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Home , Baptism of Jesus, Great Commission

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Faculty Publications - College of Christian Studies College of Christian Studies

1992 The in Quadriphonic Sound Paul N. Anderson George Fox University, [email protected]

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Recommended Citation Anderson, Paul N., "The Great Commission in Quadriphonic Sound" (1992). Faculty Publications - College of Christian Studies. 262. http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/ccs/262

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Christian Studies at Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications - College of Christian Studies by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ George Fox University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Great Commission

BY PAUL ANDERSON

WE EXPLORE the similarities what meant-until after the standings of Christian m1sswn today and differences between the -when all things became become enriched. We may even detect a A four in the freshman clear. The Great Commission is a prime progression of theme that clarifies for us class I teach, just about every example of that clarified understanding. It what 's commission involves for semester one of my students will ask, represents the early ' under­ His followers today. Now for a look at the 'Why is the 'Great Commission' men­ standings of how they were to continue distinctive elements in the four tioned in all four Gospels?" Normally in the work of Jesus as commissioned by the renditions. the charts we use, when the same miracle risen Lord. or teaching is included in more than one Within all four Gospels, Jesus' com­ Gospel, it appears in a list other than mand is portrayed like a "last will and testa­ those containing material unique to a par­ ment." It motivates Jesus' would-be 1 ticular Gospel. But not so with the Great followers by declaring His final intention The Great Commission. It occurs within each of the for their lives. Jesus leaves no room for in four Gospels-and yet in fascinating, ambiguity or second-guessing. His words Commission different ways. are directive. Clear. They call for respon­ Mark: Go and Rather than hearing a "monophonic" sive obedience to His mandate. In that Preach the recording of Jesus' command to His fol­ sense, the articulation of Christian mis­ Gospel to All lowers, it's like listening to a "quad­ sion becomes a "com-mission:' as the riphonic" rendition of it, as each of the hearer of the Word "comes alongside" Jesus Creation. Gospel writers complements the others as a partner in furthering His mission. with his own distinctive perspective. This Notice that in each case, the commis­ also means that one's understanding of sioning message of Jesus is "transla{ed" for Mark was the first Gospel written Jesus' Commission in the a specific Christian audience, reflecting the (probably in the 60s A.D.), and it usually will be fullest if one explores its rendi­ understanding of writer and gives us a good impression of Christian tions in all four Gospels, rather than just the specific needs of his situation. As understandings about Jesus in the middle one. Everett Cattell has said (, first century. However, the Great Com­ Let's consider similarities of the Great Friends United Press, 1981, p. 1): mission in Mark appears in :15, Commission in all four Gospels. Notice "It is clear that before his ascension and which is included in a section (Mark that in all four accounts. The Great Com­ in different places he discussed this sub­ 16:9-20) not found in the earliest Greek mission is declared by the resurrected Lord. ject and the whole of those discourses has manuscripts. This means that it reflects early Chris­ not been recorded. Different disciples Nevertheless, despite significant differ­ tians' understandings of how the were struck by one or another part of his ences of style and nuance, the commis­ was to continue the very work and minis­ message and preserved those portions sioning words of Jesus here are try that Jesus had begun. Furthermore, it which impressed them most:' remarkably similar to Mark's emphases represents their understandings of Chris­ This is one of the things that makes upon being sent and proclaiming the tian discipleship in the light of the death Bible study exciting. As we explore the Good News. and . Often similar-and yet distinctive-ways in "kicks off' the ministry we read in the Gospels that the disciples which the Great Commission was articu­ of Jesus, having been sent by to pre­ were a bit "fuzzy" (my paraphrase) about lated within the early church, our under- pare the way of the Lord (:3).

12/EVANGELICAL FRIEND upon being sent and proclaiming the empowering force of the . ritualism. John's signified the Good News. After John was imprisoned, Without the Spirit the church is impotent. turning from the world and repentance Jesus' ministry comes into its own (Mark How often well-meaning Christians are from . Jesus' baptism, on the other hand, 1:15): "The time has come. The Kingdom tempted to start into a missions project, involves being immersed in the Holy Spirit of God is at hand. Repent and believe in well-strategized and fully enthused, but (:5; 19:1-6; :33; 3:5-8), and this is the Good News:' He calls His first four without having waited on the Lord until what confirms one's membership in the disciples to leave their nets and to follow being filled with Power from on high. family of God (John 1:12). Him (Mark 1:16-20). He appoints the Luke reminds us that the success of spiri­ It is often wrongly assumed that twelve to be with Him and to proclaim tual mission always hinges upon spiritual don't believe in baptism. But we the Gospel (:14-19) and then sends empowerment, and this comes from do, and radically so. One cannot live the them out by twos to preach repentance, to prayerful waiting on the Lord. Christian life without being transformed drive out , and to heal the sick by the , which is with fire (:7-13). It is not surprising, there: and the Holy Spirit (:11; Mark fore, that even in Mark's "second ending" 1:8; :16; John 1:26-34; Acts 11:16). the command to "go and preach" is cen­ Water prefigured this spiritual immer­ tral. It represents the apostolic sense of sion, and even came to symbolize it urgency the first Christians must have felt within the Christian movement. But in their mission to spread the Gospel. 3 Jesus apparently did not employ water Regardless of the receptivity of the "soils" The Great baptism (John 4:2), and it should never be or the fate of the "seed" (:3-20), Commission in confused with the "real thing;' which an they are to broadcast the Word -thus con­ Matthew: Go abiding immersion in the Spirit of Christ tinuing the mission and message of Jesus. alone can offer. and Make After initiation follows education. Disciples of All Notice that Jesus is not portrayed here as 2 Nations. simply extending "best wishes" to the spiritual infant before abandoning him or The Great her to the task of maturation. No. He Commission in Just as Luke contributes the element of commands His followers to teach -just as Luke/Acts: empowerment of the Spirit, Matthew they have been taught by Him. In this adds the community-building motifs to way, the new believer grows into matu­ Stay Until You Mark's stark "go and preach:' As Luke and rity, and the church becomes strength­ Are Filled with Acts were probably written in the 70s or ened in its conviction. 80s, Matthew was probably written in the Virtually everywhere the church Power .... thrives, it is because it has become able to Then You Will 80s as the church was faced with making the transition from being a growing move­ introduce new Christians into the com­ Be My Witnesses. ment to becoming a larger institution. The munity of faith successfully, and it has church-building interest of Matthew is learned to prepare people for ministry To the mandate to go and preach, Luke clear from several examples: (a) Only in effectively. This is what it means to make adds the indispensable factor of divine Matthew's Gospel is the word ecclesia disciples of all nations. empowerment. The closing scenes of (church) mentioned. (b) One of these Luke dovetail into the opening scenes of passages (:17-19) outlines the Acts-like a feature movie and its climac­ institutional means by which Peter (and tic sequel. In :49 the disciples are Jesus?) will be succeeded. (c) The other commanded to wait, to tarry in the city emphasizes the importance of accounta­ until they are clothed with divine Power bility, proper church discipline proce­ 4 from on high. After leading them to dure, and the necessity of seasoning The Great , Jesus lifts up His hands and authority with a spirit of forgiveness and Commission in blesses them before ascending into grace (:15-35). It is therefore heaven (Luke 24:50-51). At once, their not surprising at all that Matthew is John: As the response is to become consumed in wor­ interested in the discipling work of the Father Has ship, joy, and praising God (vv. 52-53). church. Rather than simply going and Sent Me, So Indeed, they are filled with and immersed preaching, the Christian emissary is com­ Send I All of in the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5). manded to go and "make disciples of all The book of Acts, however, adds the nations:' (:19) You. implication of such encounters-to be Notice that the discipling process is changed by Christ is to be commissioned described as having two basic functions: John's is the "apostolic Gospel:' Rather by Christ. "But you will receive Power induction and education (v. 20). New than leaving the role of apostleship to an when the Hply Spirit comes upon you; believers are to be baptized "in the name "office" or to a church hierarchy, John and you will be my witnesses in Jerusa­ of the Father, and of the Son and of the takes great pains to emphasize Jesus' lem, and in all and , and to Holy Spirit;' and the main point here is imbuing all of His followers with the uttermost parts of the earth:' (Acts 1:8) that by means of Christ's authority (v. 18), apostolic mission. The Greek word Indeed, the rest of Acts documents the their admission to the new community is apostolos means "one who is sent;' and fulfillment of this prediction. The Chris­ confirmed with divine finality. To inter­ Jesus extends His own divine commission tian movement grows with unassailable pret the emphasis to be on the Jewish to include His followers. To be an force-first locally, then regionally, then ritual of water baptism here, instead of is to have encountered Jesus Christ and to nationally, and finally, globally. But the what it symbolized, is to miss the point be sent by Him. Thus, the invitation to central factor according to Luke is the and to reduce the Great Commission to follow Him is, at the same time, a calling

jULY/AUGUST I992/l3 to be sent by Him-as His "friends"-who both know the Master's business, and who are responsive to His leadings (John 15:14-15). Notice the apparent correctives to rising institutionalism within the late first cen­ tury Christian movement (John 20:21-23). (a) Apostolicity is extended to "the many;' not just "the few" (v. 21). Far from an elitist appeal for a few super-Christians to labor in the fields of service "unrewarded;' John here portrays Jesus as involving all of His followers in mission. In this sense, Apostolic Christianity lives today! To encounter the Spirit of the risen Lord is to be commissioned by Him, and this is the spiritual basis of true apostolic suc­ cession. (b) Jesus "breathed on" (inspired) them and declared, "Receive the Holy Spirit:' (v. 22) Rather than imbuing an "office" or a ceremony with God-breathed authority or efficacy, Jesus fills them with His Spirit by the mere fact of His presence (see also Matthew 18:20). He also promises to lead them into all Truth through His comfort­ ing and convicting presence within the gathered meeting, and this is the basis for their sense of peace (John 14:25-27; 16:7-15; 20:19). (c) Jesus gives them the responsibility to be agents of forgiveness and reconcilia­ tion in the world (v. 23). Just as the role of apostle is expanded from the few to the many, so is the priesthood of believers. As a contrast to Matthew 16:19 and 18:18, the privilege/responsibility of extending God's saving forgiveness is given to all of Jesus' followers, not just Peter and his suc­ cessors. In this sense, the healing/saving work of Jesus is multiplied by the number of His followers who heed the call and accept the commission. To summarize, when we consider the Great Commission in all four Gospels we get a fuller picture-or a quadriphonic rendition-of what our Christian mission ought to be like today. It involves going and preaching; waiting on the filling of the Holy Spirit; making disciples of all nations; and embodying the apostolic, inspired, and priestly himself. Perhaps this is what Paul had in mind when he declared that ·~n creation groans in eager expectation for the revela­ tion of the children of God:' (Romans 8:19) As we encounter the risen Lord and are commissioned by Him to continue His saving/revealing work in the world, the Incarnation happens anew. We indeed become Jesus' hands and feet-furthering work He came to do. iF Paul Anderson teaches New Testament and Quaker studies at George Fox College in Newberg, Oregon and edits the EVANGELI­ CAL FRIEND.

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