THE GREAT COMMISSION

Matthew 28:16-20: Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him, they paid homage to him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them {in my name} in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

We have translated the text, according to the Greek manuscripts, to include “the Father, and the Son, and the holy spirit.” However, this rendering is a very early interpolation, and the original reading was “in my name,” although it must be admitted there is no Greek text which shows this to be the case.

Nevertheless, the following points are worth consideration:

1). It is strange that there is not a single occurrence of the disciples baptizing anyone according to this formula. All the records in the New Testament show that people were baptized in the name of the lord Jesus. In other words, the “name of Jesus the Messiah,” i.e., all that he represents, is the element, or substance, into which people were figuratively “baptized.” “Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus the Messiah for the forgiveness of your sins.'" (Acts 2:38). “They had simply been baptized into the name of the lord Jesus” (Acts 8:16). “So, he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus the Messiah” (Acts 10:48). “On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the lord Jesus” (Acts 19:5).

We cannot imagine any reason for the Apostles and others in Acts to disobey the command of the risen lord Messiah Jesus. To us, it seems clear that the lord Messiah Jesus said to baptize people in his name, which was what the early church [called-out assembly] did. The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible states (in its entry on “Baptism,” Vol.1, p.465):

It appears from Biblical records that the earliest followers of the lord Messiah Jesus baptized with the formula ‘in the name of Jesus the Messiah’ (Acts 2: 38). The Trinitarian formula ascribed to Jesus in his final commission (Matthew 28:19) is generally regarded to have been shaped at a later date through the liturgical usage of the community of Christians.

2). Eusebius (c. 260--c. 340) was the Bishop of Caesarea and is known as “the Father of Church History.” Although he wrote prolifically, his most celebrated work is his Ecclesiastical History, a history of the Church from the Apostolic period until his own time. Today it is still the principal work on the history of the church at that time.

Eusebius quotes many verses in his writings, and Matthew 28:19 is one of them. He never quotes it as it appears today in modern Bibles but always finishes the verse with the words “in my name.”

For example, in Book 3 of his History, Chapter 5, Section 2, which is about the Jewish persecution of early followers of the lord Messiah Jesus, we read, “But the rest of the apostles, who had been incessantly plotted against with a view to their destruction, and had been driven out of the land of Judea, went unto all nations to preach the Gospel, relying upon the power of the Messiah, who had said to them, ‘Go you and make disciples of all the nations in my name.’”

Again, in his Oration in Praise of Emperor Constantine, Chapter 16, Section 8, we read:

It seems very clear that “in my name” was changed to “in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” in Matthew 28:19 (M. Graeser, J. Lynn, J. Schoenheit, One God & One Lord (Christian Educational Services, Indianapolis, IN, 1999) p. 448).

Eusebius was present at the council of Nicaea and involved in the debates about Arian teaching and whether Christ was God or a creation of God. We feel confident that if the manuscripts he had in front of him read “in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” he would never have quoted it as “in my name.” Thus, we believe that the earliest manuscripts read “in my name,” and that the phrase was enlarged to reflect the orthodox position as Trinitarian influence spread.

3). We need to be clear that there is no “proof” of the Trinity in this verse. If the Father, Son, and holy spirit are mentioned in the original text of this verse, it would only affirm that those three exist, something we do not contest. The doctrine of the Trinity states that the Father, Son, and “Holy Spirit” together make “one God.” This verse refers to three, but never says they are “one.” The three things this verse refers to are: God the Father, the lord Jesus, and the power of the holy spirit. (We say “holy spirit” instead of “Holy Spirit” because we believe that this verse is referring to God’s gift of holy spirit that is born inside each believer. It is lowercase because it refers to the gift of God and not God. For more on this, see Graeser, Lynn, Schoenheit, The Gift of Holy Spirit: The Power to be like Christ.

4). It is sometimes stated that to be baptized into something, something has to be God, but that reasoning is false because Scripture states that the Israelites were “baptized into Moses” (1 Corinthians 10 2).

5). “name” A study of the culture and language shows that the word “name” stands for “authority.”

Examples are very numerous, but space allows only a small selection. Deuteronomy 18:5 and 7 speak of serving in the “name” (authority) of the Lord - Yehovah. Deuteronomy 18:22 speaks of prophesying in the “name” (authority) of the Lord - Yehovah. In 1 Samuel 17:45, David attacked Goliath in the “name” (authority) of the Lord - Yehovah, and he blessed the people in the “name” (authority) of the Lord - Yehovah. In 2 Kings 2: 24, Elisha cursed troublemakers in the “name” (authority) of the Lord - Yehovah. These scriptures are only a small sample, but they are very clear.

6). In reading the book of Matthew, we note that there is no presentation of the doctrine of the Trinity. Some prominent Trinitarians doubt that the apostles were even introduced to the doctrine until they received the holy spirit. It would be strange for the lord Messiah Jesus to introduce the doctrine of baptism with the formula of the name of the Father, Son, and holy spirit without some presentation to the apostles as to why that should be.

For more information on why this verse does not support a Trinitarian position, see Graeser, Lynn, Schoenheit, One God and One Lord, Appendix A, note on Matthew 28:19.

I have baptized “in the name of Jesus the Messiah”, as the disciples of the lord Messiah Jesus did.