published by Bill Mounce on Mon, 05/26/2008 - 01:46
This morning it was said in church from the pulpit that the typical translation of Matthew 28:19 (“Therefore go and make disciples”) is incorrect because the Greek word for “go” (poreuthentes) is a participle and should be translated “going/ as you go.” Makes a reasonable homiletical point (day by day as you go through life, make disciples), but is it what Jesus said?
The problem stems from an inadequate knowledge of the Greek text. While it is true that poreuthentes is a Greek participle it is not true that it must be translated like an English gerund. (The interested student should turn to Dan Wallace’s Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics for a forty-some page discussion of the participle in Greek.) In the Matthew passage poreuthentes “fits the typical structural pattern for the attendant circumstance participle” (NET Bible, p. 1744, note 2) with the participle picking up the mood of the main verb. Since matheteusate is an aorist active imperative, poreuthentes should be translated “Go.”
I wanted to check this grammatical “rule” (rules being generalized statements of the way language works) so with the help of Accordance I found that in the New Testament there are twenty-seven occasions where poreuthentes is followed by a main verb in the imperative mood. The result? In every case the participle is translated as an imperative.
Comments
Bill, since participles are
Bill, since participles are open to so much “interpretation,” one is not always sure how to translate them. That’s where the setting and context are meant to bring out the usage.
The big question is how do we translate the Great Commission so the only imperative (disciple) is understood as the only imperative in the commission? Most English readers interpret the Great Commission as having four imperatives: Go, make, baptize, and teach. And “make” isn’t even one of the imperatives! And of course “Go” is misused by many a preacher as the imperative to get the flock to tell others about Jesus (shame on you fellow preachers!).
Here, context is critical to understand what point Jesus was making? To whom was He speaking: the Eleven. Where were they? On the mountain wiht Jesus. So of course they had to “go” before they could even do any “discipling” of the Gentiles/Nations. The go is simply something that has to happen for Christ’s mandate to begin to take place.
Based on setting and context, but I would translate poreuthentes as “After you go.”
And of course we have other participles (with poreuthentes being the only imperative in the entire mandate!): “baptizing” and “teaching.” These participles only become indirect mandates because they are the how the discipling it to take place.
Therefore, after you go, disciple all Gentiles/Nations by baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them the keep everything I have commissioned you [to teach].
This translation helps keep the imperative the imperative and the participles the participles.
Rich, I have had 1 year of
Rich,
I have had 1 year of Greek and do not remember the basics as it was so long ago. So, as an average believer how can i determine if the congregation of scholars responsible for the proper biblical exegesis of Matt 28:19-20 in the RSV or the NIV is correct. This is a huge difference whether or not Jesus has commissioned "Me" or "Y'all" the overall church. Is it presumptuous to declare you (or Bill Mounce)know the original meaning and the staff of scholars missed it? Not an attack on you or bill, just a question. If we all need to be scholars in order to get this Christianity thing right the church is in big trouble, at least I as a part of the church is in big trouble. So my questions to you is how did the scholars get it wrong, did they have a missionary agenda and interpreted the text in a way to get people signed up for service? And how do we determine what level of authority we give to scripture?
Steve, I would go back in
Steve, I would go back in history and see how others throughout history have understood a verse. Our lifetime experience is just a sliver of the Church’s teaching. Learn from those who have gone before us. Much of what Christians hold to be solid truths today are novel teachings that have only existed for 150 years or less. If something is that new, it’s probably wrong. I recommend that you go back to the church fathers and read their understandings and exegesis. That will help remove you from the biases of our time, which we don’t even realize we have because the “second text” of our preconceptions color and shape our understandings of the first text, that is, of Scripture. Rich
Rich, The context of Matthew
Rich,
The context of Matthew clearly rules out your translation. Also, participles are not open to "interpretation". The only time one should choose is when an adverbial is in place. Then it is just a matter of context. But, interchanging adverbial participles with Pleonastic participles is not what a Greek scholar would do often.
But, I agree with you on how preachers manipulate "go" to get people to be where they want them to be.
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