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What Does the Great Commission Actually Command?

  What Does the Great Commission Actually Command? From Talmid to Mathēteusate : Discipleship in Its Jewish Context Matthew 28:18–20 is often called the Great Commission. Christians commonly summarize it as a command to “go,” “preach the gospel,” or “win converts.” Those ideas belong to the wider mission of the New Testament, but none of them identifies the main verb of this particular passage. The central command is: μαθητεύσατε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη mathēteusate panta ta ethnē “Make disciples of all the nations.” To hear that command in its first-century setting, we must recover the world of the תַּלְמִיד ( talmid ): the student-disciple who learns not only information from a teacher, but also a way of life. Yeshua’s commission is not merely to secure religious decisions. It is to form people from every nation into faithful learners who are baptized into the Name, taught to keep his commands, and trained to embody the life of their teacher. This reading does not detach the Great Commis...

大使命真正要做的是什么?从 תַּלְמִיד 到 μαθητεύσατε:重新认识犹太背景中的门徒与门徒训练

  大使命真正要做的是什么?从 תַּלְמִיד 到 μαθητεύσατε:重新认识犹太背景中的门徒与门徒训练 马太福音最后的几节经文,通常被称为「大使命」: 所以,你们要去,使万民作我的门徒,奉父、子、圣灵的名给他们施洗。凡我所吩咐你们的,都教训他们遵守。我就常与你们同在,直到世界的末了。 ——马太福音 28:19–20 这段经文在教会中非常熟悉。 但是,如果询问: 大使命最核心的命令究竟是什么? 许多人首先想到的可能是: 去传福音。 带领人信主。 给人施洗。 建立教会。 发展宣教事工。 这些内容都与大使命有关,但马太所使用的中心动词,并不是「传福音」,也不是「使人归信」。 而是: 使人成为门徒。 希腊文: μαθητεύσατε 与之对应的犹太概念是: תַּלְמִיד talmid 门徒、学生、受教者。 复数: תַּלְמִידִים talmidim 众门徒。 叙利亚文《佩希塔》甚至直接使用同一闪族词根形成的动词: ܬܰܠܡܶܕܘ talmedu 使人成为门徒、培育门徒。 这个词将大使命重新带回第一世纪犹太世界: 门徒不是参加一个宗教活动的人, 不是认同几项教义的人, 也不是完成某种仪式的人。 门徒是持续跟随老师、学习老师的教导,并使自己的生命越来越反映老师道路的人。 一、先澄清:talmid 与 tamid 不是同一个词 这两个希伯来词读音有些接近,但意思完全不同: 希伯来文 音译 意思 תָּמִיד tamid 常常、持续、恒常 תַּלְמִיד talmid 门徒、学生 תַּלְמִידִים talmidim 众门徒 תַּלְמִידוּת talmidut 门徒身份、门徒训练;较现代的抽象表达 因此,大使命中与「门徒」相关的概念是: תַּלְמִיד/תַּלְמִידִים 而不是: תָּמִיד 。 特别需要注意: talmid 是「门徒」这个人; 而: discipleship 指的是成为门徒、培育门徒,以及在师徒关系中持续成长的整个过程。 换句话说: talmid 是身份;门徒训练是这个身份逐渐成熟的过程。 二、大使命的希腊原文:真正的中心动词 马太福音 28:18–20: καὶ προσελθὼν ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐλάλησεν αὐτοῖς λέγων· ἐδόθη μοι πᾶσα ἐξουσία...

What Does the Great Commission Actually Say? A Greek, Syriac, and Hebrew Study of Matthew 28:18–20

  What Does the Great Commission Actually Say? A Greek, Syriac, and Hebrew Study of Matthew 28:18–20 Previously, we the discussed the ten commandment (The Heart of the Ten Commandments: Bearing the Name of the LORD) and the third commendment(Is the Third Commandment Really Only About “Taking God’s Name in Vain”?) , now let's discuss the great commission. The final three verses of Matthew are commonly called “the Great Commission.” The familiar English translation reads approximately: “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.” This passage is commonly summarized as a command to evangelize. Yet the original-language texts present a much richer picture. They speak of: The authority entrusted to the Messiah The turning of the nations toward Israel’s God The formation of disciples Immersion and identification with the Name Learning and observing the Messiah’s commandments The continuing presence of Y...