The Great Commission Through the Ears of the Jewish

The Great Commission Through the Ears of the Jewish Apostles and Disciples

Reading Matthew 28:19 Back to Its Hebrew Roots, Not Through Greek Lenses

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Introduction

The Great Commission in Matthew 28:19 is one of the most famous texts in Christianity. Jesus said: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

However, for centuries, this text has been read through the lens of Greek philosophy—giving rise to the concept of "three Persons" in one God, a framework of thought completely foreign to the apostles and disciples of Jesus, who were first-century Jews.

This article invites us to hear the Great Commission again with Hebrew ears, just as the apostles heard it when Jesus spoke it in Galilee.

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Part 1: Who Heard the Great Commission?

Jesus spoke to Jewish people. The apostles were disciples who grew up with:

The Shema on their lips every day: "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!" (Deuteronomy 6:4).

The Tetragrammaton (YHWH) as the unutterable holy name, the name revealed to Moses in the burning bush (Exodus 3:15).

The Torah, the Prophets, and the Psalms as the only divine authority.

When Jesus said "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," the Jewish ears of the apostles did not hear three gods, three persons, or three substances. They heard one Name—because the word "name" in the Greek text is singular (onoma), not plural.

For the Jewish people, "Name" (Shem in Hebrew) always refers to YHWH. There is no other name in heaven and on earth worthy to be called the singular "Name" with a capital letter.

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Part 2: The Meaning of "Father, Son, and Spirit" in Hebrew Thought

If these three terms do not refer to three metaphysical persons, then what did they mean to the ears of the apostles?

1. Father: Covenantal Relationship, Not a Separate Person

In the Old Testament, "Father" is a relational metaphor between YHWH and Israel:

"Is He not your Father, who created you? Has He not made you and established you?" (Deuteronomy 32:6)

"For You are our Father... You, O LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer." (Isaiah 63:16)

YHWH is called "Father" not because He is one member of the Trinity, but because He is the Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer of Israel in an intimate covenantal relationship.

2. Son: The Messianic King from David's Line

In the OT, "Son" in the royal context always refers to the line of David who is appointed as king on behalf of YHWH:

"I will be his Father, and he shall be My son." (2 Samuel 7:14) — speaking of Solomon and his descendants.

"You are My Son; today I have begotten You." (Psalm 2:7) — this is the royal decree that the Messiah, the king from David's line, will sit on the throne as the divine representative.

Even more deeply, the OT prophesies that the Messiah is YHWH Himself coming as the Saving King:

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given... and He shall be called: Mighty God..." (Isaiah 9:6)

"In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: The LORD is our righteousness." (Jeremiah 23:6)

Thus, "Son" in the ears of the apostles was not the "Second Person," but YHWH revealing Himself as the Saving King from David's line.

3. Holy Spirit: The Power and Presence of YHWH

The Spirit in the OT is the breath/power of YHWH actively at work, not the "Third Person":

"The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." (Genesis 1:2)

"But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; therefore He turned to be their enemy." (Isaiah 63:10)

The Spirit is YHWH's hand reaching out to the world, the renewing power dwelling in the midst of the people, as prophesied in Joel 2:28-29.

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Part 3: One Name in One YHWH

If we read Matthew 28:19 with Hebrew ears, it does not sound like:

"Baptize them in the name of the Father (the First Person), and the name of the Son (the Second Person), and the name of the Holy Spirit (the Third Person)."

But rather:

"Baptize them in the NAME of YHWH—whom we know as the Father (the Creator and Sustainer of Israel), whom we know as the Son (the Messianic King from David who comes to redeem), and whom we know as the Spirit (the renewing Power who dwells in the midst of the people)."

Three ways YHWH reveals Himself, but one YHWH.

This is why Jesus Himself said:

"I and the Father are one." (John 10:30)

And:

"I have come in My Father's name." (John 5:43)

And:

"Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father." (John 14:9)

Jesus never spoke of Himself as a "person" separate from the Father. He spoke of the unity of will, mission, and essence with YHWH. He is YHWH present in the midst of the people in human form.

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Part 4: When Did the Shift to Greek Philosophy Occur?

The apostles and early Jewish disciples did not know terms such as:

Homoousios (one substance)

Hypostasis (person/existence)

Prosopon (mask/persona)

These terms emerged after the 2nd century AD, when Christianity spread into the Greco-Roman world and theologians (such as Tertullian, Origen, and the Nicene Fathers) tried to explain the Christian faith within a Greek metaphysical framework.

The question they asked was a Greek philosophical question:

"How can three persons be one essence?"

The question asked by the apostles (within a Hebrew framework) was:

"How does the one YHWH fully reveal Himself in Jesus the Messiah?"

These two questions are very different. The first is ontology (the study of being). The second is the economy of salvation (the study of God's actions in history).

The Old Testament speaks of action, not of substance. YHWH is known through what He does—creating, redeeming, sustaining, judging, saving. He is not known through metaphysical definitions of "what" He is in Himself.

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Part 5: Why Do Christians Need to Return to Their Hebrew Roots?

This is not about "becoming Jewish" or "denying Jesus as Lord." This is about being faithful to the Bible as Jesus and the apostles understood it.

If Christians today return to their Hebrew roots, they will:

1. Love the Old Testament as Jesus loved it—as the living word of YHWH, not merely a "background" for the New Testament.

2. Worship YHWH as the only God, while acknowledging that Jesus is YHWH incarnate—not because He is the "second person" in a metaphysical system, but because YHWH Himself chose to dwell fully in Him (Colossians 2:9).

3. Read the New Testament with Hebrew categories: name, relationship, action, covenant, faithfulness, justice, steadfast love (hesed)—not with Greek categories: substance, essence, nature, person, intellect.

4. Stop speaking of "God the Father" and "God the Son" as two different entities, and begin speaking of "YHWH revealed as Father, Son, and Spirit"—three ways God reveals Himself in salvation history, but one YHWH.

5. Understand the Great Commission not as a Trinitarian formula, but as an acknowledgment that the one YHWH has fully revealed Himself through the Father (Creator), the Son (Redeemer), and the Spirit (Renewer)—and that baptism is entry into the reality of YHWH who is now fully present.

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Part 6: What Did the Apostles Themselves Say?

The apostles, when they baptized in the Book of Acts, never used the formula "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." They baptized:

"In the name of Jesus Christ." (Acts 2:38, 8:16, 10:48, 19:5)

Why? Because for them, "the name of Jesus" was the name of YHWH revealed. Jesus is YHWH come to save (Matthew 1:21: "You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins").

Paul wrote:

"For in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily." (Colossians 2:9)

And:

"For although there may be so-called gods... yet for us there is one God, the Father... and one Lord, Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 8:5-6)

Paul, a Pharisee trained in the Torah, never imagined two gods. He saw the one YHWH acting through Jesus the Messiah.

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Conclusion: The Great Commission Through the Ears of the Apostles

If we could sit in Galilee with the apostles and hear Jesus speak the Great Commission, we would hear:

"Go, make disciples of all nations, and baptize them in the NAME of YHWH—who is the Father (Creator and Sustainer), who is the Son (the Messianic King from David who comes to redeem), and who is the Spirit (the renewing Power who dwells in the midst of the people). I Myself, Jesus, am the full expression of that Name. Therefore, every knee will bow and every tongue confess: Jesus Christ is YHWH, to the glory of God the Father."

Not three persons. Not three gods. Not three substances.

One YHWH fully revealed in Jesus the Messiah, through the power of the Spirit, to restore all things.

This is the faith of the apostles. This is the faith Jesus taught. This is the faith that lives in the Old Testament and is fulfilled in the New Testament.

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Final Call

Let us, as Christians who believe the Bible is God's word, return to the Hebrew roots of our faith. Not to become culturally Jewish, but to understand the Bible as Jesus and the apostles understood it.

Throw away the lenses of Greek philosophy that are unknown in the Old Testament. Open our hearts to hear the word of YHWH as it was given—in Hebrew, in the framework of covenant, in steadfast love relationship, and in the hope of the Messiah who is YHWH Himself coming to save His people.

Because:

"There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

And that Name is YHWH in Jesus the Messiah—one name, one God, one salvation, for all nations.

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Soli Deo Gloria — Glory to YHWH alone.