What is
the Great Commission?
By Dr. Ken Matto
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and
preach the gospel to every creature. (Mark 16:15)
Before the Lord Jesus Christ went back to Heaven he gave
a commission to his disciples and to every single Christian down through the
ages. We refer to it as “The Great
Commission” where the believers are to send forth the gospel to the entire world
to gather in all the named elect into the Kingdom of God.
However, there is a false teaching which has been added to the Great
Commission which causes many believers discouragement and causing them to
believe they are failures. This
added teaching comes courtesy of the counterfeit Bibles which have pervaded the
Christian church and the individual Christians around the world.
That teaching is “make disciples.”
Matthew 28:19
(NIV)
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,
(ESV)
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,
(NKJV) Go therefore
and make
disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Textus Receptus – Traditional Text
πορευθεντες ουν μαθητευσατε παντα τα εθνη βαπτιζοντες αυτους εις
το ονομα του πατρος και του υιου και του αγιου πνευματος
Hort-Westcott – Critical Text
πορευθεντες ουν μαθητευσατε
παντα τα εθνη βαπτιζοντες αυτους εις το ονομα του πατρος και του υιου και του
αγιου πνευματος
The Greek word in question is “mathêteusate” which carries with it the meaning
of “teach, instruct, become a disciple.” If you will notice that the King James
Bible uses the word “teach” in translating the Greek word. This is the correct
rendering because it does carry the meaning of “instruct or become a
disciple.” The word is used only 4 times in the New Testament.
Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto
the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth
forth out of his treasure things new and old. (Matthew 13:52)
When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who
also himself was Jesus' disciple: (Matthew 27:57)
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: (Matthew 28:19)
And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many,
they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, (Acts 14:21)
If you notice the modern versions above use the phrase “make disciples.” The
three versions I listed are representative of all the modern versions.
This is an erroneous translation because there is no word for “make” in
the Greek and therefore it is an added word in the English. The word “make”
carries with it 16 different synonyms and among them the following two could
cause trouble in understanding. First, the word “make” can be used as a synonym
for “create, fashion, or construct.” These words cannot be used to describe a
disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ because no mere human can create or fashion a
disciple. Secondly the word “make” can be used as a synonym for “force, compel,
or command.” You can yell and threaten all you want but that will not make
anyone a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. God is the only who makes disciples
for the Lord Jesus Christ by electing them to salvation and then when their day
comes, He places the Holy Spirit in them and then they become saved and at the
same time they become a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is by the hand of
God and not the hand of man.
This is why the Lord commands his children to go into the world and to
teach. Teaching implies that the word of God will be used to expound the truth
and God does not save apart from his word.
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17)
Another reason that the word “teach” is correct because it harmonizes with verse
20 below. In verse 19 we are told to teach but in verse 20, we are told what to
teach. So it dovetails right into verse 20 and keeps the continuity of the
meaning.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them 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 alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew
28:19-20)
Now in Matthew 27:57, the word is translated as “disciple.” It states that
Joseph was a disciple of Jesus but it does not say “ a man made him the disciple
of Jesus” and because it only states that he was the disciple of Jesus, we
cannot place anything more in that verse than what is being plainly taught.
When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who
also himself was Jesus' disciple: (Matthew 27:57)
Now I mentioned that the term “make disciples” will cause some Christians to be
discouraged and feel they are failures if someone they are witnessing to does
not become saved. Have you ever
heard a Christian say “I should have witnessed more and then they would have
become saved.” I know I have heard
this and this is nothing more than satanic guilt manipulation.
If you notice how the King James Bible renders it:
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: (Matthew 28:19)
We are to teach all nations and that is exactly what we are to do.
Our responsibility in the Great Commission is to get the gospel out to
our sphere of influence whether it be personal or supporting good, biblical
ministries like World Missionary Press in New Paris, Indiana.
We get the gospel out and God is the one who makes the disciples by
saving a person. Of course a
Christian would feel bad if they witnessed to someone and they died without
salvation but the encouraging thing is that it was not their responsibility to
convict that person. That is the
job of the Holy Spirit.
And when he is come, he will reprove the
world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: (John 16:8)
So once you hand a person a tract or verbally witness to them, you have
fulfilled your responsibility to that person.
Satan guilt manipulates us in hopes that we will never witness again
because someone died without salvation and he manipulates the situation to look
like it is the fault of the Christian who did the witnessing.
Don’t fall for that emotional trap or it could stop you in your tracks.
We do the witnessing and God does the saving.
It is a comforting thing to know that the responsibility of salvation
lies with the Lord and not us. It
allows us to go on and not fall for the satanic emotional traps he sets.
Now I want to give a list of the Bibles in the lineage of the King James Bible
who translate this verse properly.
Wycliffe Bible in 1382 was translated from the critical texts because that was
all he had available but you will see that even he translated that verse
correctly.
(KJV) Go ye therefore, and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost:
(1611 KJV) Goe ye therefore, and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Sonne, and of the
holy Ghost:
Webster's Bible 1833 Go ye therefore and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Spirit.
Bishops Bible 1568 Go ye therfore, & teache all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the father, and of the sonne, and of the
holye ghost:
Geneva Bible 1560 Go therefore, and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and the Sonne, and the holy
Ghost,
The Great Bible 1539 Go ye therfore, & teach all
nacions, baptising them in the name of the father, & of the sonne, & of the holy
goost:
Matthew's Bible 1537 Go therfore & teache all
nacyons, baptisyng them in the name of the father, and the sonne, & the holye
ghoste.
Coverdale Bible 1535 Go ye youre waye
therfore, and teach all nacions, and baptyse them in the name of
the father, and of the sonne, and of the holy goost:
Tyndale Bible 1534 Go therfore and teache all
nacions baptysinge them in the name of the father and the sonne and the holy
goost:
Wycliffe Bible 1382 Therfor go ye, and teche alle folkis, baptisynge hem in the name of the Fadir, and of the Sone, and of the Hooli Goost;