What does it take to end racism? It starts with Jesus.
The issue of race has rarely been easy for God’s people. Jesus’ friend Peter struggled to love Gentiles as much as he loved Jews. America’s Founding Fathers didn’t practice “all men are created equal.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lamented how church was the most segregated hour in America.
Before you say, “I’m not racist”—remember, it’s not a black-and-white issue. Racism, like any sin, is on a spectrum that stretches from pure godlessness to absolute holiness.
The question isn’t, “Am I racist like Hitler?” Instead, it’s, “How racist am I? How often do I prejudge people from other ethnic backgrounds? When do I show favoritism based on skin color or accent?”
As Christians grappling with racism, it starts by admitting we’re not like Jesus yet, which allows us to identify our sins, repent, find forgiveness at the cross, and make better choices. We may not be in control of every public policy, social media post, or parent’s belief, but we are, with God’s help, in control of how we treat one another.
To give the topic of race some spiritual footing, let’s review the genealogy of Jesus.
Crack open your Bible and read Matthew 1:1-16. You’ll find a long list of names you probably don’t know and definitely can’t pronounce. What do they reveal to us about Jesus’ race? How much melanin was in the man who died and rose for our salvation? Let’s find out.
Abraham was from Ur (modern Iraq), but God called him to Canaan (modern Israel). His son Isaac was born in Israel and married Rebekah, from Syria. After drama with Jacob’s sons, Jesus’ ancestors immigrated to Egypt for 450 years before returning to Israel. There, Boaz met a Moabite woman named Ruth, from modern Jordan.
Starting with King David, there’s a lineage of kings in southern Israel from 1000 to 600 B.C. Their wives are listed in other parts of the Bible; one is from Tyre (modern Lebanon). King Solomon famously married foreign women and had many mixed-race children.
In 722 B.C., the Assyrians forced the Jews into exile and replaced them with people from Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Syria. These cultures mixed and formed the Samaritan culture.
In 586 B.C., the Babylonians forced the remaining Jews into exile to Abraham’s land, where they spent seventy years surrounded by Iraqi neighbors. Then they came back to the Promised Land.
We don’t know much about the names that cover the time between the Old and New Testaments, but we do know the history. After the Babylonians came the Persians from Iran and the Greeks from Greece. Then the Egyptian Ptolemies fought the Syrian Seleucids until the Jewish Hasmoneans fought back. Finally, the Italian Romans showed up and a baby was born in Bethlehem—Jesus, the Messiah.
Put all those people and cultures together, and what do you have? A multiracial Messiah. A divine Son with dark skin. Jesus’ people are Iraqi, Iranian, Syrian, Jordanian, Egyptian, Turkish, Lebanese, and mostly immigrants.
If you think I’m reading too much into this genealogy to promote a politically correct view of race, know this—Matthew comes back to diversity constantly.
In chapter 2, the wise men from Iran worship Jesus. In chapter 5, Jesus tells his disciples they are the light of the world. In chapter 8, Jesus raves about the faith of an Italian soldier. In chapter 15, Jesus tells a Canaanite woman, “You have great faith!” In chapter 28, just after he rises from the grave, Jesus gives this mission to his Jewish friends: “Go and make disciples of all nations.”
Maybe your roots don’t reach back to Abraham. But Jesus told his friends to go into the world, because his love is for the world. Jesus wants your nation, your tribe, your people to know his love and forgiveness!
Our prejudiced world might prejudge you, but Jesus was judged for you.
Jesus died and rose so that you would never be inferior or segregated to the back rows of eternity. Jesus gave his life so there would be no shame in being Black, no guilt in being White. Jesus told his friends to go into the world because his love is for the world.
And that’s what Christians do today. We tell the world the good news because the good news is for the world. We love and serve and open our arms because the arms of Jesus are open to the world. We love the nations because our Savior is from the nations.
It’s not easy. Sin makes us love what’s familiar and avoid what’s uncomfortable. But Jesus has overcome sin. God has worked miracles throughout history. And God can work miracles again.
Excerpt taken from Taboo: Topics Christians Should Be Talking About but Don’t by Mike Novotny (© 2024 Time of Grace Ministry).
