Centrality of Mission (Matt 28:18-20)
According to Matthew’s Gospel, the principal vocation of followers of Jesus is disciple making. This is evident in the climax of the Gospel of Matthew (28:18-20):
NIV Matthew 28:18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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.”
The setting is post-Resurrection. This text represents Jesus’ final words to his disciples and by implication serves as the mission statement for subsequent generations of disciples.
Key observations:
1) all authority. Jesus the Messiah has been fully authorized through his embrace of the cross and his subsequent resurrection from the dead (cf. Jesus’ dealings with Satan in 4:9-10). Jesus deploys this authority by empowering and deploying his remaining disciples.
2) make disciples. This is the command rooted in Jesus’ authority. From the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry (4:17), Jesus was in the business of making disciples. Following his death and resurrection, Jesus now authorizes his earthly disciples to take up this mission as fully their own.
3) An inclusive vocation. This is not a specialized calling. All followers of Jesus Christ are to embrace the making of disciples as the central concern of the Christ following movement.
4) Implies movement. Make disciples modified first by the participle (in Grk) “go.” Following Jesus is not a stationary or static enterprise. It is dynamic and assumes an engagement with the world in search of persons whom God seeks to find. Jesus modelled this during his earthly ministry as he moved about the land of Israel. Likewise in Matt 10, Jesus sent out his disciples to serve the purposes of the kingdom.
5) Inclusive scope of mission. Jesus’ mission is to all nations. This is vital. God desires for all persons to be brought back into relationship with Himself (cf. 1 Tim 2:4).
6) Involves initiation. Making disciples involves bringing persons into the community of faith via initiation. This is the role of the ritual of baptism. In Matthew’s Gospel, this is the first time that baptism occurs in a context outside of the ministry of John the Baptist.
What is involved in the baptism described in Matt 28:19? a) Realignment. John’s baptism for repentance is assumed. Initiation into the people of God implies a turning from the world toward the ethos of the Kingdom. Realignment/repentance is not merely a disposition of the mind or heart but an actual life change. b) In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Baptism initiates persons into relationship with the Triune God whose full reality has been revealed through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah and pouring out of the Holy Spirit. It is this reality that differentiates this baptism from John’s. As John himself had said, “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” (Matt 3:11)
Thus baptism language involves a conversion.
7) Involves training. The Gospel of Matthew in many ways is a manual about discipleship. Jesus’ ministry is presented as paradigmatic for his followers. What does it mean to “follow Jesus”? Jesus’ teaching ministry fills this out. One warning however is that these teachings must be read against the assumption of mission.
8 ) Involves the real presence of Jesus. 28:20 concludes with a powerful promise: The Risen Christ accompanies his disciples on their mission to make disciples. This is a key truth. Followers of Jesus remain followers of Jesus. Making disciples is ultimately about following the Risen Jesus into the world on mission.
What do you think?
© 2007 Brian D. Russell
I’m currently trying to work out where I stand on the issue of what we should be ‘doing’ as Christians. When I look at the church I see a lot of trying to make ‘converts’ but less discipleship.
By this I think I see us as putting all our efforts into getting people over the line, but not so much in walking with people, seeing their world and trying to be Jesus in it. That applies both before and after conversion.
Don’t mean to imply that everyone’s in the same situation, it’s just what I see from my point-of-view.
Phil,
You raise critical issues. I think that you are right about the need for “before” and “after” work.
Note that I am attempting to argue that Matthew’s meaning of “discipleship” encompasses what your instincts are suggesting. Discipleship is for all people (insiders to the Christ following movement and outsiders). The key is to keep the focus on mission and talk about discipleship in the context of mission.