When the ELCA Study Bible came out a ways back, there was a whole lot of muttering over Dr Priebe’s commentary on the great commission. So much so, that apparently later printings of it have that section redacted… most likely due to the fact it can easily be misread as to suggest universalism. On the other hand, in pulling out the following:
Jesus now sends the disciples to make disciples of all nations. That does not mean make everyone disciples. Most people who are helped by Jesus and believe in him never become disciples. Jesus includes in salvation people who do not believe in him or even know about him. Disciples are students, called for the sake of the world to learn from Jesus and to bear witness to the kingdom.
…we end up missing the discussion on disciples as well. Dr Priebe distinguishes between one who believes, and one who is a disciple, but the direction he chooses is vastly different than what is commonly understood, ie, what is presented in James 2:19.
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
In his offline commentary, Dr Priebe ties this into Acts 16:1 where Timothy’s mother was described as a believer, and Timothy was a disciple. If we then take this a tad further, and roll on over to 2 Timothy 1:5, we learn a bit more of Timothy’s mother and grandmother.
Paul writes: “I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.”
On first glance… what gives with this? If we take the common understanding that all those who follow Christ are disciples, things dont square up with Timothy’s mother not being called a disciple. Logically based upon the 2 Timothy text, she practiced her faith, she prayed, she taught her son, she was active in her community of faith, (in todays world, maybe she was at church 3-4 times a week or more, taught Sunday school, sang in the choir, and tithed to boot)… and yet, she is not considered a disciple?
If we go back to Dr Priebes commentary…
In the Greek philosophical schools or later in Rabbinic Judaism beginning shortly before the time of Jesus, a “disciple” is a pupil of a teacher – the two terms go together. In Matthew, those who believe in Jesus and are benefited by him, experiencing the transforming power of the kingdom – or even the crowds that follow him – do not become disciples even when they may want to do so. What is distinctive about being a disciple in the Gospels is that they do not decide to become disciples, Jesus calls them to be disciples – and in that sense “makes” them disciples, although that language is not used. Second, being a disciple entails not only a pupil-teacher relationship, as it does in the philosophical schools or in the Rabbinic tradition, but it also entails an attachment to the person Jesus Christ.
and
The idea that a small number of people who are called by Jesus and who bear witness to him fill the world with the light of the gospel and with his presence is reflected in a different way when Athanasius in the early 4th century speaks of the entire world being filled with the light of the Gospel and Jesus’ transforming power. The Christian missionaries in China in the 7th and 8th century say the same thing about the light of the gospel filling the entire kingdom. In neither case are Christians anything but a small minority. But what they refer to is that there are Christians who bear witness to Jesus Christ scattered throughout the Empires, and through their witness all things are being transformed.
In other words, Dr Priebe seems to put the role of being a disciple as a different calling in contrasted with those who are called to be believers. I think he may be onto something with that.
The thing is… even if folks are not disciples, if we look to Timothy’s mother and grandmother as non-disciple participants in his growth, their faith practices, and their entire lives pointed to Christ. They were likely anything but Sunday only Christians. They were believers making disciples!
