Why Foreign Missions? 6. Matthew 28.16-20 and Isaiah 66.18-23
Is the mission of the disciples also the
mission of the Church today? Is this
mission to both Jews and Gentiles? Matthew’s
Gospel concludes with the ‘Great Commission’ (Mt. 28.16-20): because all
authority in heaven and earth has been given to the risen Jesus Christ, the
disciples are to make disciples of all nations.
This conclusion in Matthew’s Gospel alludes to the conclusion in Isaiah (66.18-23). I will demonstrate this relationship by
quoting a section from my article, ‘Narrative Dynamics in Isaiah’s and Matthew’s
Mission Theology.’[1] The importance of this allusion to Isaiah is
that it shows that Matthew is stating that the time for restoring the nations—the
dispersion of Israel and the other nations—has come. If so, then the Great Commission is not
only for the original disciples but for the Church as well. We live in the time of gathering in the
nations by making disciples.
Isaiah 66:18-23 (NRSV): 18 For I know their works
and their thoughts, and I am coming to gather all nations and tongues; and they
shall come and shall see my glory, 19
and I will set a sign among them. From them I will send survivors to the
nations, to Tarshish, Put, and Lud-- which draw the bow-- to Tubal and Javan,
to the coastlands far away that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory; and
they shall declare my glory among the nations.
20 They shall bring all your kindred from all the nations as
an offering to the LORD, on horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and on
mules, and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the LORD, just
as the Israelites bring a grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the
LORD. 21 And I will also take
some of them as priests and as Levites, says the LORD. 22 For as the new heavens and the
new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, says the LORD; so shall
your descendants and your name remain. 23
From new moon to new moon, and from sabbath to sabbath, all flesh shall come to
worship before me, says the LORD.
Matthew 28:16-20 (NRSV): 16 Now the eleven
disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed
them. 17 When they saw him,
they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18
And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has
been given to me. 19 Go
therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded
you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
Mt. 28.16-20 and
Is. 66.18-22 are related texts. Matthew is alluding to Isaiah, I believe, and this allusion is significant. The following comments demonstrate the relationship between these two texts and then draw out the significant points of such a relationship.
The Relationships Between Mt. 28.16-20 and Is. 66.18-22
Both passages ‘entail a (1) bringing together of the ‘survivors’ or remaining
disciples, and both passages involve a (2) commissioning of these survivors in
(3) a mission to the nations.[2] The commission is to announce (4) God’s name (or baptise in the triune
name), which, as Isaiah clearly states, entails making God’s glory known over
the whole earth. Earlier in Is. 66, (5)
God’s authority is declared over heaven and earth (Is. 66.1), just as Jesus
says that all authority in heaven and earth has been given to him. Also, (6) God says He will look to the one
who ‘trembles at my word’ (Is. 66.2), just as Jesus tells his disciples to
teach the nations all that he has commanded them. (7) Similar to Jesus’ promise of His presence
with His disciples until the end of the age, in Is. 66 God announces His coming
presence with the restored remnant of His people:
As a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you; you shall be
comforted in Jerusalem. You shall see,
and your heart shall rejoice; your bodies shall flourish like the grass; and it
shall be known that the hand of the LORD is with his servants, and his
indignation is against his enemies (Is. 66.13-14).
This point is emphasised
in Is. 66.20-22, where the restoration of God’s people from the nations to
Jerusalem (v. 20) means that they will ‘remain before me’ (v. 22). (8) Whereas Isaiah says that God will take
some of those from the nations to be priests and Levites (Is. 66.21), Jesus
speaks of making ‘disciples’ from the nations (there is no priestly group
between the people and God among the Father’s children in Matthew). Finally, it should be noted, that (9) both
Isaiah and Matthew conclude with this commissioning to the nations.’
Conclusions
These nine points establish the relationship between Isaiah 66 and the Great Commission
in Matthew’s Gospel. This relationship allows us to draw several conclusions.
First, the ‘twelve’ disciples in Matthew’s Gospel represent
the ‘survivors’ or remnant of Israel that returns from exile in Isaiah. There are more disciples of Jesus than these ‘twelve’
(actually eleven, now that Judas is no longer among them). Yet the ‘twelve’ disciples stand as a
fulfillment of the initial restoration of God’s people from ‘exile’ in their
sins.
Second, the mission of the survivors/disciples to the
nations means, for Isaiah and so also for Matthew, that they have the task of
continuing to bring back the Jews from exile.
Matthew does not have a replacement theology, where the Jews are
replaced as God’s people.
Third, following Isaiah, this proclamation among the nations
includes a proclamation not only to the still dispersed Jews but also to the
Gentiles themselves. Matthew, however,
makes the point that this good news for the nations (Jews and Gentiles)
involves baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and it
entails becoming disciples of Jesus.
That is, only through Jesus is the restoration of Israel and the
inclusion of the Gentiles into God’s people possible. There is no alternative route.
Fourth, the connection of the Great Commission to the
conclusion in Isaiah also shows that the progression in time for God’s
salvation has been from the time of the inauguration
of the restoration of Israel from captivity in Jesus’ ministry to the time of
the further ingathering of Jews and Gentiles by the survivors from
captivity. Matthew leaves his readers in
this time of further ingathering, and so we see that the Great Commission was
not just for Jesus’ disciples: it is a commission left to the Church ‘until the
end of the ages’ (Mt. 28.20).
[1] Rollin G. Grams, ‘Narrative Dynamics in Isaiah’s and Matthew’s Mission Theology,’ Transformation 21.4 (Oct., 2004):
238-255.
[2] David Pao argues that Luke's version of the disciples'
commissioning (Lk. 24.47) echoes Is. 49.6 with reference to 'to the end/s of
the earth' (Acts and the Isaianic New
Exodus (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002; orig. publ. 2000), pp. 85f). He notes that this is a theme in Acts (1.8;
13.47). The same idea is present in
being a 'light' to the Gentiles (Acts 26.23--an image also in Isaiah). While I am not familiar with an argument such
as mine that Is. 66 stands behind Mt.'s Great Commission, Pao's argument does
seem to support the point indirectly.
Is. 49.6, I would note, not only speaks of going to the nations as does
Lk. 24.47, but it also sees the Servant's work as restoring the 'survivors' of
Israel prior to a mission to the nations.
Is. 66.19 sees this as the survivors' mission. Matthew shares the exact same understanding
of Jesus' and the disciples' mission vis-à-vis Israel and the nations.
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