Who Did Jesus Really Commission? The Great Commission Explained (Matthew 28)

Summary

The video asks whom Jesus addressed in the Great Commission in Matthew 28: the whole body of Christians individually, or the apostles, who were entrusted with a particular ministry that continues through the Church.

The presenter argues that readers should not assume the command applies identically to every believer without first examining its original audience. This distinction, the video emphasizes, does not diminish the Church’s missionary calling or Christians’ responsibility to witness to Christ. Rather, it asks how the apostles received and carried out the mission, and how that mission continues in the Church.

Main Ideas

• Start with the text and its original audience. The video cautions against letting familiar modern interpretations determine what Matthew’s account means. It argues that context, speaker, audience, and purpose should be considered before applying a passage more broadly.
• Matthew identifies “the eleven.” The account says that the eleven disciples went to the mountain in Galilee. The presenter treats this specific description as significant: Matthew’s Gospel distinguishes the apostles from the wider group of disciples and the crowds, and the eleven had received distinctive roles and promises from Jesus.
• The text does not say that only eleven people were physically present. The presenter acknowledges that others may have been nearby, including in connection with Paul’s report that the risen Christ appeared to more than 500 people. The argument is that Matthew nevertheless focuses his account on the eleven as the recipients of the recorded conversation.
• Audience does not settle every question of application. The video uses Jesus’ instructions to the rich young man and His command to Peter to care for His sheep as examples of commands addressed to particular people. Such passages may convey principles relevant to all Christians without requiring every believer to perform the same specific task.
• The apostles’ hesitation does not mean they rejected Jesus. Matthew’s word distazō, also used when Peter falters on the water, is presented as hesitation or uncertainty in the face of something overwhelming. The apostles’ understanding and courage developed over time, especially after Pentecost.
• Acts is essential to interpreting the Commission. The video describes Acts as the continuation of Luke’s Gospel and as an inspired account of how the apostles understood and enacted Christ’s command after receiving the Holy Spirit. Their actions, it argues, help show what the Commission meant in practice.
• The early Church understood itself as a guardian of apostolic teaching. Through a historical picture of Christianity around 110 AD, the presenter stresses the early Christians’ emphasis on preserving what had been handed down, with bishops, presbyters, and deacons serving the Church. The video cites Ignatius of Antioch as an example of opposition to innovation and of continuity with apostolic teaching.
• The video distinguishes the Church’s mission from a claim that every Christian has the same apostolic office. It affirms that evangelism is central to Orthodox history, citing missionaries and translators such as Cyril and Methodius, Nina of Georgia, Innocent of Alaska, and Nicholas of Japan. Its central question is how the mission entrusted to the apostles relates to the calling of every believer.

Method Proposed by the Video

The presenter outlines four guiding questions for studying the Great Commission:

1. What does the biblical text actually say?
2. To whom are Jesus’ words addressed?
3. How did the apostles carry out the command after Pentecost?
4. How did Christians closest to the apostles understand and continue the mission?

The video concludes that Matthew 28 should be read alongside Acts and early Christian testimony. This installment begins that inquiry by focusing on Matthew’s identification of the eleven; the promised next installment will examine how the apostles carried the mission forward.

Speakers and Sources Featured

Speaker

• The video’s narrator and presenter. The channel is identified in the supplied context as Eugene Gotwalt PhD; the subtitles themselves do not name the speaker.

Biblical Texts and Figures Discussed

• Matthew’s Gospel, especially Matthew 28
• The apostles’ roles and Peter on the water
• The rich young man and Jesus’ words to Peter about tending His flock
• Acts of the Apostles, including the apostles’ question about restoring the kingdom to Israel
• Luke’s Gospel
• Paul’s letters, including the report of the risen Christ appearing to more than 500 people and the instruction to guard what was entrusted
• Isaiah’s prophecy that knowledge of the Lord would fill the earth

Early Church Writers and Historical Figures Cited

• Ignatius of Antioch
• Polycarp of Smyrna
• Irenaeus
• John Chrysostom
• Matthias
• Saints Cyril and Methodius
• Saint Nina
• Saint Innocent of Alaska
• Saint Nicholas of Japan