Chapter 6 - Peter (part 2)
… Jesus looked at me and held my gaze for a moment. I’d been around him long enough to know that he was looking into my heart, and that he saw all the mess of doubt and fear that was there…
Matthew 28:16-20
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’
All scripture quotations taken from
The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®
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Background:
This passage comes at the end of Matthew’s Gospel and is often called the ‘Great Commission’. The 11 disciples, having witnessed the resurrection of Jesus, get given their next task.
The tasks that Jesus gave the disciples before the crucifixion were small by comparison (although they must have been daunting to them at the time) and focused within Israel. But now, with those words, ‘all nations’, Jesus widens the scope of their mission; now it seems their new job is to change the world.
The Great Commission might seem like a straightforward instruction, but there are a lot of subtleties in the original Greek that can be missed if we take the English translations literally. So, as in previous chapters, we need to explore a few parts of this passage in more depth before we look at it through the eyes of Peter. Apologies if some of this gets a bit technical, but it makes a difference in how we understand the passage:
Where was this mountain? And when did Jesus instruct them to go there? The specific instruction as to which mountain isn’t recorded in the Gospels, but tradition says that it was the same mountain from which Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5-7). Tradition has it that this mountain is one that is about 2km from Capernaum, but it’s quite a steep climb, so it would probably take about an hour to walk there.
Why does it say that some of them doubted? The Greek word that is translated as ‘doubted’ is διστάζω (distazō). It helps in understanding this passage to know that distazō can also mean to hesitate. It must have been hard for the disciples to make the adjustment from Jesus as a man, to Jesus as God. They’d known him for 3 years, eaten meals with him, journeyed with him, laughed and cried with him, but how did they treat him now that they knew he was God. What was appropriate? As a result, some worshiped him, but some hesitated/doubted.
There are parallels with the sending out of the twelve (Matt 10:5-15), when they had to go to the lost sheep of Israel (not ‘all nations’). In Matthew 10:7 the Greek word πορεύω (poreuō) is translated ‘As you go’, but in the Great Commission it is translated as ‘Go’ (Matt 28:19). Some scholars argue that ‘As you go’ would be a better translation to use in the Great Commission too, and this makes a subtle change to the charge Jesus is giving the apostles.
It may seem obvious, but it’s worth stating that when Jesus tells them to make disciples, he is basically saying make more people like yourselves. And ‘As you go’ implies that making disciples should be a natural by-product of who they are, the way they live, the way they love and serve God and people, i.e. people will be drawn to follow, and become like, people who are living out their lives as disciples of Jesus. Making disciples is a process, not a transaction, and it is a process in which people can’t be pushed, but they can be pulled[1].When Jesus says, ‘baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit’, he’s not saying that we need to splash them with (or immerse them in) water, it’s far more than that. The Greek βαπτίζω (baptizō) – which is translated as ‘baptising’ – literally means to immerse, to dip repeatedly, to overwhelm. So, Jesus is saying, immerse them in the presence of God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), help them experience the presence, peace, love, grace, and forgiveness of God, AND teach them to obey all that I have commanded. I think it’s significant that the presence comes first, because once people get that, once they experience the reality of the love of God in that way, then they are hungry to learn/ready and willing to be taught.
Lastly, it’s helpful to remember that the Gospel writers wanted to give an overview of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, occasionally zooming in close for more detail. I believe that Matthew’s report of what was said in the Great Commission was his summary of that encounter with Jesus. It would seem a little unfair for Jesus to ask his disciples to walk for over an hour up a steep hill, just for him to say about 60 words, which would take about 40 seconds, and then disappear. Like many of his other meetings that Jesus had with his disciples, I think this gathering probably took place over food.
So, with all that in mind, pause, and ask God to speak to you through this reflection, read the passage from Matthew’s Gospel again, and then imagine that you have Peter sitting with you, sharing his story, witnessing to what happened on that day.
As before, when you read through the Bible passage and the story:
Take time to notice how you feel about what you are reading.
Are there things in the story that jar, or resonate with you?
Are there things that surprise you, or that you disagree with?
Why is that?If you were Peter, how would it feel to hear all this after your encounter with Jesus on the beach? What is your reaction to the size of the task that Jesus calls you to?
And the end of the story, before moving on to the thoughts and questions for reflection, pause and ask God what he might be wanting you to take from this story.
If you find it helpful, make notes in a journal as you read and pray.
[1] Dallas Willard, ‘Living in Christ’s Presence: Final Words on Heaven and the Kingdom of God’
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