Matthew 28:18-20 in High Definition

The following article is taken from the book, Top Ten Bible Verses in High Definition. To buy click here.

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Key: [CAP] = Should be Capitalized, [ML] = Misleading, [OD] = Outdated, [T] = Wrong Tense, [WT] = Wrong Translation, [X] = Not in Greek, [-] = Greek Word not Translated

KJV

Verse 18

And Jesus came[WT] and[X] spake[OD] unto[OD] them, saying, All power[ML] is[T] given unto[OD] me[CAP] in heaven and in[WT] earth.

Verse 19

Go[WT] ye[OD] therefore[OD], and[X] teach[WT] all [-] nations, baptizing[ML] them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost[ML]:

Verse 20

Teaching them to observe all things[X] whatsoever[WT] I have[T] commanded you: and, lo[OD], I am with you alway[OD,WT] [-], even[X] unto[OD] the end[WT] of the world[WT]. Amen.

ESV

Verse 18

And Jesus came[WT] and[X] said[WT] to them, [-] "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given[T] to me[CAP].

Verse 19

Go[WT] therefore[OD] and[X] make disciples[ML] of all [-] nations, baptizing[ML] them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Verse 20

teaching them to observe all that[WT] I have[T] commanded you. And behold[OD], I am with you always[WT] [-], to the end[WT] of the age[WT]."

High Definition

BV

Verse 18

And when Jesus came forward, He spoke to them, saying, "Every authority in heaven and on the earth was given to Me.

Verse 19

So after traveling, make students of all the nations, submerging them into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Sacred Spirit,

Verse 20

teaching them to be keeping all things, as many as I demanded you. And look, I am with you all the days until the very conclusion of the span of time.

BKJV

Verse 18

And when Jesus came forward, He spoke to them, saying, "Every authority in heaven and on earth was given to Me.

Verse 19

So after traveling, make students of all the nations, submerging them into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Sacred Spirit,

Verse 20

teaching them to be keeping all things, as many as I demanded you. And look, I am with you all the days until the very conclusion of the span of time. Amen.

The Improvements

Verse 18

Jesus came and -> when Jesus came forward

The Greek word for "and" (kai) is not in this phrase. "Came" is not a past tense verb in Greek as it is in the KJV and ESV. It is an aorist participle (after coming, when He came).

The Greek word for "came" is a compound word consisting of the word for "come" (erchomai) and the prefix pros (toward). It means either to come to something or to come forward.

spake|said -> spoke

"Spake" is an outdated way to say the past tense of speak (spoke). "Said" (ESV) is a wrong translation.

unto -> to

"Unto" (twice in KJV’s verse 18) is an outdated word for "to".

[no word] -> saying

In the Greek text, "Spoke" is followed by the present participle of "to say" (lego), "saying". The ESV leaves out the participle and gives the verb (spoke) the meaning of the participle (said).

power -> authority

The KJV translates five different Greek words as "power" (arche, dunamis, exousia, ischus, kratos). Each one has a specific meaning. They do not all mean power. The Greek word here is exousia. It means authority.

is given|has been given -> was given

The KJV translates the verb "didomai" (to give) as present passive ("is given") and the ESV as perfect passive ("has been given"). These are wrong. In the Greek text it is aorist passive which I translate as past passive, "was given".

in earth -> on earth

The preposition before "earth" in the Greek text is "on" (epi) not "in" (en).

me -> Me

This pronoun refers to Jesus and so it should be capitalized.

Verse 19

therefore -> so

"Therefore" is outdated. It is also a word that the KJV uses to translate 18 different Greek words. So when you see the word "therefore" in the KJV you do not know what it is "there for" because you cannot tell from the KJV what the Greek word behind it is.

The Greek word here is oun. It means so.

go ye and|go and -> after traveling

"Ye" is outdated. It is the second person plural pronoun referring to more than one person (you). It is no longer distinguished from the singular second person pronoun (you) which refers to one person except in the southern United States where the plural you is "y'all" (you all).

The word in the Greek text for "go" is poreuomai (travel) which is not the common Greek word for "go" (erchomai). Poreuomai means to go for a distance. That distance may be across town or further.

"And" in this phrase is not in the Greek text. "Go" is an aorist particle which should be translated as "after traveling", "after you travel", or "when you travel". Many have realized that "go" is a participle and so they conclude that it should be translated "as you go", but that is how the present participle is translated, not the aorist participle.

teach|make disciples -> make students

"Teach" is a wrong translation for the Greek word matheteuo. The root of matheteuo is manthano which means to learn, not to teach (didasko means to teach, it is in verse 20). Matheteuo comes from the noun mathetes (learner, student). To translate mathetes as disciple (as it is commonly translated in most English versions) or matheteuo as to make disciples is misleading because disciple no longer means student as it did when it was first put in the English Bible. Disciple now has the meaning of follower which is not what it means in the Bible.

all nations -> all the nations

The Greek text has the definite article ("the") in this phrase. The KJV and ESV leave "the" out.

baptizing -> submerging

"Baptize" is a transliteration of the Greek word baptizo not a translation. Baptizo means to submerge and does not always refer to the ritual of baptism (Mark 7:4; Luke 11:38).

The ritual of baptism came from the Jewish ritual of submerging things (and people) in water to clean them.

Holy Ghost|Holy Spirit -> Sacred Spirit

"Ghost" is a bad word to use of the Holy Spirit because "ghost" has changed in meaning. It now carries with it the sense of haunting.

The KJV translates two Greek words as holy (hagios, hosios). To be distinctive, hosios should be translated as holy and hagios as sacred.

Verse 20

things -> things

This word (things) in verse 20 is not in the Greek text even though it is implied by the Greek text and so it should be in italics.

whatsoever|that -> as many as

The Greek word here is hosos. It does not mean "that". In order for it to mean "whatsoever" it would need the Greek word "an" with it (which is not in this verse). Hosos means "as many as" or "how many".

I have commanded -> I demanded

In the KJV and ESV "have commanded" is a perfect verb, but in the Greek text it is an aorist verb ("commanded"), not perfect ("have commanded").

"Command" is becoming outdated and is seldom used in everyday conversation, so "demand" is preferred.

lo|behold -> look

"Lo" and "behold" are outdated. In the Greek text it is the imperative of "to look" or "to see" (Look!, See!).

alway|always -> all the days

"Alway" is an outdated way of saying "always".

The Greek text says "pasas" (all) "tas" (the) "hemeras" (days) in this verse, not "always".

"Hemera" (day) is a significant word. It should be translated.

even unto|to -> until

There is no reason to add "even" here as the KJV does.

"Unto" is outdated.

The word in the Greek text here is heos (until).

end -> very conclusion

There are two Greek words that are translated as "end" in most English Bibles, telos G5056 and peras G4009. To make a distinction between the two, peras should be translated as end and telos as conclusion.

The Greek word here is neither telos, nor peras. It is a compound word with telos in it, sunteleia (sun = together, telos = conclusion). Sunteleia means more than end or conclusion. It means the entire conclusion or very conclusion.

world|age -> span of time

The Greek word here is aion. "World" is a bad translation because an aion is used of time and "world" is not. "Age" (era) is close, but aion seems to refer to larger amounts of time than "age" does. An aion is the span of time of something, for example the span of time of the earth (Ephesians 2:2). That seems to be what it is referring to in this passage.

The Big Picture

These verses are known as the Great Commission.

Up until this time, the Father had only given Jesus authority over certain things (like, demons, forgiveness of sin, and all people), not all authority in heaven and on earth. After His resurrection, the Father sat Jesus on His right side and gave Him all authority.

Jesus makes this point because in verse 20, He brings the focus to Himself. During His life on this earth, the focus had always been on the Father.

Here are the instructions that Jesus gave: after traveling, make students of all nations; submerge them in the name of the Father, Son, and Sacred Spirit; and teach them all of the things that Jesus demanded.

Unfortunately, many churches ignore the teachings of Jesus and prefer the teachings of Paul, John, Peter, or some other teacher/author.

Last of all, Jesus promises to be with us every day until the very conclusion of this world’s time