Universal Mission: The Climax of Matthew’s Post-Resurrection Account: An Exegetical Analysis of Matthew 28 (New Testament Studies in Contextual ... zur kontextuellen Exegese) (German Edition)

The work is based on the last command of the risen Jesus to his disciples in Matthew’s account of the events that followed the resurrection of Jesus. The command is: «Make disciples of all nations». The command reverses the initial restriction of the disciples to only the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The work presents the command as the climax of Matthew’s post-resurrection account, which is told in four scenes and each of the scenes contains a command. The last command sanctions the mission to the Gentiles without ending the mission to Israel. Making disciples involves baptism to increase the number of Christians (Church growth) and teaching to increase adherence to the teachings of Jesus (Church life). Cover Table of Contents Chapter One: General Introduction 1.1 Background of Study 1.2 Statement of the Problem 1.3 Aim of the Study 1.4 Significance of the Study 1.5 Argument of the Thesis 1.6 Scope of the Research 1.7 Method of Research 1.8 Definition of Key Terms 1.8.1 Mission 1.8.2 Disciple 1.8.3 Nations 1.9 Design of the Study Chapter Two: Literature Review 2.1 Understanding of Christian Mission in General 2.2 The New Testament and Mission 2.3 Mission in Matthew 2.4 Exegetical Works on Matthew 28 Chapter Three: Some Background Issues to the Universal Mission in Matthew 3.1 The Place of the Jews in Matthew 3.1.1 The Jewish Origin of Jesus 3.1.1.1 The Genealogy of Jesus (Matt 1:1-17) 3.1.1.2 Jesus as the Immanuel (Matt 1:18-23) 3.1.1.3 Jesus as the Representative Jew (Matt 2:15) 3.1.2 The Jews as the Chosen People 3.1.3 The Jews as the Opponents of Jesus 3.1.3.1 Clashes between Jesus and the Jewish Leaders 3.1.3.2 Woe Oracles and Parables against the Jews 3.1.3.3 The Crucifixion: The Climax of Jewish Opposition 3.2 Matthew and the Gentiles 3.2.1 The Women of the Genealogy 3.2.1.1 Tamar 3.2.1.2 Rahab 3.2.1.3 Ruth 3.2.1.4 Bathsheba 3.2.2 The Wise Men from the East 3.2.3 Other Gentile Characters in Matthew 3.2.3.1 The Faith of a Centurion (Matt 8:5-13) 3.2.3.2 The Faith of a Canaanite Woman (Matt 15:21-28) 3.2.4 Negative References to the Gentiles in Matthew 3.3 Discipleship and Church in Matthew 3.3.1 Call to Discipleship (4:18-22) 3.3.2 The Future Fate of the Disciples (10:16-25) 3.3.3 Matthew’s use of Ekklesia 3.4 Authority/Kingship of Jesus in Matthew 3.4.1 Kingship of Jesus in the Introductory Section of Matthew 3.4.2 Kingship of Jesus in the Galilean Ministry 3.4.2.1 The Teaching Authority 3.4.2.2 The Healing Authority 3.4.3 Kingship of Jesus in the Jerusalem Ministry 3.4.3.1 The Triumphal Entry 3.4.3.2 The Eschatological Discourse Chapter Four: Exegesis of Matthew 28 4.1 Greek Text 4.2 Delimitation 4.3 Context of Matthew 28 4.4 Literary Genre 4.5 Structure of the Text 4.6 Content analysis of Matthew 28 4.6.1 First Commissioning of the Women (vv. 1–8) 4.6.1.1 The Visit of the Women to the Tomb (v. 1) 4.6.1.2 The Spectacular Events at the Tomb (vv. 2–4) 4.6.1.3 The Commissioning of the Women at the Tomb (vv. 5–7) 4.6.1.4 The Departure of the Women from the Tomb (vv. 8) 4.6.2 Second Commissioning of the Women (vv. 9–10) 4.6.3 Commissioning of the Guards (vv. 11–15) 4.6.4 The Universal Commissioning of the Disciples (vv. 16–20) 4.6.4.1 The Appearance (16–17) 4.6.4.2 The Declaration (18–20) Chapter Five: Theology of Matthew 28 5.1 Christology of Matthew 28 5.1.1 Absolute and Universal Authority of Jesus 5.1.2 Abiding Presence of Jesus 5.2 Ecclesiology of Matthew 28 5.2.1 The Church as Disciples of Jesus 5.2.2 The Church as Christocentric 5.2.3 The Church as a Witness to the Resurrection 5.3 Missiology of Matthew 28 5.3.1 Jesus as the Sender 5.3.2 The Disciples as the Sent 5.3.3 Women and Mission 5.3.4 Universal Mission as the Climax 5.3.5 Content of Missionary Activities 5.4 The Nigerian Experience of Mission Chapter Six: Summary and Conclusion 6.1 Summary 6.2 Conclusion Bibliography