Matt. 28:16-20 - The not so Great Commission

Posted Sat, 14/02/2009 - 19:23 by andrew

16 The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus appointed for them,

17 and seeing him they worshipped, but some doubted.

18 And approaching Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

19 Going therefore, make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20 teaching them to observe everything whatsoever I commanded you. And behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the age.’


My translation

Reading Ed Stetzer’s reflections on the ‘meanings of missional’ from a year or so back provoked a familiar sense of bewilderment. How is it that five lengthy posts on the meaning of such terms as ‘missional’ and missio dei, plus a large number of appended comments from leading missional thinkers, can offer no more than the occasional passing reference to the biblical narrative? Why do missiologists so often at least appear to take scripture for granted? It seems to me that the idea of mission in the New Testament is not nearly as straightforward as we imagine it to be. The so-called ‘great commission’ is a good example.

18 There must be a strong suspicion that when Jesus claims that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, he is alluding to the Son of man narrative (cf. Matt. 9:5; John. 5:26; 8:28). This is the authority that will be given to the suffering community of the saints of the Most High when they are eventually vindicated before the throne of God. It is central to Jesus’ claim to possess a unique calling that he appropriates this hope for himself and in that sense incorporates his followers into his own destiny. The claim also brings into view a broader apocalyptic narrative which makes him the arch-opponent of Caesar, who also claimed glory and dominion over the whole earth.

19 Jesus sends the eleven out into the whole world to establish communities of disciples who by their faithful existence will constitute an announcement, a sign, to the nations that God has raised Jesus from the dead and made him Lord above all other gods and lords so that his people may have the hope of surviving the wrath that is coming, as Paul tells us (cf. Rom. 2:9), first upon Israel, and then on the idolatrous Greek-Roman oikoumenē, the empire. They will live as Jesus lived, observing his teachings, because that is the only practical basis on which the people of God will gain victory over Rome. This is their ‘mission’.

To be baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is not to be taken here as a general religious prescription. It associates this international body of disciples with the particular narrative of renewal: the God who is trusted under radical eschatological conditions as ‘Father’; the Son who suffers for the sake of the future of the people; and the Spirit which both foresees the coming judgment and gives life to the people of a new covenant.

20 Jesus promises to be with them all the days until the end of the age. The end of the age (hē sunteleia tou aiōos) in Matthew is not the end of the world. It is the moment when Israel will be judged - when the weeds will be gathered out of the kingdom and destroyed (13:40-42), when the good fish are separated from the bad (13:49-50), and when the stones of the temple will be thrown down by an invading army (13:2-3). Jesus’ assurance at this particular point in the narrative is a limited one: he will be with his disciples every moment, no matter what they face, until the Son of man is vindicated for his radical departure from tradition when the armies of Rome raze the temple of Israel’s God to the ground; and because they are the community of the Son of man in Jesus, that moment will also be their vindication.

See also:

Comments

Re: Matt. 28:16-20 - The not so Great Commission

by James Walden (not verified) - 07/12/2009 - 07:21

Andrew,

I would agree with all of your comments about Jesus’ statements about “all authority,” in so far as it goes.  But you then delimit the “broader apocalyptic narrative” to the immediate historical context of the Roman Empire.  May I suggest that the broader apocalyptic narrative is much broader?  Jesus’ arch-opponent was hardly Caesar.  It was rather “the ruler of this age” (Jn.12:31; Lk.10:18; Mt.25:41; 13:39; cf. 2Co.4:4; Eph.2:2).  Caesar was not finally the enemy of God’s saints (to whom Jesus called us to pay proper tribute, Mt.22:21; cf. Rom.13:1-7; 1Pe.2:13-14), but the authorities that stand behind the powers-that-be “in the heavenlies” (Eph.6:12; cf. Dan.10:20).   

Similarly, the victory of God’s people is not over Rome.  Remarkably, neither Jesus nor any of the apostles show much interest in Rome as such.  Again, the victory of the saints contemplated is not over Caesar per se, but Satan (Ro.16:20).  And as is evident in the verses noted above, these are neither synonymous nor conflated in the NT.  Caesar is to be honored; Satan is not.  Caesar, and his household, is to be evangelized (cf. Mt.10:18; Lk.21:12-13; Ac.23-26; 27:23-24; Phil.1:13; 4:22; etc.).  Satan is to be opposed and avoided (cf. 1Pe.5:8-9; Jas.4:7).  Caesar is ultimately not the enemy - nor any man; the devil is.    

Lastly, your comments about “the end of the age”  are the most non-compelling.  The “end of the age” (suntelia aionos) is a phrase unique to Matthew’s gospel, and speaks of the final judgment (Mt.13:39, 40, 49; 24:3) - the wrapping up of “this present evil era.”  In the parable of the wheat and the tares, the phrase is identified with the “harvest,” at which time Jesus will send his angles to ‘weed out’ of his kingdom all “stumbling blocks” and those who committ lawlessness (Mt.13:41).  And what is this kingdom?  Within the metaphor of the parable, it is the field, of course, which Jesus explicitly identifies with the world (13:38).  The domain of Christ’s kingdom is the whole world.  And at that time, at the end of the age, it will be seen that, “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever,” (Rev.11:15; cf. Dan.2; 7:14ff.). 

It seems plausible that the language of “the end of the age” is drawn from Daniel LXX (12:13), in which the prophet predicts an everlasting kingdom which shall never fail, nor pass away, nor be passed on to another people.  This kingdom will endure forever, thus marking the end of history as we know it (Dn.2:37-44).  In chp.7, we learn that One “like a Son of Man” inherits this kingdom, and that men from every tribe, nation and tongue will serve him (Dn.7:14; cf. Rev.5:9).  It is precisely this universal authority which compels the univeral mission (Mt.28:18-19; cf. Rev.14:6).   

Specifically, in Dan.12:13 “the end of the age” refers to a time of resurrection, in which Daniel himself is promised a resurrection to an inheritance of his alloted portion (cf. Dn.12:2-3; Mt.13:43).  I.e., the “end of days” is the terminus of the present age, marked by the resurrection of the wicked and the righteous.  Of course, with the resurrection of Christ (1Cor.15), the age to come has irrupted into the present age, such that they currently ‘overlap’ - the sons of the kingdom intermingle with the sons of the evil one!  But the harvest is the end of this intermingling - the day of final separation (13:40-43; cf. Mt.25:31ff.).  The present evil age ends with the resurrection of the righteous (and the wicked), and the final judgment.   Then the kingdom of God will be established “on earth as it is in heaven,” then shall the “sons of God” be manifested in resurrection glory, and creation redeemed with the eschatological renewal of heaven and earth.  Clearly, these things have not yet happened - the present evil age comingles with the age to come.  And the mission continues, making disciples through our testimony, and, through the mysterious work of the Spirit, birthing new “sons of the kingdom.”

Re: Matt. 28:16-20 - The not so Great Commission

by andrew - 08/12/2009 - 09:14

James, I’m in the process of relocating from this site to www.postost.net. I’ve reproduced your comment and will respond to it there.

Re: Matt. 28:16-20 - The not so Great Commission

by William Cheriegate (not verified) - 08/05/2009 - 22:05

“The spread of the gospel into all nations was the establishment and not the termination of God’s gospel-grace to the continuing generations of the world.

The fulfillment of the Great Commission by the Spirit-led church of the Last Days was the true beginning of Gospel-healing for the nations. ”

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.