Some Christians, myself included, talk about discipling nations in obedience to Jesus’ parting words recorded at the end of Matthew’s gospel.
“Jesus came toward them and addressed them. ‘All authority in heaven and on earth’, he said, ‘has been given to me! So you must go and make all the nations into disciples. Baptize them in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy spirit. Teach them to observe everything I have commanded you. And look: I am with you, every single day, to the very end of the age'” (Matthew 28:18-20).1
Go, Baptise, Teach to Obey
According to Jesus, there are three elements needed for a nation to become a disciple of Jesus Christ. Firstly, we need to GO and engage at all levels and sectors of culture and society, be that family, education, government, business, in the arts and entertainment world, and so on.
Secondly, we are to BAPTISE them in the name of the Trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. More on that in a moment.
And thirdly, we are to TEACH nations TO OBEY the teachings of Jesus the Messiah.
These are the requirements for nations to be discipled and for God’s Kingdom to spread and advance throughout the world. This is God’s mission project that He invites us to participate with Him in bringing about.
I want to focus this blog post on the second element, the baptising of a nation, although all three are interconnected.
Nations Need to be Baptised too
For many years I thought the reference to baptism in the Great Commission related to the baptising of individuals in water following repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ. While I believe this is necessary and a part of the nation discipling process, in this particular passage the emphasis is not on individuals, but on whole nations and societies.
But how is it possible to baptise a whole nation? If our thinking about baptism is limited to water baptism, then this would be an impossible scenario. However, baptism in the scriptures can refer to a number of things, water being only one of them. For instance, there is also baptism in the Holy Spirit, and a baptism into the sufferings of Christ.2
A Process, not a Single Event
Here in Matthew 28 the word baptising (baptizontes in Greek) relates to a process (not a single event) of immersing or submerging, resulting in a permanent change. It’s like pickling a vegetable. It must first be ‘dipped’ [bapto] into boiling water and then ‘submerged’ [baptizo] in the vinegar solution. The first action is temporary [bapto], while the second produces a permanent change [baptizo].3
When it comes to baptising a nation, it is to be submerged and immersed into the ways of the Holy Spirit and the teachings of Jesus (the transforming agent, element three above). This is no one-time event but will often take a long time for the values and worldview of a nation to be impacted and change.
This is our Lord’s charge and mission, for His Kingdom (His way of doing things) to so infuse and marinate the nations that societal transformation is set in motion, ultimately bringing heaven to earth (Matthew 6:10).
New Lordship
Jesus also stated that the nations are to be baptised in the name [onoma] of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This means bringing them under the authority or character of the Triune God. It indicates a change of ownership, a change of worship. The one being baptised now belongs to a new lord and king.
Jesus wants to be acknowledged as Lord over the nations. This is His right as King of the universe and His promised inheritance (Psalm 2:8). As we participate in God’s mission and do our part in ‘baptising the nations’, they will become His disciples, and we will see Jesus glorified and in His rightful place as King of the nations.
1 The Kingdom New Testament: A Contemporary Translation, N.T. Wright
2 Out of the fifteen times the gospels record Jesus using the verb ‘to baptise’, only three times relate to water baptism (Mk. 16:16; Acts 1:5a; 11:16a). Nine references are in relation to suffering and His sacrificial death (Mt. 20:22a, 22b, 23a, 23b; Mk. 10:38a, 38b, 39a, 39b; Lk. 12:50), while the other two times relate to Holy Spirit baptism (Acts 1:5b; 11:16b).
3 Ed Silvoso, Ekklesia, chapter 10, A New Understanding of Baptizing Nations. The word baptizontes is a participle form of baptizo, which in turn is derived from bapto.
(Photo by newkemall, freeimages.com)