Matt 28:16-20 for Sunday, May 18, 2008

Translation:

(16)And the eleven disciples traveled to Galilee to the mountain which Jesus had commanded them.  (17)And they saw him, they worshiped him but they doubted.  (18)And Jesus was coming and spoke to them, saying "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (19)Go, therefore, make disciples of all the people, baptizing them into the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, (20)teaching them to keep everything whatsoever I commanded you.  And surely I am with you every day until the end of the age."

In preparation for writing this blog, I read (as I always do) several commentaries.  One of my favorites has an "Explanation" section with these words, "Theirs is indeed an awesome responsibility: to go, make disciples of all nations, baptize, and teach.  If left to their own devices and strength, the task would be overwhelming.  Yet they are not left alone in this assignment.  The risen, enthroned Jesus promises to be with them in their fulfillment of it, not intermittently but always." (Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 33b, pg. 889)

I totally agree with this commentator: Jesus' promised presence makes all the difference.  That said, I'd like to take this commentator to task on the use of the word "overwhelming."

I think that the task wouldn't just be overwhelming, but impossible!  These eleven disciples (not twelve--remember, Judas doesn't make it this far in the story) worshiped, but doubted.  Some translations say that "some doubted."  This is a Greek grammatical quandary, but I think Matthew does not mean that only some doubted.  They all doubted.  And admit it, that scares us even 2,000 years later because it means that it's possible that others (the disciples of all people!) aren't sure about this faith either.

Let me qualify the word "doubt."  In this case, it means some kind of wavering.  It's the kind of back-and-forth we all go through when one possibility seems reasonable and right but another pulls us in a totally opposite direction.  It's indecision, uncertainty.  These disciples do not know what is going on.  Are they seeing things?  Should they continue to take any of this seriously?  They are all at a crossroads in their own lives.  Of course they have doubts!

So, here we have eleven disciples, who worship but not with some sense of reservation.  Then Jesus tells them to go and make disciples.  Overwhelming?!  Impossible!  Here are eleven men who aren't even sure this is what they want to do, or what they believe, or what and how any of this happened anyway.  I doubt they were feeling level headed enough to feel overwhelmed at this point.  I'll bet they mostly wanted to just go back to their lives prior to meeting this Jesus.  I'll bet they wanted to jump on a boat to Tarshish.  I'll bet they had a hundred other things they'd rather do.  In fact, if it wasn't for Jesus' final words in the Gospel of Matthew "I am with you every day until the end of the age," I wonder if we would even know anything about the disciples today.

It's not just that to "Go, therefore, make disciples of all the people" is an overwhelming task. Without Jesus' promise to remain present, I don't think it is possible at all.  The fact of the matter is that no individual human being can save anyone.  If we cannot point to the risen Christ as Savior when we go out to make disciples, then our message will have no power and no meaning.  A disciple is literally a "follower," "pupil," "student."  If Jesus did not go with us in our ministry, who would we teach folks to follow?

So, to all of those who have skipped over the last verses of Matthew thinking "not me!  I could never do that!" I say, breathe easy!  Your job is to show others how to follow Christ, by showing them his teachings and teaching his commands.  You don't have to be Christ!