Matthew: Commission

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28: 19a).

 As you walk along the beach, do you ever hope to find something interesting if you turn over the next rock that you see? You might discover a piece of quartz, an agate, jasper, garnet, or even a hidden wonder in a geode. If you are walking in Lithuania, along the Baltic Sea, there is a good chance that you will find a piece of amber (fossilized tree sap). If you are really lucky, there might be an insect stuck inside, an ancient fossil. 

 Literature is like that. You follow along in the text, but you might overlook a common word. Turn it over and it enriches the reading.

 That word in Jesus’ speech is ‘Therefore’. You have learned by now never to rush through the text. And, you have learned by now to interrogate the text, that is, ask questions. What is the word ‘therefore’ doing there? If you miss it, you miss an important clue to the meaning of the text.

 You know how ‘therefore’ works in both mathematics (drawing conclusions) and rhetoric (making arguments). ‘This is true and this is true, therefore it follows that that is true’. 

 You also know that one verse is never enough; so what does ‘therefore’ refer back to? Jesus’ previous statement was: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” A person who holds all authority can do whatever he wants to do. Among men, who above all else desire power, this is a dangerous thing. 

“But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you, but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave, just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many” (Matthew 10: 25-28). 

 When Jesus says, “all authority in heaven and earth has been given to me,” we can be sure that we do not have to be afraid of him or despair of hope. What Jesus does with his authority is deploy his disciples as apostles (messengers) who bear Good News. “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing… and teaching….” Jesus does not call out the troops. Jesus does not attack those whom he thinks are breaking God’s laws. Jesus does not arrest all the sinners that he sees.

 “Therefore,’” because "all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, go and make disciples of all nations.” Let’s go back to the beginning of God’s travelling salvation show. God developed his plan of salvation with one couple: Abraham and Sarah. That beginning is simple and direct.

“Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12: 1-3). 

 Notice that God’s instructions begin the same way that Jesus began his instructions to the disciples. It is simply ‘Go’, with, on the one hand, an emphasis on leaving behind one’s comfortable relationships. As a disciple of Christ, are you ready to do that?  On the other hand, there is a very nebulous instruction about where to go: “to a land that I will show you.” Are you ready to step out in faith not knowing where you are going? 

 The reason that God does not reveal where Abraham and Sarah are to go is that God is taking things one step at a time. To take the next step, Abraham must stay in touch with God. It is the same in the disciples’ instructions, and the same in your instructions; the step that you take will be just one of many. Only God sees the whole plan, so while you are going, God will tell you when to take the next step. 

 Abram (whose name was later changed to Abraham) responds to God with simple obedience. “So Abram went, as the LORD had told him….” (Genesis 12: 4). 

 No wonder, then, that Matthew begins his gospel story with the claim that it is “An account of the genealogy of Jesus is the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matthew 1: 1). Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham to bless “all the families of the earth.” How that happens is still being worked out in our time.  

 Notice that Matthew included the names of two of Jesus’ ancestors; the other one was David, greatest King of Israel. Jesus’ birth is a challenge right away to the earthly tyrant, Herod. Jesus is portrayed as “a ruler who is to shepherd (God’s) people Israel” (Matthew 2: 6). 

 Jesus, in his ministry, walked the hills and valleys of Galilee as well as the streets of Jerusalem. The towns of Galilee and Judea contained most of the Jews who were still living in ‘the Promised Land’. Many Jews had been driven elsewhere during the Assyrian conquest (721 BC) and the Babylonian exile (586 BC). Many of these still lived in the Diaspora (the seed scattering). However, Jesus saw his immediate ministry as limited to the Jews who were still at home. “And great crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan” (Matthew 4: 25). This may sound like a large area, but it is not, it is all part of the former kingdom of Israel.  

  When Jesus sent out the twelve disciples to minister in the villages, he had a clear target group in mind. “These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: ‘Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news, The kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 10: 5-7). 

 Later, Jesus had a confrontation with the Pharisees, and since it was not yet his time, he retired to “the district of Tyre and Sidon” which is outside of the old boundaries of Israel. He is safe from the Pharisees there; they would not go to the Gentile nations. 

 Yet, his rest is interrupted. “Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, ‘Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon’” (Matthew 15: 21-22). 

 How did Jesus respond to this Gentile who is trying to get in on Jesus’ mission to the Jews? “But he did not answer her at all” (Matthew 15: 23). Seems unusual, doesn’t it? Why would Jesus ignore someone in need? She kept shouting and Jesus kept quiet. However, the disciples were distracted by the din. They asked Jesus to send her away. Jesus said to the disciples, but within hearing distance of the woman: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” She knelt before him and said, “Lord, help me.” (Matthew 15: 24-25).

 Finally, “He answered, ‘It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs’.” Perhaps the woman knew about God’s promise to Abraham to bless the nations through him; or, perhaps not, but she is witty and she is desperate. “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table” (Matthew 15: 26-27). 

 This lively banter impressed Jesus. “Then Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish’. And her daughter was healed instantly” (Matthew 15: 28). After this, Jesus returned to Galilee, continued his ministry, then made his prophetic journey to Jerusalem to face death on a cross. 

 What happened? We are able to view here Jesus’ determination to carry out his proximate ministry to Israel in order to get to his ultimate mission to the world. If he wanders away now, as the Devil tempted him to do, he will not fulfill the prophecies about the Jewish Messiah who becomes the Savior of the whole world (see, for example, Isaiah 19, 55, and 56).

 Nevertheless, his encounters with the Canaanite woman and the Roman Centurion (Matthew 8: 5-13) do hint at a wider mission to come. How wide? We shall begin to explore that during the next few weeks.