Appendix 4 – A Commentary on the “Great Commission”

By Hollis Green

Matthew 28:1-15 (See Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-12; John 20:1-10) Great Commission and Promise

Matthew 28:16-20 16. Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to a mountain where Jesus had arranged to meet them. 17. And when they saw Jesus, some doubted. 18. And Jesus came and spoke, saying, All authority has been committed to Me in heaven and in earth. 19. *As you personally go, (going) therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: 20. teaching them to observe all things whatever I have commanded you: and behold, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. *v19 A change in the KJV that made a difference was in the words of the Great Commission in Matthew (28:19, 20) 19. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing Him: 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. (KJV)

Consider the primary command of the verse translated “teach.” The Greek word used was matheteuo to instruct with the purpose of making a disciple; the word suggested not only to learn but to be attached to and a follower of a teacher. Greek words have special designations, matheteuo here was classified as aorist imperative active which denotes a command, or entreaty and indicates the action as being accomplished by the subject of the verb. Later versions translated the word as “make disciples” which was better.

The main problem with the translation of the Commission is that it was not given to an established or organized assembly, but given to the followers of Jesus as personal guidance. Another basic problem relates to the three participles: Go [going or as you go] … baptizing … teaching are each participles dependent upon the main verb teach translated “make disciples.” Although such a construction is not uncommon for the participles themselves to assume the force of a weak imperative, it is indirect similar to the indirect command in modern English, i.e. “As you go, close the door!”

However, the command “to make disciples” is the primary command, while the participles (weak commands) going baptizing and teaching are ways of fulfilling the primary command. Some modern translations, translate all of the four verb forms as imperatives: “Go … make disciples … baptize … teach (verse 20),” but the King James translators chose to make “go” a direct command, but not baptizing and teaching. One should either make all the participles into commands or use all the verb forms as participles or imperatives as originally written. What difference does this make?

The above translation created a self-defeating theology of coercion in an effort to compel people to “go and do” rather that establish a “do as you go” life-style. The Great Commission was not a command to “go,” but a program for people in the process of going into the known world to carry the good news. It was guidance to effectively follow-up those who received the teaching, embraced the teacher, and became an active learner. Why would scholars make such a decision? All academics and theologians are influenced by a personal bias. In the England of 1604-1611, the concept of building an empire was beginning. To build an empire required Englishmen to leave their island fortress and colonize the new world. The Court of Queen Elizabeth and the golden age of English art, literature, and adventure were precursors to the effort. It was 1585 when the first effort to export the golden age was made “to go across the sea” and settle the new land “Virginia,” named after the Queen.

Although this group nearly starved before Sir Frances Drake rescued the survivors, the concept of “go” was firmly established in the minds of English achievers. Consequently, the translators seeking to. please the new king, James, used an obscure Greek rule to translate a participle to an imperative: “Go into all the world. . .” This created a theology of coercion that caused an artificial motivation that negates the power of personal experience, which is the true means of advancing Christianity. The Commission supports a life-style of making disciples “as you go” rather than a program of “go and do.”

A Candid Rendering by Hollis L. Green, ThD, PhD:

The Evergreen Devotional New Testament Community and Family Education (C.A.F.E.) Edition

Hollis L. Green

Post-Gutenberg Books, an Imprint of GlobalEdAdvancePress