Matthew 28:19–20 contains what has come to be called the
Great Commission:
“
Therefore go and make
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always,
to the very end of the age.” Jesus gave this command to the apostles shortly before He
ascended
into heaven, and it essentially outlines what Jesus expected the apostles and those who followed
them to do in His absence.
It is interesting that, in the original Greek, the only direct command in Matthew 28:19–20 is
“
make disciples.” The Great Commission instructs us to make disciples while we are going
throughout
the world. The instructions to “
go,” “
baptize,” and “
teach” are indirect
commands—participles in
the original. How are we to make disciples? By baptizing them and teaching them all that Jesus
commanded. “
Make disciples” is the primary command of the Great Commission. “
Going,”
“
baptizing,”
and “
teaching” are the means by which we fulfill the command to “
make disciples.”
A disciple is someone who receives instruction from another person; a Christian disciple is a
baptized follower of Christ, one who believes the teaching of Christ. A disciple of Christ imitates
Jesus’ example, clings to His sacrifice, believes in His resurrection, possesses the Holy Spirit,
and lives to do His work. The command in the Great Commission to “
make disciples” means to
teach or
train people to follow and obey Christ.
Many understand Acts 1:8 as part of the Great Commission as well:
“
But you will receive power when
the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” The Great Commission is enabled by the power of the
Holy
Spirit. We are to be Christ’s witnesses, fulfilling the Great Commission in our cities
(
Jerusalem),
in our states and countries (
Judea and Samaria), and anywhere else God sends us (
to the
ends of the
earth).
Throughout the book of Acts, we see how the apostles began to fulfill the Great Commission, as
outlined in Acts 1:8. First, Jerusalem is evangelized (Acts 1 — 7); then the Spirit expands the
church through Judea and Samaria (Acts 8 — 12); finally, the gospel reaches into “the ends of the
earth” (Acts 13 — 28). Today, we continue to act as ambassadors for Christ, and “
we plead on
Christ’s behalf: ‘Be reconciled to God’” (2 Corinthians 5:20, CSB).
We have received a precious gift: “
the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy
people”
(Jude 1:3). Jesus’ words in the Great Commission reveal the heart of God, who desires “
all people
to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). The Great Commission
compels
us to share the good news until everyone has heard. Like the servants in Jesus’ parable, we are to
be about the business of the kingdom, making disciples of all nations: “
He called his ten
servants,
and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come” (Luke 19:13, KJV).