an Ancestry.com subscription he wanted to make the most of. It was to make some things abundantly clear:
- God’s promises are about to be fulfilled.
- These promises include the nations.
- They are to be fulfilled in the figure of Jesus.
And that is an exciting start! What’s most exciting is that as a missionary, I get to see firsthand these promises coming true.
Justin Marsh is a missionary who has served in Asia for over six years. He is the country leader of a team of missionaries and has just completed an MA that looks at missional practice. Whilst his team works within a range of contexts across the country, Justin’s focus is the Muslim minority groups. He is the owner of the publication THE CO-MISSION.
