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Matthew

About this book
Chapter 28

1 Now after the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. 2 Suddenly there was a severe earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descending from heaven came and rolled away the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.⁠ 4 The guards were shaken and became like dead men because they were so afraid of him. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has been raised, just as he said. Come and see the place where he was lying. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead. He is going ahead of you into Galilee. You will see him there.’ Listen, I have told you!” 8 So they left the tomb quickly, with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 But Jesus met them, saying, “Greetings!” They came to him, held on to his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee. They will see me there.” 11 While they were going, some of the guards went into the city and told the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 After they had assembled with the elders and formed a plan, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, 13 telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came at night and stole his body while we were asleep.’ 14 If this matter is heard before the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story is told among the Jews to this day. 16 So the 11 disciples went to Galilee to the mountain Jesus had designated. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.⁠ 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,⁠ 20 teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Texts in conversation

Compare Matthew 28:19 and Didache 7:1

New Testament · Early Christian

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Summary

In Matthew, the risen Jesus sends his disciples to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Didache, an early church manual, has the same three names in its baptism instructions, probably from a shared practice.

Passages

Matthew 28:19

New Testament
16 So the 11 disciples went to Galilee to the mountain Jesus had designated. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
70–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Matthew

Didache 7:1

Early Christian
1 Regarding baptism, perform it like this: After explaining all these things, baptize in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, using running water. 2 If you don't have running water, use any other water, and if you can't use cold water, then use warm. 3 If you don't have either, pour water three times over the head in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 4 Before the baptism, both the person conducting the baptism and the one being baptized should fast, along with anyone else who can. Also, instruct the person being baptized to fast for one or two days beforehand.
90–120 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Didache

References

“... Further evidence of a close connection between the Didache and Matthew is implied by the next parallel to be considered, the instruction about baptism in Did. 7. 1 and the explicit instruction to baptize in the threefold name (of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). The command to baptize in the threefold name is peculiar to Matthew among the synoptics. On the other hand, a text such as this almost certainly reflects the ongoing liturgical life of the community, both Matthew’s and the Didachist’s. Matt. 28. 19 itself presumably reflects the baptismal practice of the Matthean community/communities. Hence one cannot necessarily ascribe the verse to MattR. Presumably, then, the presence of the same instruction in the Didache implies the same. It would thus be hard to deduce any direct literary relationship between the two texts on the basis of such a liturgical text as this which they have in common (though presumably the common text indicates that the communities behind the two texts were relatively ‘close’, at least in relation to liturgical practice). ...”
Andrew Gregory and Christopher Tuckett, eds., The Reception of the New Testament in the Apostolic Fathers (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), 102–103.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Matthew 28:19 and Didache 7:1

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