Firescribbler: The Matthean perspective of true discipleship

In the recent millennium there has been a growing interest in discipleship in the church. However, there is not yet clear-cut picture of what constitutes discipleship and the true essence of what a disciple is. But even then, in most churches a viable and effective discipleship process is either dying or already extinct. This is a critical crisis of modern Christianity. In the recent Enrichment Journal, Assemblies of God assistant superintendent Charles Crabtree recognizes this crisis with some alarming statistics. In the last year, out of 4 who received Christ as Lord and Savior, only 1 followed through in water baptism; and out of 5 only 1 received the baptism in the Holy Spirit.[i] “If we continue this trend,” he continues, “I project in 10 years we will have a small minority of Pentecostals in the Assemblies of God. So we must have a deep concern about Pentecostal discipleship.”[ii]

Furthermore, Crabtree presents three main causes for this lack of concern: First, churches today are preaching a different gospel, a self-centered message not focused on the Cross of Christ; second, the growing apathy of the average Christian to carry one’s cross as mentioned in Luke 14:26-27; and third, a disregard for continuing in the Word as a basic requirement of discipleship as prescribed by Jesus in John 8:31.[iii] This crisis is not limited in the Pentecostal circle. If these factors are tolerated, the Church’s future followers look unpromising. Author and researcher George Gallup Jr. is right when he said, “Without true discipleship, the church can simply turn into a social service agency.”[iv]

In response to this crisis, it is this paper’s objective to define the true meaning of discipleship by studying how the gospel author Matthew understood discipleship and how the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20 warrants the Christology of Jesus. In the end, the researcher will provide concluding thoughts on how this study could be applied in the present situation. The author has utilized resources from among print, online and class lecture resources.

Overview of the Gospel of Matthew and its Christology

Among the four gospels, Matthew, is considered to be the most Jewish gospel of the four. Though unidentified by name in the gospel, as early as AD 130, early church fathers, including the Papias attribute the gospel to Matthew^{^[v]}, one of the original twelve disciples of Jesus. His profession as a tax collector has greatly influence the style and organization of the book. Text blocks are well organized and would seem arranged by subject rather than in chronological order.

Dating between AD 70 and AD 60, the gospel is believed to be one of the earlier gospels that existed, second to John Mark’s gospel that was written few years back and is believed to be a major resource material of the Matthean gospel. Scholars believe that drawing from Mark’s writing, Matthew sought to clarify some text Mark would have missed due to poor expression in a foreign text.^{^[vi]}

Written in Hebrew or Aramaic, Matthew writes to the Jewish believers of that time. The gospel of Matthew is composed of a prelude, followed by five major discourses, and the finale – his trial, death and victorious resurrection and return to the Father.

Among its purpose is to document key events in the life of Jesus coming from a first-hand eyewitness account and ultimately to proclaim that Jesus is the Son of God and the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophet-messiah. His frequent reminiscence of Old Testament prophecies is a distinct trait of his gospel and is his major apology to Jesus’ Christology. [vii]

Survey of Discipleship in Matthew

The word “disciple” (μαθητης) which in Greek means “a student or learner”[viii] comes from the original verb form μανθανω which means “to learn.”[ix] Central to Jesus’ Great Commission is the mandate to his followers “to make disciples” (μαθητευω)[x],

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you, and lo, I am with you always even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:18-20).^{^[xi]}

The word “disciple” has a wide range of usage in the New Testament particularly in the Gospel and Acts[xii]. Used 261 times in the New Testament, the gospel of Matthew uses the term more than any other gospel writer.[xiii]

Samra presents spectrum of usage of the word “disciple” and “discipleship” in Matthew[xiv]. In terms of scope, discipleship could take the form as a teacher only imparting knowledge to their students. This meant that the relationship between teacher and student is only educational or intellectual (10:24, 10:52). On the other side of the spectrum, discipleship is described as a total life transformation wherein the student becomes their teacher or master (16:24, cf. Mark 8:34). In terms of the process of becoming a disciple, discipleship could take time (27:57, cf. Acts 14:21); on the other hand, it also denotes becoming or being one, meaning the student becomes like one’s teacher or master by emulating (cf. Luke 14:26-27). Also, the true identity of the disciples varies in different parts of the narrative. Disciples could refer to the people who occasionally followed Jesus wherein the people (referred here as disciples) learned about the teachings of Jesus (8:21) and the more obvious association, disciples referred to the select few, the Twelve disciples whom Jesus chose himself (17:1). Even within the Twelve, Jesus has an inner circle of three disciples closest to him. These disciples (the Twelve) embodied Samra’s latter definition of discipleship (as one who becomes their teacher) in time when their lives paralleled the earthly life, ministry and suffering of Jesus (e.g. Stephen, Peter and Paul).

Matthew’s usage of μαθητης also highlights his Christology. Wilkins believe that the presence μαθητης in the narrative signals that the narrative focuses on teaching and discipleship (17 of 34 accounts) while the exclusion of the term highlight the Jesus’ divine office.[xv]

In view of the descriptive word study of the word “disciple,” Samra concludes that one should take discipleship in a “holistic view” wherein discipleship meant both becoming and being, geared towards evangelism and growth, and involved both teaching and life transformation, ultimately “the process of becoming like Christ.”[xvi]

Discipleship in the Matthean Community

Only in the gospel of Matthew could one find the use of the word “ekklesia” or the Church (εκκλησια) in Greek which literally meant “the ones who are called out.”[xvii] While only utilized twice in the gospel (16:18; 18:17), they are strategically placed thus proposing that one cannot become a disciple unless they become part of the ecclesial community who will execute the Great Commission in the world.[xviii] Uz writes that “there is no other way to be a Christian than to walk the path of discipleship”[xix] i.e. becoming and being like Jesus.

Being a disciple in the Matthean community took a different kind of commitment. Contrary to discipleship in the epistles where being a disciple meant the imitation of the life of Jesus, discipleship in the Matthean community meant physically being with Jesus. This meant literally following Jesus around to learn from and become like him: leaving one’s family (8:21-23, 10:37), carrying one’s cross and following him (10:38, cf. Luke 14:27), spending time with him and even suffering with him (10:39).

Jesus also taught in varying settings. Jesus taught in a formal setting and in a large group as in the Sermon on the Mount. He also taught occasionally or when occasions arise, this meant it requires for one to spend extended time with him by physically following him.[xx] On both settings the Matthean community looked to Jesus for teaching, power and healing (8:2, 8:6, 17:5, 8:25, 14:30, 24:42)[xxi] that sometimes apart from Jesus, the disciples activities didn’t go as well as when he is around. Jesus allowed his disciples to experience ambivalence in their discipleship experience, experiences that mirror the mixture of faith, doubt, obedience and failure of the Christian men and women today.[xxii]

The Matthean Christology in Relation to Discipleship

Uz observes that the Christology in the gospel of Matthew is narrative in character[xxiii]. His divinity is presented through the testimony and narrative of the gospel and not by theological concepts because a theological discourse is not Matthew’s intent. Christological concepts are only underscores of the accounts in Matthew. Martin supports this by saying that the gospel of Matthew is a “paradigmic history angled to set forth the fulfillment of God’s redeeming motive and activity through Jesus.”[xxiv] This section will study the Matthew’s Christology of Jesus’ office as Lord in relation to discipleship and the Great Commission.

A substantial key in understanding Matthew’s Christology is the usage of the adjective “all” or πας in 28:18-20.[xxv] Four times within verses 18-20 πας is used to accentuate the maximum “authority” or παςα εξουσια[xxvi] vested in Jesus: “all authority” (v. 18), “all the nations” (v. 19), “all that I have commanded” (v. 20) and “always” or all days (v. 20).

Jesus’ Lordship in its fullest embodiment is not yet achieved in the pre-resurrection narratives. Although the term “Lord” has been used to address Jesus, both Cullman and Neyrey asserts that it only meant to be an honorific address of a disciple to a respected teacher or master (7:21, cf. Mark 11:3).[xxvii] Samra further explains that Jesus’ ministry on earth had limits[xxviii]: There was no indwelling of the Holy Spirit yet at this time (this happens in Pentecost) and there was still the need of a Christian community to aid process of discipleship. That is why Jesus encouraged his disciples that they will do greater works than he, because he is going to the Father (John 14:12). The promise of the Holy Spirit and the formation of the Church was necessary in order to accomplish the task of discipleship.[xxix]

The vestment of “all authority” to Jesus is one of the many allusions[xxx] one will see in the commission narrative. 28:18 alludes to Jesus’ temptation narrative in 4:1-11.[xxxi] By refusing “all the kingdoms of the world and their glory,” Jesus finally receives all power “in heaven and on earth” as a direct result of his obedience to the Father.[xxxii]

“All the nations” (παντα τα εθνη) also suggest Jesus’ lordship as the Lord of all nations by enlarging the scope of the disciples’ mission. Matthew again alludes to a former narrative, this time in 10:5-6 wherein Jesus forbids the disciples to proclaim the good news elsewhere but Israel.[xxxiii] If before the membership of Matthean community is strictly limited to Jews, Jesus expands it to both Jews and Gentiles, saints and sinners. Gentile mission is essential for Matthew that he hints this early in his narrative (2:1-12, 8:5-13, 15:21-28, 21:43, 22:8-10).[xxxiv]

Moreover, placing Jesus as Son of God in the baptism formula of “baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (28:19) clearly puts him on equal standing within the Trinity thus being one with the Father.^{^[xxxv]}

Matthew favorably portrays Jesus as the Teacher. To know the Father is by learning from Jesus and understanding his incarnation as God’s will itself.[xxxvi] Contrary to the Markan narrative, the discipleship narratives in Matthew softens the disciples’ lack of understanding but still situates the disciples in a negative light by their lack of faith (14:31, 16:8, 22f, 17:20). It is through Jesus that the disciples gained understanding.

The last of three instructions in making disciples (first two were to “go” and “baptize”) is teaching them to observe “all that [He] commanded [them]” (28:19). Matthew utilizes the exact phrase found in Exodus 29:35 as an allusion to portray Jesus as the law giver.[xxxvii] Fuller clarifies this by saying that Matthew does not present Jesus as the new Moses, but the Son of God “absorbing” the office of law giver among other things.[xxxviii] The arrangement of the gospel itself is a neat allusion to the Torah of the Old Testament. Matthew divides Jesus’ teaching into five discourses namely: (1) The Sermon on the Mount (5:1-7:29), (2) instructions for service (10:1-42), (3) the parables (13:1-52), (4) compassion and mercy (18:1-35), and (5) eschatology (23:1-25:46). For Matthew, only through Jesus can a person become a true disciple by being able to learn from parables and is discipled in the ways of the kingdom (13:52, 27:57).

Jesus’ teaching still integrates the concept of love and self-sacrifice, commitment to God, holy living and suffering present in the law. He valued mercy over sacrifice and taught the εκκλησια the virtue of discipline and forgiveness. [xxxix] Neyrey points out that Jesus’ teaching is not a reformation of the law, but establishes a “new and better” covenant by reinterpreting the law.[xl] This is true when Jesus says that he did not come “to abolish the Law … but to fulfill” it (5:17). The reinterpretation of the Sabbath laws (12:1-8), marriage rites (19:1-19), forgiveness of sins (18:21-35), and purification and rituals (15:1-20, 28:19) are some of the content of his teachings. Jesus’ establishment of the Eucharist replaces the Old Testament’s blood sacrifices. Forerunners of the law pans from Moses to Abraham and David. The Old Testament text is also viewed differently. Before the establishment of the new covenant, the Law and the Prophets are read as legal documents. But the new covenant interprets them as a prophetic document, a historical writing anticipating the arrival of a new covenant. Law became love.

In the end, Jesus leaves a hopeful promise to his disciples, “I am with you always, even to the very end of the age” (28:20). Another of Matthew’s allusion to Immanuel – God with us (7:14).[xli] Matthew’s intent from the beginning to proclaim his kingship to Jews finally ends in the portrayal of Jesus as Christ the Lord, King of all.

Summary

The Bible warns that the lack of knowledge merits one’s downfall (Hosea 4:6). The crisis on discipleship stems from the lack of biblical foundation and theological understanding of discipleship. Discipleship must not be solely understood as the process of imparting knowledge but a total engagement between the life of the teacher and their student and is geared toward life transformation. Much has to be said to the teacher who “will incur a stricter judgment” (James 3:1). The teacher must lead the way as examples for their students, for no one is greater than his master.

A proper understanding of the person of Jesus is an essential component of discipleship. This can be achieved by the inclusion of the study and emulation of the life of Jesus in the discipleship process of the believer. This among other things should not be neglected. This is true within the Matthean community where in the concept of following Jesus was in order to know him more thus giving one a model to emulate. The movement of multiplying disciples of 28:18-20 must be received with utmost importance and seriousness as one given by the Lord Jesus Christ whom “all authority in heaven and on earth” has been given.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

A Critical Introduction to the New Testament. Quoted in Discipleship in the Ancient World and the Gospel According to Matthew. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1995

Carson, D. A. and others. An Introduction to the New Testament. Manila: OMF Literature Inc, 1998

Crabtree, Charles T. “Discipleship in the Assemblies of God: The Crisis, The Cause, and The Cure.” Enrichment Journal (2007). http://www.enrichmentjournal.ag.org/top/2--7_crisisdiscipleship_crabtree.pdf (accessed March 14, 2007).

Cullman, Oscar. The Christology of the New Testament. Trans. Shirley C. Guthrie and Charles A. M. Hall. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1963

Gundry, Robert H. Survey of the New Testament, 4th ed. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 2003

Jiminez, Alvin. “Lecture on the Theological Themes in the Gospel of Matthew.” Asian Seminary of Christian Ministry, 2007

Keener, Craig S. A Commentary of the Gospel of Matthew. Grand Rapids: Eerdsman Publishing Co., 1999

Mattingly, Terry. “Gallup, Statistics and Discipleship.” http://tmatt.gospelcom.net/column/2004/07/28 (accessed March 14, 2007).

Morris, Leon. The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Matthew. Leiscester: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1992

New Testament Foundations: A Guide for Christian Students, vol. 1. Quoted in Discipleship in the Ancient World and the Gospel According to Matthew. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1995

Neyrey, Jerome. Christ Is Community: The Christologies of the New Testament. Wilmington: Michael Glazier, 1985

Samra, James. “A Biblical View of Discipleship.” Bibliatheca Sacra, no. 638 (March-April 2003): 219-234.

Strong, James. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Nashville, Tennessee: Crusade Bible Publishing, Inc., 1990

The Moral Vision of the New Testament: Community, Cross and New Creation, A Contemporary Approach to New Testament Ethics. Quoted from “Lecture on the Theological Themes in the Gospel of Matthew.” Asian Seminary of Christian Ministry, 2007

Uz, Ulrich. New Testament Theology: The Theology of the Gospel of Matthew. James D. G. Dunn, ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995

Wilkins, Michael. Discipleship in the Ancient World and Matthew’s Gospel. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1995

[i] Charles T. Crabtree, “Discipleship in the Assemblies of God: The Crisis, The Cause, and The Cure,” Enrichment Journal. http://www.enrichmentjournal.ag.org/top/2--7_crisisdiscipleship_crabtree.pdf (accessed March 14, 2007).

[ii] Ibid, p. 1

[iii] Ibid, p. 1

[iv] Terry Mattingly, “Gallup, Statistics and Discipleship,” http://tmatt.gospelcom.net/column/2004/07/28 (accessed March 14, 2007).

[v] D. A. Carson and others, An Introduction to the New Testament (Manila: OMF Literature Inc, 1998) and Donald C. Stamp ed, Full Life Study Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing Company, 1992)

[vi] Robert H. Gundry, Survey of the New Testament, 4th ed (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 2003)

[vii] Christological issues will be further discussing later in this paper.

[viii] James Strong, Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville: Crusade Bible Publshing, Inc., 1990)

[ix] Ibid.

[x] Ibid.

[xi]Biblical citations in this paper are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) and will be noted if otherwise.

[xii] James Samra, “A Biblical View of Discipleship,” Bibliatheca Sacra, no. 638 (2003): 219-234 and Michael Wilkins, Discipleship in the Ancient World and Matthew’s Gospel (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1995). The term μαθητης is absent in the epistles and Revelation.

[xiii] Wilkins, Discipleship in the Ancient World, p. 127

[xiv] Samra, “A Biblical View...” p. 219

[xv] Wilkins, Discipleship in the Ancient World, p. 164

[xvi] Samra, “A Biblical View...,” p. 221

[xvii] Strong, Strong’s

[xviii] Alvin Jiminez, “Lecture on the Theological Themes in the Gospel of Matthew,” Asian Seminary of Christian Ministry, 2007.

[xix] Ulrich Uz, New Testament Theology: The Theology of the Gospel of Matthew, James D. G. Dunn, ed (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), p. 139

[xx] Samra, “A Biblical View...,” p. 221

[xxi] Jerome Neyrey, Christ Is Community: The Christologies of the New Testament (Wilmington: Michael Glazier, 1985), p. 100

[xxii] Uz, New Testament, p. 139

[xxiii] Ibid. p. 32

[xxiv] New Testament Foundations: A Guide for Christian Students, vol. 1. Quoted in Discipleship in the Ancient World and the Gospel According to Matthew. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1995. p. 23

[xxv] Neyrey, Christ is, p. 100

[xxvi] Leon Morris, The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to Matthew (Leiscester: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1992), p. 745

[xxvii] Oscar Cullman, The Christology of the New Testament, trans. Shirley C. Guthrie and Charles A. M. Hall (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1963), p. 264 and Neyrey, Christ Is, p. 100

[xxviii] Samra, “A Biblical View...”

[xxix] Ibid.

[xxx] Uz, New Testament, p. 139

[xxxi] 28:18 also alludes to Daniel 7:14, according to Uz, a passage that is much familiar to the Matthean community.

[xxxii] Uz, New Testament, p. 139

[xxxiii] Ibid, p. 15

[xxxiv] Ibid, p. 15

[xxxv] Craig S. Keener, A Commentary of the Gospel of Matthew (Grand Rapids: Eerdsman Publishing Co., 1999)

[xxxvi] Wilkins, Discipleship in the Ancient World, p. 166

[xxxvii] Uz, New Testament, p. 140

[xxxviii] A Critical Introduction to the New Testament. Quoted in Discipleship in the Ancient World and the Gospel According to Matthew. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1995

[xxxix] Jimenez, “Lecture on…”

[xl] Neyrey, Christ is

^{^[xli]} Uz, New Testament, p. 140

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The Matthean perspective of true discipleship

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