baptism (as maintained by Zahn). Baptism "in the name of Jesus
An Exegetical Study of Matthew 28:16-20 67
mann) in order to explain verse 19. Nor do we have to declare the commission as "interpolated," to justify the mission to the Gentiles by the "supra- -Jewish substance of the Gospel," and to find its Magna Charta in the history of "early Christian missions"
(J. Weiss). As recapitulation and anticipation, revealing the hidden
reality of the eschatological community, the Great Commission is
truly the most genuine utterance of the risen Jesus.
. baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." The making of disciples is achieved by baptism and teaching.
Baptizing is the priestly function of objectively introducing others into the realm of God's reign. Initially it is the function of Jesus himself. Yet here he transmits it to his first disciples after he had them taste in advance the fruit of his sacrificial death—at the Last Supper—and then had suffered death.
Baptizing in a name meant, in the Jewish custom of the day, to administer to someone a cleansing bath intended to certify a state
to be attained. A Gentile slave, for instance, was administered baptism as a sign of his liberation when he left. Baptizing in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit means =~ to give to someone the cleansing bath which certifies to him and ° to others that he belongs to this God. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, then, are for him what the name of the triune God really stands for. He in turn has to confess and to confirm that he belongs to this God.
Some special observations:
1. If the BD reading * Bamricavres ("after having baptized them") were correct, the administering of baptism would only be a secondary task to laying the groundwork for the primary task of teaching. Foe
2. The text does not propose a liturgical : formula to be used for baptism (as maintained by Zahn). Baptism "in the name of Jesus Christ" (Acts 2:38) therefore does not speak against the au =
ticity of the text (as has been suggested by J. Weiss). Soe
3. Stress is laid, not on the act of baptizing itself, since cleansing —
rites attesting initiation were a current J ewish practice of the time; rather, the emphasis is on the particular kind of baptism the d ciples are asked to administer. A Gentile becomes a disciple when
* A reference to two Greek manuscripts: B—Codex Vaticanus; D—Cod Berae, Cantabrigiensis.