Lesson Four Review – Mandate for the

Nations

Name: _____________________________ Date: ___________ __ /20 pts

Warning: the order of some multiple choice answers in this document may be different than online answers.
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to the online Reviews.

1. Describe why Matthew 28:18-20 should be seen as a mandate that Christ expects the Church to finish. What will
be present within all the world’s peoples when Christ’s followers finish this task? (3 pts)
As Jesus said in Matthew 28:18-19, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make
disciples of all nations…,” Jesus used the authority given to him to command the Church to go and spread the gospels to
all peoples. Hence Matthew 28:18-20 should be viewed as a mandate that Jesus Christ expects his followers to finish.
When the task is finished, the end and final reign of Christ will come. There will be disciples of Christ in every nation,
living under His lordship and evangelizing among their own people groups.

2. Give two examples of how Jesus modeled God’s heart for all nations by deliberate outreach to Gentiles, who were
despised by most Jewish people. How do you think the disciples felt when confronted with Jesus’ teaching about
the Gentiles? Why? (3 pts)
In Matthew 15:21-28, Jesus encountered a Canaanite Woman who called for help from Him. At first, Jesus did not answer.
Later on, he replied “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” (v 24). The woman did not lose her faith. Eventually her
faith was rewarded with her daughter being healed and Jesus praised her faith in front of his Jewish disciples.
Also, in Luke 17:11-19, Jesus healed ten men while eventually only a man who was a Samaritan came to thank him. Jesus
then asked, “has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner” (v 18). Again, he praised the Gentile for
their faith.

I think the disciples must feel confusing. Their pride must have been crashed, when Jesus praised the Gentiles for having
great faith.

During that time, Jewish people tended to think that they were superior to the Gentiles. With Jesus’ teaching, they may even
more sure that Jesus came only for Israel. However, what Jesus did was different from what they comprehended. They
were thus confusing. Their pride was crashed because they realized the Gentiles were not excluded from the gospels. In
other words, the Jewish was not superior to the Gentiles in faith, who sometimes even showed greater faith than the
Jewish. With this process, Jesus gradually taught his disciples that the gospel is for all nations. He may come primary for
Israel, but the good news is ought to be spread to all the peoples and Jesus was meant to guide his disciples to do this
task.

3. Respond to the questions of a sincere pluralist by presenting at least three features of the uniqueness of Jesus
Christ. (3 pts)
1. Christ is the truth: Absolute truth had been realized in the life of Jesus Christ. The joy relationship with Jesus and the
completeness of His message show us that He is the truth that we should look up to.
2. Christ is the way: Jesus became the way through His death. He is the only way to salvation, while as human we cannot
save ourselves. As Ajith Fernando pointed out, “the message of the cross cuts at the heart of human pride, the essence of

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 sin,” we tend not to be dependent on a supreme God for things we need. However, the truth is that only insecurity and
emptiness will be left in our hearts if we don’t realize that Christ is the way to salvation.
3. Christ is the life: Through the relationship with Christ, we can have a completely fulfilling life, filled with love and joy. As
Jesus said, “Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14), Christ
is the life. God created human for a relationship with him. Therefore, only through Christ, the son of God, we can enjoy the
loving relationship with God and the life He gives. Without it, we are no more than dead.

4. What is the best way to understand the phrase “all nations” (panta ta ethne) in Matthew 28:19? (1 pt)

o Gentiles in general
o ethnicities defined by language and culture
o political nation-states
o the 70 nations in Genesis 10

5. If Jesus’ purpose was to reach all nations, why did He concentrate on the Jewish people? What was the strategic
significance of Jesus focusing on a few disciples? (3 pts)
By narrowing down his focus to Jewish people, Jesus was in fact strategically preparing for the realization that all nations
will be blessed. Jesus’ ministry was first to Israel, then to gentiles through the work of his disciples.

Jesus focused on a few disciples, pouring out his life to change their lives so that they could change others. He developed the
disciples as leaders that will push forward the world evangelical movement, reproducing His character and the structure of
multiplying church.

6. According to Hawthorne, what is the similarity between the Great Commission and the Great Commandment?
What is the one crucial difference? Why do we need both? (3 pts)
Both the Great Commission and the Great Commandment are for God. By discipling nations and loving neighbors, God will
be loved and praised with all hearts, souls, minds and strengths.
The one crucial difference lies in the fact that the Great Commission is a historic achievement which ought to be completed,
while the Great Commandment is a constant imperative because love is a continuous behavior which must be pursued at
all times without a completion date.
We need both because one cannot be accomplished without the other. We cannot evangelize the nations without a loving
hear. On the contrary, the evangelizing work cannot be considered completed if people are not loving their neighbors
with their love for God.

7. List and describe the four times that the word “all” is used in Matthew 28:18–20. (2 pts)
1. All authority: Spiritual authority has been given to the Christ in order to bring people from every nation to Him. He is the lord,
calling for His kinship to become effective in the lives of people.
2. All the peoples: Within each people group, there will be individuals nurtured and trained to pass on the discipleship to others
of their own people group. “All the peoples” refers to the people groups defined by language and socio-cultural features.
3. All that I commanded: What Jesus commanded was to “disciple all the peoples” with two activities, baptizing and teaching.
Baptism is to mark a loyalty change, showing the obedience to the lordship of Christ. Through baptism, a community of
allegiance to God is formed. On the other hand, teaching is not educating people what Jesus has commanded, but rather
training people to live under the lordship of Christ.
4. All the days: By saying “all the days”, Jesus meant that this mandate should be for every follower of Christ no matter
which time they live in. It was not only for people who lived 2,00 years ago, but also for nowadays people and the

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 generation to come. Thus, it cannot be accomplished by individual. It requires collective effort. In addition, it is not
optional, but a task to be accomplished in this age.

8. How does “teaching them to obey all that I commanded you” (Matt 28:20) extend the reality of Christ’s kingdom?
(2 pts)
“Teaching them to obey all that I commanded you” includes baptizing people and teaching them what Christ has taught.
Baptism is a declaration that a person has decided to obey Christ, while teaching means to educate people to obey Him in
daily life. These two elements, forming the proclaimed allegiance of God and growing obedience to the lordship of Christ,
are the core of the establishment of Christ’s kingdom.

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