During my study of Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus, I came across a comment that piqued my interest.
“When Matthew cites these four women, he is probably reminding his readers that three ancestors of King David and the mother of King Solomon were Gentiles. The Bible that accepted David’s mixed race also implied it for the messianic King; Matthew thus declares that the Gentiles were never an afterthought in God’s plan, but had been part of his work in history from the beginning. One who traces Matthew’s treatment of Gentiles through the Gospel, from the Magi who sought Jesus in chapter 2 through the concluding commission to disciple the nations in 28:19, will understand Matthew’s point in emphasizing this. Matthew exhorts his readers that as much as Jesus is connected with the heritage of Israel, he is for all peoples as well, and his disciples have a responsibility to let everyone know about him.”1
After reading that comment, I wondered if Matthew’s gospel was focused on and written primarily to Gentiles. But is that the case? A quick look at the entire gospel will show whether this is true or not. To find the answer, we will need to do a quick scan of the whole book.
- What does it say?
- What does it mean?
It is interesting that Matthew begins and ends with mentions of Gentile people. While he is not primarily focused on the Gentiles, you can see that they are mentioned several times—especially in contrast with the Jewish people’s unbelief.
The Jewish people had lost their focus.
The Jewish people were proud of their heritage (as long as you didn’t dig too deep). They considered themselves to be God’s special people. But there were many who had turned away from the Lord. The religious leaders refused to repent of their sins. Many were involved in sin and needed to repent. Others refused to listen to Jesus and rejected His message. While they should have been the salt of the earth and the light of the world, they had lost their focus. They thought they were special because of their ethnicity instead of their obedience to God.
The Gentiles were more willing to listen.
It is interesting to see the response of the various Gentile people in Matthew’s gospel. Rahab and Ruth were more godly than some who were Jewish. The wise men were closer to the Lord than Herod and the scribes. The centurion and Canaanite woman had more faith than Jewish people. And the Roman soldiers who had mocked Jesus later believed Him to be God’s Son. Compared to the Jewish people, the Gentiles in this book were more willing to listen to what Jesus said than the Jews.
All nations need to believe in Jesus.
Throughout the genealogy and the book, there is a clear message. All people need to listen, believe, and respond correctly to God’s message. The religious leaders needed to repent and return to the Lord. The tax collectors and sinners needed to repent and return to the Lord. But so did the Gentile people. As they heard the good news about Jesus, they needed to repent of their sins and believe in Jesus. This is why Jesus sent the disciples to disciple all nations. The sinfulness of man is not limited to one locality; it is in all of us. So, there is a need to preach to all people. - How does it apply?
Your response is more important than your ethnicity.
Some of the Jewish people were proud about their ethnicity. But their response to Jesus showed that their ethnicity didn’t matter so much as their faith in Him. The same is true of each of us. While we do live in a country that is known for Christianity (in the past), we are no better than the diol worshiping heathen in far off lands. You weren’t picked by God because of your parents or the country in which you live. He saved you because of His mercy. So, don’t take pride in your ethnicity. Instead, take pride in the God who saved you.
Your focus should be on the Lord.
One of the things that described the Jewish people of Jesus’ day was a lack of focus on the Lord. While there were a number of godly people like Joseph, Mary, Simeon, and Anna. Many of the Jewish people had lost their focus on the Lord. The hypocrisy and rules of the Pharisees had caused many to become compliant hypocrites instead of godly believers. Be careful that you don’t become like them. Get back to a right focus. Repent and get back to delighting in the Lord, enjoying your Bible study, and obedience to what you know God desires.
Your outreach should be to all people.
While Jesus’ primary focus was on the Jewish people (for good reason), He later opened the door for ministry to all people. He had sent the disciples only to Jewish cities, but after the resurrection, He sent them to disciples all nations. This is because God cares about all people. Once your focus is restored, think about reaching all people. This may cause you to talk to people that are quite different than you. You may even feel uncomfortable about it. But this is what God has called us to do. Disciples all nations not just those you are comfortable with.
Conclusion
At the beginning of the message, I wanted to see if the Gospel of Matthew was primarily focused on or written to Gentiles. After scanning the book, I think our answer is clear. While there are several mentions of Gentile people in the book, Matthew was primarily focused on the Jewish people. However, the many mentions of Gentile people and the final call to disciple all nations reminds us that God was also concerned with Gentile people. That is a good lesson for us as we seek to reach all people with the gospel. God loved the world and His salvation is available to all who will believe.
Bibliography
Keener, Craig, A Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999, pp. 80-81.
Footnotes
- Keener, Craig 80-81. ↩︎