Hearing another Matthew 28 exhortation to be witnesses to the nations brings trepidation to me. This verse has been a 13-dollar bill for many churches: its savage and less than thoughtful use would frighten Yeshua.

18) Jesus however came near and said to them, “All power in Heaven and over the earth has been given to me. 19)  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations; baptize them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; 20) and teach them to obey every command which I have given you. And remember, I am with you always, day by day, until the Close of the Age.”

Matthew 28:18-20

Checklist for being a witness

• Go: not a travel demand. Every person who had come to Christ had been dispatched into the world. Πορευθεντες (poreuthentes) means having gone.

• Make disciples: “teach” (King James version) confuses the duties. To matheteusate someone is to enrol him for learning. Manthano means I learn. A disciple (a mathetes) is not identified by his accomplishments but by his place in the school.
• People are enrolled through baptism.
• Baptism is to be followed by education or teaching the curriculum that Yeshua published

We cannot accept:

• Teaching before enrollment
• Teaching that people can never understand
• Teaching that is aimed at instant maturity
• Teaching that denies the convert his disciple (learner) status
• Teaching that fudges on committing the disciple to Messianic doctrine exclusively

Teach, teach, baptize, teach.

Pure indoctrination is typically heavy on law and condemnation. Oppressive and misguided groups rely on doctrine that is usually featherweight on grace and philanthropy.

We cannot be witnesses to Christ with teaching that quite literally embarrasses Christ and the apostolic message. No apostle ever said that the Way’s disciples needed to also be Moses’ disciples, but James did. If we claim to have found one that does two problems arise. That apostle is not one who was an eyewitness and that apostle is not committed to hearing Yeshua. “Teach, teach, baptize, teach” results in people who are proud of turning their eyes away from Yeshua so that they can pursue (no one can ever be Israel.2) a reputation as God’s true people.

At least our covenant arrangements should clear the fog. The covenant of the broken body and shed blood is not an invitation to do our part to become God’s people like the Sinai covenant.

follow these rules and you will become a peculiar people, a kingdom of priests

If Yeshua cannot replace patriarchal and Mosaic teaching the divine command to hear the Beloved Son and the prediction of his arrival are mere words.

And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.

Mark 9:7

18. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. 19. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.

Deuteronomy 18:18-19

17. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 18. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. 19. We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:

2 Peter 1:17-19

God’s people are known in the Old Testament as covetous, lying, and incorrigible. They are revolters, stuck in kindergarten, determined to show that the Bible needs their opinions to be reliable. They learn but never acknowledge the truth.

The cowardly and verbose senator did not know how sick he was when he embraced the bigot now occupying the white house began his campaign for the presidency with vicious anti-Mexican and anti-Islamic attacks and unconstitutional policies, but he finds a decent bone in his body to protest the Speaker of the House ripping the hard copy of the chief bigot’s state of the union speech in plain sight.

Where was Ted when the evidence of the president’s criminal enterprise came to light? Will any one ever know what deals the senator made with the chief bigot? Did Ted get an apology for the shameless liar’s name calling? No and no.

Sorry Ted vs Brave Speaker

The GOP is a very pretty sepulchre. Ted’s face is a pretty nauseating reminder of what happens inside the elaborate tombs of prophet killers. Ted and the GOP need a resurrection, a makeover, a regeneration. Maybe they can get Jared. He can do everything!

100 thoughtful elected representatives look at and hear the evidence of corruption and betrayal and say “We see nothing here”. The Republican party buried the words truth and impartial justice in order to stay in power with its vote to ignore documented ongoing outrages by the American president. The Republican pride in covering up wrongdoing teminds me of the pride with which people read of three Hebrew lads in Babylonian exile. Should there not have been three who did what the Babylonian government wanted while the rest said no to idolatry? Surely we can forgive that? Won’t we?

Empty slogans and proverbs

What were the Hebrew people telling their children about their 70 year residence in Babylon? What conditions could have led to 3 boys standing apart from an idolatrous community? What was the buzz in such a dire situation?

Let us call it fundamentalist indoctrination and well-crafted fables. If American intelligence and interests seem to coincide with anyone one else’s interests one is likely to be sleepwalking. The exile of Jewish people in Babylon and the African diaspora of modern times have something in common: God’s definite plan for ultimate good.

And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

Jeremiah 25:11

The exile was a national embarrassment and it hurt Jewish families too. On top of that, access to one’s food and culture was clearly reduced. Were they supposed to protest and defend themselves? Did God expect them to settle in, build homes and plant gardens?

The right time to confess

Refusing to worship an idol (the Babylonian state?) may have been juvenile ignorance.  The memory of Aaron leading in worshipping the golden calf may have inspired them.  The narratives  of Israelite idolatry are nevertheless everywhere. Avoiding idolatry can be strong propaganda but is more likely to be a convenient blindfold we take to our faces so we cannot see our own intoxication with a disgraceful past.

For thus says the LORD, Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself, and to all your friends: and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and yours eyes shall behold it: and I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive into Babylon, and shall slay them with the sword.

Jeremiah 20:4

God or country, never both

Nebuchadnezzar’s image may have been an imperial symbol. Submitting to his government was not idolatry.

That at what time all of you hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, all of you fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up:

Daniel 3:5

The anti-Jewish segment of society exploited a known Jewish aversion to idolatry. Bringing charges of disloyalty they sought to draw attention to Jewish integrity.

There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded you: they serve not your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up.

Daniel 3:12

It worked! The disgrace of false gods is never far from people caught up in the preparation of God’s kingdom.