In “Globalization of Missions: An Exegesis on the Great Commission (Mt 28:18–20),” Kgatle undertakes a fairly thorough exegesis on the end of Matthew 28 to establish its implications for proselytizing in the modern world. The author’s interpretation raises several main points regarding the Great Commission. These include the global nature of Christ’s authority as Lord, the necessity to make converts of all nations without exclusion, and the importance of preaching His teachings in their totality. Based on this close reading of Matthew 28:18-20, the author concludes that the evangelical responsibility bestowed by Jesus on His disciples is necessarily global. This, in turn, means that the Scripture requires converting people of all ethnic groups while considering their respective cultural features, leading to a call to a culture-aware proselytizing, especially beyond Western countries. One may certainly agree with the author’s call toward a more culturally sensitive proclamation of the gospel, as it is fully in line with the Scripture. At the same time, the author’s statement that these verses provide an adequate model for a mission is far-fetched and contradicts the subsequent development of the point. Similarly, the author’s discourse on the interrelation between social justice and the proclamation of the gospel seems confusing.
One of the strongest parts of the article is the author’s call for making proselytizing more aware of non-Western cultures. The author outlines it most clearly when stating that a “Christian mission is not about the promotion of one culture, but the extension of the global kingdom of God.” This insistence on preserving distinct ethnic groups while preaching the gospel is fully in line with the Bible. God created peoples and nations and marked down their historical roles and respective boundaries (Acts 17:26). Therefore, using proselytizing as a vehicle for cultural assimilation means assuming divine authority over the fate of nations, and Kgatle is right to caution against it.
The author’s interpretation of Matthew 28:18-20 as a clear model for a mission raises objections. At the beginning of the article, Kgatle claims that these verses set forth “an adequate model for a church missions program.” However, later, the author admits these verses do not refer to the “necessary preaching which must precede baptism.” In this sense, it is hard to perceive Matthew 28:18-20 as a comprehensive model. The Scripture contains verses that cover the details of missionary work in much greater detail: “set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and purity” (1 Timothy 4:12). Thus, Matthew 28:18-20 certainly outlines the goals and scope of missionary work, but calling it a comprehensive model is a stretch.
Additionally, the author’s treatment of social justice and preaching seems confusing. At one point, Kgatle notes that missionary work should uphold “the inseparable entities of evangelism and social justice in the mission of the church” without compromising the former for the latter. The idea that preaching the gospel is more important than pursuing social justice for its own sake is perfectly agreeable, but it is unclear why the author decides to bring up social justice at all. Admittedly, there are passages in the Bible that mention justice and faith as interrelated yet separate entities, as in “you neglect justice and the love of God” (Luke 11:42). Yet, in the context of Matthew 28:18-20, there is no need to bring social justice separately. The verses already contain the requirement to teach everything Jesus commanded in its totality (Matthew 28:20). These teaching already include social justice by logical necessity, and the reason for bringing them up as a separate entity in this context is unclear.
To conclude, Kgatle’s article makes a powerful call for culturally aware missionary work that is fully in line with the Scripture. However, the author’s description of the Great Commission as an adequate model for missionary work is far-fetched. Similarly, there is no clear reason for mentioning commitment to social justice as an entity separate from preaching the gospel when the latter necessarily includes the former.
Reference
Kgatle, Mookgo S. “Globalization of Missions: An Exegesis on the Great Commission (Mt 28:18–20).” In die Skriflig 52, no. 1 (2018): a2346.