The Great Commission I
What, exactly, does the Great Commission demand of us?
The Great Commission simply requires that we preach the Gospel and make disciples as we are about our daily tasks. These requirements are accomplished through Baptism in the Triune Name and teaching obedience to all the commands of Christ.
“Go ye
therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 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.”[i]
“And he said
unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every
creature. He that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”[ii]
At the root of our puzzle
is a pesky thing called a participle. A
participle is a verbal adjective. We
frequently form one in English just by adding –ing[iii]
or –er[iv]
or other ending to a verb.[v] Jesus removes an “unclean spirit” from a
Gadarene man who is afterward called “the demon possessing one.” We make the participle into a noun, and call
him “the demoniac.”[vi] This is eventually changed to “the formerly
demon possessing one,” “the former demoniac.”
Today this man is still commonly known as the Gadarene Demoniac, or in
Matthew as the Gergesene Demoniacs.[vii] The participle is too cumbersome in English,
so we simply make the participle into a noun, and call him a Demoniac. Let’s face it, participles just don’t get a
fair chance in the English language, and we are certainly not accustomed to
using them the way Greeks do. But, to be
fair, English is closer to the Greek custom than many other languages.[viii]
Here’s another
example. “Jesus speaking, said, ‘....’
” That’s an ugly expression in
English. Why didn’t Matthew just write,
“Jesus said, ‘....’ ” That would have
been so much simpler and better.[ix] But that Greek participle is loaded, and it
indicates the background circumstance for the quotation. In English, we might say something like this,
“While Jesus was delivering the speech known as the Sermon on the Mount, one of
the things He said was, ‘....’ ”[x] The Greek participle tells us that there is a
whole background activity going on, a discourse of which the quote is only a
small but critical point, well worth singling out for our attention.[xi] This is technically known as a participle of
attendant circumstance, but it is as scarce as hen’s teeth in English. We might even say that English hates
participles of attendant circumstance and doesn’t handle them very well. But in Greek, we might find several sentences
in a row with one of these rascals in every one of them. Eew!
We need two last
examples. Participles often show: a.
instrument or means, and b. mode or manner. The two ideas are closely related and we’re
going to compare them. “She brought them
much gain by soothsaying” expresses instrument or means. Soothsaying is the means by which the gain is
made; it is an instrument that the girl uses, no matter that she doesn’t
control it.[xii] “John the Baptist appeared preaching
expresses mode or manner. Preaching is
the manner in which John appeared.[xiii] But we could argue, since the soothsaying
controls the girl, that it’s a mode not a means.[xiv] Similarly, we could maintain that preaching
is the instrument by which John proclaims the Gospel, over which he has
complete control: hence, it is a means not a mode.[xv] We see how closely related these ideas are
and that may become important later.
So far, we’ve looked
at four examples. The first example, the
Gadarene Demoniac, only shows how participles act as adjectives and even nouns,
but our two passages don’t have this use.[xvi] Our other examples show how participles act
as verbs; all are found in our text(s), and are very important to our
understanding.[xvii] These two ideas, adjectives and verbs, are
not marked distinctions in any participle, but are shades of coloring or
flavor. Somewhere, every participle has
one hand on an adjective concept and the other hand on a verb concept: but one
or the other is usually dominant.[xviii]
About the tense of
Greek participles. The tense of Greek verbs
is more absolute in nature. In general,
present means going on now in the context of the story, past means past, and
future means future. But the tense of Greek
participles is relative to the tense of the main verb. A present participle could mean going on at
the same time as the main verb. A past
participle could mean going on previously.[xix] Or it could mean going on at the same time,
but with a cause and effect, or other dependent relationship.[xx]
That’s enough to give
any translator fits. No wonder our key
passages got so tangled up. Both Matthew
and Mark have the same participle of attendant circumstance, and the translator
threw up his hands in despair and went with the word, go,[xxi]
for both of them. Going would have been
technically better. But that’s not even
perfect, because the word used, doesn’t mean go, explicitly, but is very
generic and can mean a wide variety of movement, even an almost random or
accidental behavior.[xxii] It is a participle, and not the main verb. It is certainly not a command, “Go!” It quite literally means, “As you are going
about the course of life, there are some things I want you to do.”[xxiii]
If we mull this over
a little bit, we can figure out what Matthew and Mark are driving at. Where are the audiences located when they
hear these messages? That’s right,
they’re in church on the Lord’s Day listening to a sermon, homily or whatever
you want to call it. They are going to
and from church. According to Acts, the
first believers were always in the temple, in common rooms, or in houses
together.[xxiv] And they were always going, to and from
church, to and from residence, always about the Lord’s business.
Now that we’ve
firmly established that going is a participle and in no way a main verb, we are
free to search for the main verbs; and we can establish what those things are,
which Christ wants and commands us to do.[xxv]
The main verbs
are, make disciples[xxvi] in Matthew, and preach in Mark.[xxvii] These are
the two things we must not neglect to do.
Let’s take Mark
first. Our passage quite literally
teaches that we must:
“As you are
going about in the whole world, preach the good news (or Gospel) to all
creation.”
While you are coming
and going to and from church, to and from your houses, announce the Gospel loud
and clear to everyone around you. Think
about it, for the people of God are never in clearer obedience to Mark’s
command than on Pascha (Easter) morning, when streaming from their churches,
they joyously begin to cry out with loud voices, “Christ is risen! Indeed He has risen!” The folks in the corner convenience store
hear us when we pick up our Sunday paper.
And the following Sundays, it won’t hurt us to blurt out a hearty, “God
bless you,” in the same corner convenience store, loud enough for everyone in
the store to hear. The same idea might
also apply around the neighborhood and at work.
I’m not suggesting that we become brassy, rude, or showy, but much of
the time, it won’t hurt others to overhear our kind and joyful words. We are witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead, and its effect and power in our lives, and it just won’t
hurt for us to show it once in a while.
Pretty soon, people
will start coming to us with their prayer needs, sufferings, and troubles; and
now, quietly, secretly we can help them, without embarrassing them. Eventually, we hope that this will lead to
their baptism, which is Mark’s next sentence.
Matthew develops the
idea a little further:
“As you are
going about, make disciples: baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things that I have
commanded you. And, look, I am with you
always, even unto the end of the world.
Amen.”
While you are coming
and going, make disciples. Christianity
is about being and making followers of Jesus.
There is no easy believism. This
is not about earning salvation by works.
Salvation cannot be earned by works.
The only work that is acceptable to God is the birth, life, death, and
resurrection of Christ, His beloved Son.
This is about the meaning of faith.
If you believe in Jesus, you will follow Him on the hard and narrow
way. You will face suffering and
tribulation. If you’re not following
Jesus, you’ve just proved that you don’t really believe in Him. Jesus leads, we follow. Learning the disciplines of regular Church
attendance, Bible reading and study, prayer, as well as all the other things
that Scripture requires of Christians involves a lifetime of growth in
Christ. It’s hard work, but it’s not
works salvation. It is a life of things
that God does in, through, and with us.
Discipleship is not optional.
The sentence wraps
up the idea of discipleship with two participles of instrument or means:
baptism and teaching.[xxviii]
We are to baptize people in the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. In this baptism we are joined to Christ, and being
made truly part of Him, we cannot avoid following Him. A baptism that doesn’t result in discipleship
is like a head that moves without its body.
It is simply impossible. We
baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost
because God is One God, and He exists in three persons, a Trinity.
We not only baptize,
but we also teach. The specific thing
that we teach is obedience to all of Christ’s commandments. A great deal of this teaching takes place
through our example. In this, we need
not doubt or fear, because Jesus Himself is with us all the way, forever.
The Great Commission simply requires that we preach the Gospel and make disciples as we are about our daily tasks. These requirements are accomplished through Baptism in the Triune Name and teaching obedience to all the commands of Christ.
[i]
Matthew 28:19-20 King James Version
[ii]
Mark 16:15-16 King James Version
[iii]
In English a verbal noun ending in –ing is a gerund; while a verbal adjective
ending in –ing is a gerundive. The
gerundial suffix is –ing in the English language. These definitions and distinctions do not
hold for every language and are not useful to us here. We will classify all Greek infinitives as
verbal nouns, and all Greek participles as verbal adjectives, without further
grammatical technical distinction, following the practice of Dana and Mantey, A
Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament (MacMillan, Toronto, 1927
[1957]) p. 220ff. Hereafter simply Dana
and Mantey. Our focus is on making the
function and use of the words easy, fun, and memorable for people who may not
be grammar experts.
[iv]
Following the article (and sometimes without it), when a noun is not present, a
participle may take on nominal force: the one who is doing becomes the doer,
which is really a noun, not an adjective.
[v]
The present participle: –ing, past participle: –en, –ed, or irregular, please
consult a standard grammar for additional information (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Participle).
[vi]
Mark 5:1-19: the present participles, δαιμονιζόμενον (accusative) and δαιμονιζομένῳ (dative), are found in verses 15 and 16, but not in 18,
which has the simple past participle, δαιμονισθεὶς (nominative).
Luke 8:26-39 only uses the past tense expression in verse 36. See also Matthew 4:24; 8:16, 28 (the demon
possessing two), 33 (ones); 9:32; 12:22; Mark 1:32; and John 10:21 (where the
negated term relates to Jesus).
[vii]
These parallel incidents in Matthew, Mark, and Luke are not necessarily the
same. The obvious differences in Matthew
may indicate a separate occasion. Jesus
healed many demoniacs, on several widely different occasions. He also duplicated miracles as in the separate
feedings of four and five thousand. He
may have cast demons into swine at two separate times.
[viii]
Dana and Mantey, p. 220, quoting Robertson, A Short Grammar...,
p193. I think that this is mostly
teachers stroking students to ward off discouragement. Greek grammar is a hard subject, and
participles are a confusing topic, which is why we are trying so hard to joke
around with it and make it easy and fun.
[ix]
Many authorities view this as pleonastic, the use of redundant, superfluous,
unnecessary words; or the repetition of the same sense in different words (http://www.thefreedictionary .com/pleonastic). But we think that this overlooks a greater
possibility; namely, that Jesus may be engaged in an extended discourse. This may not always be the case, but it is
certainly a possibility to consider. The
economy and efficiency of the Greek language in compressing this into a single
word escapes us in English.
[x]
Matthew 5:2 does not actually have this construction, but it might have. Instead, it uses a participle to show mode,
this is not especially germane to our present point, but it will become
important in the next paragraph.
[xi]
Luke 5:4 is impossible to construe in any other way than attendant
circumstance. After Jesus finishes His
discourse, he speaks to Peter aside.
Other examples are far less obvious, especially after the translator has
tried his best to make smooth, sensible English out of them: we may not even realize
that we are dealing with a participle at all.
[xii]
Dana and Mantey, p. 228, using Acts 16:16 as an example of instrumentality.
[xiii]
Dana and Mantey, p. 228, using Matthew 3:1 as an example of modality.
[xiv]
She’s in the mode of demonic possession and has little control of her
actions. Soothsaying is not like a
hammer or other tool in her hand, over which she has control.
[xv]
But the sentence does not say this; it would need to be altered to say that
John proclaimed by preaching. It is the
main verb “appeared” that makes a participle of means impossible. Moreover, we must understand that prophetic
utterance is the gift of the Holy Spirit; so, no matter how much control John
may have over his vocal chords, he is still an instrument in the hands of God,
he does not proclaim a merely human message, it is sacramental.
[xvi]
Some grammars call this adjectival use the Substantive Use, meaning noun like.
[xvii]
This is frequently termed the adverbial use, meaning verb like, but the
structure is anything but adverbial.
[xviii]
I’m not absolutely sure about this, but I’d be hard pressed to find an
exception. If you know of one, I’d like
to hear about it.
[xx]
Dana and Mantey, p. 229-230, this is way too difficult to discuss further.
[xxi]
In modern American jargon we might say, “Go fish.” Here, “fish” is the clearly intended
imperative verb in the children’s card game of the same name. The word “go” is nearly redundant and
certainly not the focus of our attention; its whole force lies in “go away,”
and we don’t care where in particular.
In the game, it simply means that the fished-for card is not there, and
must be somewhere else.
[xxii]
In both Matthew 28:19 and Mark 16:15 πορευθέντες is the simple past participle of πορεύομαι, which means “to go ...
from one place to another ... travel ... or proceed in any way or course of
life....” (The Analytical Greek Lexicon (Zondervan, Grand Rapids,
1973) for a more detailed explanation, consult any standard Greek lexicon. Go is most certainly not a
mandate for forming expansive missionary teams or organizing extensive
evangelism campaigns. In the New
Testament only a handful of people are called to go in this
sense. The vast majority of Christians
are called to a supportive role. What
God wants them to do is go next-door. Many wonderful young folks have wasted years
of their lives trying to obey a command that does not exist. Go home, to your own father and mother, to
your own people, and live your life in Christ among them, and you will be in
better obedience to this commission. The
Gadarene Demoniac (Mark 5:1-19), the Woman at the Well (John 4:1-42), and Dorcas or
Tabitha (Acts 9:36-42) are all excellent examples of normative life in Christ,
and demonstrations of how souls are won.
[xxiii]
Having gone expresses the idea, but puts too much emphasis on tense. The context makes it clear that this is
something yet to take place.
[xxiv]
The disciples are found together (Acts 2:44), in the Temple, and house-to-house
(2:46). They are at the Beautiful Gate (3:1,
12), in jail (4:3), before Temple counsel (4:7), their own company (4:23). They at Solomon’s Porch (5:12), in jail again (5:18),
in the Temple again (5:21), before counsel again (5:27), in the Temple and
every house (5:42). Stephen is before
counsel (6:8). The disciples are
scattered throughout Judaea and Samaria because of persecution (8:1). Philip is in Samaria (8:5). Peter and John are in Samaria (8:14-15), Philip
is in Gaza (8:26), then at Azotus and Caesarea (8:40). Saul is at Damascus (9:2). Only a few of these involve journeys. Saul is not even a Christian yet. The others did not go anyplace special, they
just went about their daily business, and carried out the Great Commission as
they went. Only a few are doing
extraordinary works of evangelism.
[xxv]
Any person that proclaims the word “go” as a Biblical imperative is either
ignorant of the facts, or is deliberately and sinfully twisting the
Scripture. This is shameful. In either case the people of God end up being
mislead, and in the dark about what Christ expects them to do. It is this corrupt practice we are trying to
end.
[xxvi]
In Matthew 28:19 μαθητεύσατε
is the second person plural, simple past, imperative active of μαθητεύω which means to learn by practice,
experience, or habit; hence, in this context to make disciples. This is the ordinary Greek word for student.
[xxvii]
In Mark 16:15 κηρύξατε is is
the second person plural, simple past, imperative active of κηρύσσω which means to herald or proclaim;
to announce openly and publically; which, considering the general public hubbub
and noise, necessarily means speaking in a clear, loud, strong voice.
[xxviii]
God, especially the Holy Spirit uses us as instruments in His hands, He employs
the means of baptizing and teaching.
Because we are instruments in His hands, and can do nothing without His
powerful help and authority, I believe that we are more in the teaching and
baptizing mode or manner. In any case,
this is miraculous, we are not the ones that make baptism and teaching
effectual, but we certainly do participate.
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