Wycliffe UK blog

Have you ever had this experience? You are in a small group Bible study, thinking intensely about a passage, and the person next to you makes a point that nearly knocks you off your chair. Where did that come from? How can they be thinking about this passage so differently from you? John Hamilton, who works for Wycliffe in Northern Ireland, shared this story about how differently people respond to some Bible passages.

When Des told Jenny, ‘We finished the last of Matthew today,’ she replied, ‘What about the first seventeen verses.’

Oh yes. Those uninteresting verses that told of Jesus’ ancestry back to Abraham. They had to be tackled before he had really finished the book.

Surprisingly, Sisia [his language helper] sailed through the long genealogy without a trace of boredom. He made no comment on the translation as he often did. But when he rose to go, he said with some deliberation, ‘There’s going to be an important meeting in Nameepi’s house tonight. I want you to come and bring what we’ve done today.’

That night, Des took the lantern and walked the short distance to Nameepi’s house, just above his own.

He was led immediately to a seat on the floor beside the fire. Sisia took command and spoke in his usual authoritarian voice.

‘I have asked Mata’a Des to come and read what we translated this morning. I can’t tell it to you. I want you to hear it for yourselves.’

Des and Jenny Oatridge with the Binumarien people

The room became extraordinarily still. Des was conscious that all eyes were focussed on him. He cleared his throat and began to read: ‘These are the ancestors of Jesus Messiah, a descendant of King David and of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac; Isaac was the father of Jacob; Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers; Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah; … ’

Des suddenly felt scared. He had a sense of being crushed. It was not only the pressure of bodies; it was the uncanny silence. It seemed that not a dog barked, not a baby cried, not a person released his breath.

He did not know if the list of names offended some ritual taboo about which he knew nothing. If so, and the people were angry that it was being so blatantly publicised, he was in an awkward position. There was no way of escape, hemmed in as he was. And with the atmosphere so charged, he felt he dared not ask a question. These people were so volatile; they could erupt in a fury so easily.

So he kept on reading. ‘Matthan was the father of Jacob; Jacob was the father of Joseph (who was the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus the Messiah). There are fourteen generations from Abraham to King David; and fourteen from King David’s time to the exile in Babylon; and fourteen from the exile to Christ.’

Des raised his eyes to look at those within a breath of his face—and saw, not anger, but incredulity. ‘Why didn’t you tell us all this before?’ Yaa’a demanded.

‘No-one bothers to write down the ancestors of spirit beings,’ Fofondai stated.

‘It’s only real people who record their genealogical table,’ A’aaso added.

‘Jesus must be a real person!’ someone else cried, his voice ringing with astonishment.

Then everyone seemed to be talking at once. ‘Fourteen generations, that’s two hands and a foot, from Abraham to King David … ’

‘And two more hands and a foot, to the time of the kalabus (the captivity) … ’

‘And another two hands and a foot till Jesus’ time … ’

‘That’s a very, very long time.’

‘This ancestry goes back further than ours.’

‘Yes, none of ours goes back two hands and a foot three times.’

‘Jesus must have been a real man on this earth then. He’s not just white man’s magic.’

Have a look at John’s blog for more information about Des and Jenny and the unedited account.

• Back to blog homepage.
• Go to main Wycliffe UK site.