Migration was a normal part of human existence when Jesus walked up and down the land between Nazareth, Galilee, and Jerusalem. Technically, His family had migrated from Bethlehem to Nazareth, where he was raised. But before He even reached Nazareth as a young boy, He had to experience the life of an immigrant—in Egypt. By the Father's will Jesus had to taste the diaspora experience. And I am sure that experience stayed with Him for a long time, just like it does for many of us migrants today.
Nazareth and the surrounding villages had many migrants (known as Gentiles), probably more in number than the Jews in the region. This is why Matthew translates Isaiah’s “Galilee of the nations” (Isaiah 9:1-2) to Galilee of the Gentiles (Matthew 4:14-16). Augustus colonized Galilee and Judea when Jesus was a young boy, and in those early decades of the Roman Empire the presence of the imperial forces was visible throughout the land. There is no doubt Jesus had Roman soldiers in mind when he told his followers to go the extra mile (Matthew 5:41). In less than thirty years the land was colonized enough for the people to reject their Messiah and choose Caesar—“We have no king but Caesar!” (John. 19:15).
Yet, it was in this context, at the margins of a newly colonized land, that Jesus trained his followers to “make disciples of all nations.” The good news of the Jewish Messiah sounded like rebellion and treason to the imperial machinery. He came to do the dangerous work of setting captives free, and at that time the captives were those needing to be freed from Roman oppression. He was never on the side of the empire. His entire ministry was to subvert Caesar’s empire with God’s kingdom. As imperial Rome did with many other messianic figures, it ensured He was brutally stopped. Little did they know it would help to spread His spiritual influence in the process.
In the context of empire, making disciples of all nations was never really about sending out well-funded emissaries from the centers of imperial power. With the exception of a few senior Apostles, it was the work of peasant migrant workers, traders, seafarers, and others, moving from one part of the empire to another and beyond. All the while they would share with their colleagues and neighbors the good news, that the shalom-ful Jewish messiah was God, not the violent ruler(s) of the empire.
It is for this reason that migration is central to the work of glorifying Jesus among the nations. Global missions is not just a role for professionals with access to wealth (e.g. donation funding). Migrants from poor countries also play an important role in taking the good news from one place to another. Is it not time for us all to rethink the entire adventure?
Originally published on Harvey Kwiyani's Substack, Global Witness Globally Reimagined. Republished with permission.
Dr Harvey Kwiyani is a Malawian missiologist and theologian who has lived, worked and studied in Europe and North America for the past 20 years. He has researched African Christianity and African theology for his PhD, and taught African theology at Liverpool Hope University. Harvey is also founder and executive director of Missio Africanus, a mission organization established in 2014 as a learning community focused on releasing the missional potential of African and other minority ethnic Christians living in the UK. More recently he became African Christianity Programme Lead for CMS (UK) Pioneer Mission Training.
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