Understanding and Reclaiming Biblical Discipleship: The Great Commission

It is in the historical context laid out in the last post that Jesus gave his command to make disciples. The Great Commission reads,

All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. – Matthew 28:18-20

There is inherent in the making of disciples the “go” that begins verse nineteen. The Greek word here is poreuqέnteς - poreuthentes. It is an attendant circumstance participle, which means that its action is coordinate with that of the main verb, in this case maqeteύsate - matheteusate - , an imperative.[i] Thus, “go and make disciples,” which is to be understood as intentionally making disciples wherever the Christian finds him- or herself.[ii] Hagner makes the point that the “emphasis in the commission thus falls not on the initial proclamation of the gospel but more on the arduous task of nurturing into the experience of discipleship.”[iii]

The process of making disciples according to this passage is to first baptize the new believer and then to teach them how to live out what Christ commanded. Baptism is the first step in obedience that new believers take that identifies them with and places them within the community of disciples.[iv] Only believers are to be baptized and counted in the membership of the church, reinforcing the Baptist distinctive of regenerate church membership.[v] For the believer it is merely the beginning of a life of faith, the beginning of a process of discipleship.[vi] It is also important to note that it is through baptism that the new believer is shown that a changed life is a result of conversion.[vii]

How the new disciples learn to live this changed, new life is through the “teaching them to observe all that I commanded you” (Matt. 28:20). This instruction is intended for purity of life, and nothing that Jesus taught is to be neglected.[viii] This includes both a call to a life lived in pursuit of righteousness and a life that is lived by faith.[ix] Also inherent in this totality of teaching is the things that Jesus taught concerning what it means to be his disciple.

Discipleship requires that the disciple be completely and personally committed to Jesus and his teaching.[x] This commitment places Jesus as the utmost priority in the disciple’s life. This is evidenced by Luke 9:57-62 and 14:26-33, where following Jesus requires the disciple to place all other relationships and obligations behind his or her primary relationship with Jesus.[xi] Included in this cost of discipleship is the idea of suffering for faith in Christ (John 15:18-16:4).  Paul, in 2 Timothy, clarifies that this suffering is to be expected (1:8, 12: 2:9, 12; 3:11-12). This life of faith is demanding and comes at a cost.[xii]

 

Over the next several weeks, we'll look at those passages found in Luke and Acts, where Jesus discussed what it means to follow him. And then we'll turn our attention to an understanding of the process of discipleship.

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[i]Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics : An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1996), 640. See also Blomberg, Matthew, 431; Blomberg rightly states that a balance must be maintained between the going and the making of disciples; too much either way detracts from the command.

[ii]Craig Blomberg, Jesus and the Gospels : An Introduction and Survey (Nashville, Tenn.: Broadman & Holman, 1997), 415.

[iii]Donald Alfred Hagner, Matthew 14-28, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas, TX: Word Books, 1995), 887.

[iv]Craig Blomberg, Matthew, The New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1992), 431.

[v]Hammett, 85.

[vi]Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, ed. D. A. Carson, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 1992), 746.

[vii]John Moore and Ken Neff, A New Testament Blueprint for the Church (Chicago: Moody Press, 1985), 59.

[viii]Morris, 749.

[ix]Blomberg, Jesus and the Gospels : An Introduction and Survey, 452.

[x]George Eldon Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament, Rev. ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich.,: Eerdmans, 1993), 105.

[xi]Ibid., 130. Cf. Matt. 10:34-39; 16:24.

[xii]D. A. Carson and Douglas J. Moo, An Introduction to the New Testament, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2005), 581.