τηρεῖν (terein) in Matthew 28:20: Verb Present Active Infinitive
τηρεῖν (terein) in Matthew 28:20
Textual Witness
The witness reads τηρεῖν in Matthew 28:20 after διδάσκοντες αὐτοὺς and before πάντα ὅσα ἐνετειλάμην ὑμῖν.
How The Form Affects Interpretation
The grammar makes obedience the stated aim of the teaching in Matthew 28:20.
How To Communicate It
Use this form to explain that Great Commission teaching aims at observing Jesus' commands.
What Not To Say
- Grammatical form should serve context, not override it.
- Do not oppose obedience to grace where the passage presents obedience as taught discipleship.
- Do not make the infinitive carry a full doctrine of sanctification by itself.
- Do not separate observing Jesus' commands from the teaching participle that governs it.
What Does The Label Mean?
Verb: the form is an infinitive, so it carries verbal action while functioning as a complement in the sentence.
Present: often views the action as in progress, customary, or presently in view. Context decides the exact force.
Active: presents the taught disciples as carrying out the action of observing.
Infinitive: presents the verbal idea without finite person and number, here completing the idea of teaching.
Not applicable: this infinitive does not mark grammatical person.
Not applicable: this infinitive is not using noun case to mark its sentence role.
Not applicable: this infinitive does not mark singular or plural number.
Not applicable: this infinitive does not use grammatical gender.
What The Form Does In This Verse
πάντα ὅσα ἐνετειλάμην ὑμῖν
The infinitive follows διδάσκοντες αὐτοὺς and completes the thought by naming what the taught disciples are to do.
It identifies the obedience-oriented aim or content of the teaching: to observe everything Jesus commanded.
It does not teach legalistic merit, and it does not make obedience optional or merely theoretical.
How Much The Form Matters Here
High: The infinitive states the obedience-oriented aim of teaching in the Great Commission.
Complement infinitive naming taught obedience. names the intended action taught to disciples. Attached to πάντα ὅσα ἐνετειλάμην ὑμῖν. Governed by the participle διδάσκοντες. The infinitive should be explained as the content and aim of teaching in the sentence.
What are disciples taught to do? They are taught to observe everything Jesus commanded.
Direct: The form directly supports a rendering such as "to observe" or "to keep."
The infinitive is not a finite command by itself, but it names the response that teaching is aimed toward. Observe should be read with all that I commanded you, not as generic rule-keeping.
Obedience language means legalistic merit: The form names the taught response of disciples under Jesus' commission; it does not define the ground of salvation.
How The Interpretation Is Derived
The witness reads τηρεῖν in Matthew 28:20 after διδάσκοντες αὐτοὺς and before πάντα ὅσα ἐνετειλάμην ὑμῖν.
The lemma τηρέω means to keep, guard, or observe, so the form points to active obedience to what Jesus commanded.
The present active infinitive completes the teaching participle by naming the response taught to disciples.
The commission includes teaching disciples to observe everything Jesus commanded, not merely to hear or know it.
The form fits Matthew's pattern of discipleship that joins hearing Jesus' words with doing them.
In teaching, connect the infinitive to διδάσκοντες so readers see obedience as the taught response within disciple-making.
Do not turn the infinitive into legalistic self-salvation, and do not reduce obedience to private information apart from lived allegiance to Jesus.