Final Installment on What the Great Commission REALLY Means!

In our study so far of the Great Commission, we’ve learned that it REALLY means:

Disciple all the peoples of the world as you are going about your normal daily routine – baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

This brings us to the third participle: TEACHING. “Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”

Ah yes, teaching! This means that we must know something about (1) how people learn (after all, a disciple is a learner!), and (2) how to facilitate their learning. So my next big topics will explore how people learn, and then how we might become better disciplers (teachers!).

So the commission is to disciple all peoples by going, baptizing, and teaching! What a frightening task – but we need not fear, because the Great Commission concludes with Jesus’ promise, “I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.” No fear. Jesus is with us. J

To cap off this initial series of posts, you might want to watch a sparkling video of me talking about the Great Commission. Click here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4xFOo8HHkKJRVhwR1NGY0pWYXc/edit?usp=sharing

Part 4 of What the Great Commission REALLY Means

Let’s recap the points we’ve made so far:

1.      As you are going about your normal daily business,

2.      Disciple

3.      Everyone!

I guess I’m a stickler for grammar. If we were to diagram Matt 28:19-20, the main part of the Great Commission is….

Disciple all the peoples of the world!

….and the way to do this is indicated by three participles:

1.      Going

2.      Baptizing

3.      Teaching

I’ve already ridden the “Going” horse, so today let's talk about “Baptizing.”

The grammatical form of “baptizing” is exactly the same as “going.” It’s a participle, indicating ongoing action. It’s not a command, “Baptize!” It’s just a statement of fact, “As you are going, disciple all the peoples, baptizing them.”

But notice that we aren’t just baptizing them – we’re not just immersing them in water! We are baptizing disciples into something! – the Greek preposition εις (eis) implies motion: moving from one place to another, into a new place, into a new status. And it indicates possession or ownership: When a disciple is baptized, they are declaring to the world that they have moved “into God,” and no longer belong to themselves, they belong to God! Wow – what a concept!

And note well the Trinitarian Formula on the lips of Jesus. He’s not content just to say “into God.” No! He specifies the Holy Trinity: “into to the name of Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (literal translation)! This is huge.

And it’s enough for today. More next week . . . . J

What the Great Commission REALLY Means: Part 3!

Last week I shared my second discipling insight: We – the people of God – are commanded by our Lord to disciple others. Today we take a look at who those “others” are.

The standard translation of Matt 28:19 is “disciple all nations.” But what does that mean?

The word translated “nations” is εθνη (ethnē). It’s a plural noun that can be translated nations, multitudes, people, etc. Specifically in Jesus’ context, it referred to non-Jews (for lots of detail, see https://www.missionfrontiers.org/issue/article/the-meaning-of-ethne-in-matthew-2819).

We get our English word “ethnic” from ethnē. And so I (not a Greek scholar!) like to translate it, “disciple all the peoples (or ethnicities) of the world.”

You see, the modern concept of nation-state (like Germany or China or the United States) didn’t exist in the first century. And so there’s no way that Jesus meant “all nations” in the sense that you and I understand “nations.” There was no Italy, or Thailand, or Canada, or Mexico; not in the sense that we know! So I’m convinced that what Jesus meant was:

“Disciple all the peoples of the world!”

Every tribe and tongue and culture and family and ethnic group.

Every one of ‘em!

Period.

Second New Insight on What the Great Commission Really Means

Last week I wrote about the first word in the Great Commission, “Going.” The big idea was that we are not commanded to go. Going is assumed. As we are going, we are to do something!

And that something is - - - Disciple!

It’s a verb. It’s in the imperative, so it’s a command (that’s why I used the exclamation point)!

Jesus said, “As you are going, disciple!”

Digging deeper: This verb is second person plural. Best translated:

You (plural) disciple!

You the group disciple!

Y’all disciple!

Yous guys disciple!
(When I was a kid growing up in Cleveland, we usually addressed a group as “Yous guys. J Spell check doesn’t like "Yous" too much, but yous get the point!)

Fair enough.

But what does it mean to “disciple?” It means to acquire a custom or habit; to learn or be taught by practice or exposure to something.

It’s from the Greek noun μαθητής (mathetes), “one who learns,” and means a student or follower. As used in the New Testament, the English “disciple” reflects the Greek sense of someone who adheres to the teachings of a particular teacher or school of thought (John 9:28; cf. Matt. 22:16).

The followers of John the Baptist are identified as his disciples (e.g., Mark 2:18; John 1:35, 37). To a degree, disciples are similar to the rabbinical talmîḏîm (students), who learned the Old Testament from a particular teacher.[1]

Our word “discipline” comes from the same Greek root. You can see it: disciple – discipline. You discipline yourself to learn something new, like how to throw a curve or how to play piano. So to disciple someone means to help them learn a discipline; in this case, the discipline of following Christ – with all that entails.

Don’t miss the connection between discipling and teaching. To disciple someone means to help them learn. A disciple is a learner, and a discipler is a teacher. Jesus discipled; Jesus was the Master Teacher. So, to disciple means to teach (remember this, because we will return to it in a few weeks!).

And note this well: the Greek command “Disciple!” (μαθητευσατε [matheteusate]) does not say to make anything. It is not translated, “make disciples;” it’s translated, Disciple! 

Therefore a disciple is not something to be made, like a batch of cookies. This is not a cookbook commission (combine these ingredients, bake 12 minutes, and voila! – a finished product pops out!). And ever since one of my students pointed this out in class, I have been disciplining myself never to say, “Make disciples.” Because a disciple is not something you or I can make. Only God can make a disciple; and Jesus never told us to “make” disciples!

On the other hand, “disciple” (the verb) is something we can do – and must do. Jesus commanded it!

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[1] Allen C. Myers, The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1987), 285.

New Insights on What the Great Commission Really Means

After twenty centuries, you’d think we would have gotten this straight. But I’ve been in the church for 48 years – and in the ministry for 43 – and have yet to hear even one preacher or teacher explain what the Great Commission really means.

Hear me out.

The very first word of the Great Commission is πορευθεντες (poreuthentes), which is a participle, properly translated “going forth,” or “as you are going,” or even “as you are going about your normal daily routine.”

A participle is an –ing word, like walking, singing, or reading. It is not a command. Jesus is not saying “Go,” He is saying, “As you are going.”

So let’s get this straight – the commission is not to go; the commission is to do something else in the context of our normal comings and goings.

In all my study, I have never found an English translation that accurately renders πορευθεντες, the first word of the Great Commission. However, one of my students did find two English translations that do it right:

1. Young's Literal Translation reads, “Having gone, then, disciple all the nations, (baptizing them—to the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all, whatever I did command you,) and lo, I am with you all the days—till the full end of the age.” (emphasis added)

2. The International Standard Version Ed.2 is, “Therefore, as you go, disciple all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you every day until the end of the age.” (emphasis added)

OK, so Young takes the present participle (going) and makes it a past participle (having gone); and the ISV hides the participle altogether, but both accurately capture the intent of the participle. Obviously, a more literal rendering would be “as you are going,” but at least these two translations avoid the totally wrong command, "Go." And that's a good thing.

So this is my first insight on "What the Great Commission Really Means." It is not a command to go anywhere. Too many Christians have assumed that since they can't go somewhere like the mission field, that it doesn't apply to them. WRONG! The Great Commission applies to all believers -- AS YOU ARE GOING ABOUT YOUR NORMAL DAILY ROUTINE . . . 

Tune in next week for Insight #2. 

:-)