One of the great themes of The Religion Industry is the so-called “The Great Commission.” In the Christian component of The Religion Industry (hereafter, TGI), the claim of “The Great Commission” (hereafter, TGC) is attributed to The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 28, verses 19 and 20 (Matt. 28:19-20), and certain parallel passages (more on that later):
(KJV, aka: The Authorized Version, 1611) 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.(NIV, a popular modern translation) 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Context of “The Great Commission” of Matt. 28: Who is to “Therefore go…?”
The Gospel of Matthew is first in the modern order of the NT. It has a strongly Jewish context. The beginning of the Gospel is the genealogy of Jesus, documenting his lineage from Abraham (ca. 2000 B.C.) through King David (ca. 1000 B.C.) down to Joseph, the husband of Mary (“the Virgin Mary”) who, as the Gospel makes clear became the adopted–but was not biological–father of Jesus of Nazareth.
The final chapter of Matthew, Ch 28, covers the post-Resurrection period, specifically after the 11 Apostles left Jerusalem and the initial witness of the Resurrected Christ, to a certain mountain in Galilee, perhaps even the site of the famed Sermon on the Mount (Matt. Ch 5-7). (At such point in time there were 11 Apostles the traitor Judas Iscariot had committed suicide and his replacement as recorded in Acts Ch 1, more below, had not be identified). In Chs 2-27 we have the great story of the birth, teaching, miracles, claims, rejection, crucifixion, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
At the time and circumstance of Matt. 28:19-20, there had not been any published writing by His Disciples, who were witnesses of the words and works of Jesus. Jesus Himself left no permanent writing, only that which time erased of whatever He wrote in the sand regarding the charges against the woman caught in adultery. At issue, then, was documenting and transmitting the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. This was to be done only by “witnesses” (more on this below). Thus, the words of Jesus in the above Matt. 28:19-20 were addressed to “the 11,” namely:
(NIV) 16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore [namely, YOU Eleven, referencing back to addressed “the eleven disciples” of vs. 16] go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Now we mush address a critical issue of exegesis (discerning what the Bible’s text really means). Does the above reference to “the eleven disciples” mean literally, and only, those eleven, now all long dead (humanly speaking), or is such reference to a category of believers who have come to recognize Jesus as the Risen One, and their unique Savior, and fulfillment of all the Scripture? Let us hold that thought while we example parallel passages to Matt. 28:19-20.
Five “The Great Commission” Passages
Matt. 28:19-20 is generally taken to be the first of five “Great Commission” (command) texts. The remaining four are as follows (all from the NIV):
Mark 16 15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
Luke 24 44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” 45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
John 20 21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Acts 1 7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
(The above passages all have certain distinctions in emphasis, which differences are not our focus here; there is nothing contradictory in such distinctions but they may reflect only each recorder’s specific memory of one single command, or they may reflect multiple different occasions when the resurrected Jesus made such commands during the 40-some days prior to His ascension in Acts 1:8, or some combination of the two possibilities).
Who is the “You” in the Five “The Great Commission” Passages?
In Matt. 28, we saw above that the context was “the eleven disciples.” What about the other four TGC passages? See the “you” in each of the other four TGC passages (all in the NIV, where I have put [YOU} in brackets where the context makes that clear):
Mark 16 14 Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen 15 He said to them, “[YOU] Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.
Luke 24 33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” 35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread. 36 While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 37 They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. 38 He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” 40 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. 41 And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate it in their presence. 44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” 45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.
John 20 19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
Acts 1 1 In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “[YOU] Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
In Matt., Mark, and Acts, it is clear that the words commonly cited as TGC were given to the eleven apostles, also here call disciples. In John it is less clear but it simply says “the disciples.” But they were in a locked room, which was unlikely to hold a great many people, and the overall context of John 20 and 21 is about Jesus’s appearance to the eleven. In Luke there is a reference to “those with them” meaning with the eleven. The event recorded in Luke takes place in Jerusalem (Luke 24:33), not Galilee where Matt. 28 occurs. Further the passage makes clear reference of the term “witnesses” as in the phrase “you are witnesses of these things.” As we will discuss in a later post, “witness” has a very specific meaning in the NT, that is inconsistent with how the term is used commonly today.
What is the Significance of Being a “Witness?”
Does “The Great Commission” Occur in the Epistles?
Does “The Great Commission” Occur in the Address to the Seven Churches in the Book of Revelation?
Does the Term “The Great Commission” Occur in the Bible?