Matthew introduces and concludes the ministry of Jesus in Galilee. This article interprets the term “Galilee” to signal a key missiological theme in the Gospel of Matthew, namely that God accepts the rejected ones of the world and commissions them as God's change agents in the world. Galilee, with its open relations to the wider world, portrays the inclusive nature of Jesus' mission and of Matthew's Gospel. Through the term “Galilee,” Matthew transforms marginality from a curse to a blessing and demonstrates that mission from the margins has the potential to transform the world.
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