Read: Matthew 28:16-20
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations (v. 19 NIV)
When I was a new Christian in my teens, I heard more sermons on the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20) than any other passage. Every preacher explained that the Greek verb for “make disciples” was the only one that was a direct command. Every other verb was a participle. So we should really understand Jesus’s commission as “Going, make disciples . . .” or “Having gone, make disciples . . .” Or, to smooth it out, “as you go” or “after you’ve gone.”
At some point it dawned on me that none of these preachers had the expertise that the scholars on Bible translation committees did. So why do the major English translations so consistently say “Go and make” as if there were two commands? The answer is actually simple. When a participle precedes a main verb that is an imperative in a Greek sentence, it picks up the sense of a command from the main verb. We often do that in English too. If a mother says, “After you eat your peas, you can have dessert,” she usually means “Eat your peas and then you can have dessert!” So there’s nothing wrong with our translations.
Yet the preachers are right to stress that “make disciples” is the main verb. “Going,” like “baptizing” and “teaching,” are just part of how we do it. We may only have to go to a neighbor next door. But we are commanded to do so!
As you pray, ask God for tactful boldness to share the gospel with someone who needs it.
Craig L. Blomberg is the Distinguished Professor Emeritus of New Testament at Denver Seminary. He has written or edited more than 30 books, including a recently revised and expanded commentary on Matthew. He teaches regularly in churches, including his home church of Centennial Covenant in Littleton, CO. He and his wife Fran have two daughters and three grandchildren.
