16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16–20 (ESV)
The following excerpts are from biblical scholars, pastors and theologians concerning the Great Commission contained in Matthew 28:19-20. I appreciate these insights. I pray you will also.
“Christians typically think of the Great Commission as a mandate for evangelism. It is that, of course, but as Jesus describes the task, it has nothing to do with the kind of quick-and-dirty soul-winning schemes Christians today tend to associate with evangelism. Jesus’ stress was on teaching. In the Greek text, “go” is not even the main verb. A literal translation would be, “Having gone, then, disciple all nations.” The charge is then immediately restated in a way that makes the didactic aspect of our Lord’s instructions unmistakable: “Teaching them to observe all things, whatever I commanded you. It’s quite an expansive task, extending to “all nations,” requiring mastery of all Christ’s teaching and commandments, and enduring “to the end of the age.” Given the mission’s immense scope, Jesus’ marching orders must apply to every believer in every era.” – Dr. John MacArthur.
“Teach all nations. Here Christ, by removing the distinction, makes the Gentiles equal to the Jews, and admits both, indiscriminately to a participation in the covenant. Such is also the import of the term: go out; for the prophets under the law had limits assigned to them, but now, the wall of partition having been broken down, (Ephesians 2:14,) the Lord commands the ministers of the gospel to go to a distance, in order to spread the doctrine of salvation in every part of the world. For though, as we have lately suggested, the right of the first-born at the very commencement of the gospel, remained among the Jews, still the inheritance of life was common to the Gentiles. Thus was fulfilled that prediction of Isaiah, (49:6,) and others of a similar nature, that Christ was given for a light of the Gentiles, that he might be the salvation of God to the end of the earth.” – John Calvin
“When I teach on the Great Commission, I often begin by asking my students, “What is Jesus’ primary emphasis in the Great Commission?” Typically, most students reply, “evangelism.” I then ask them to read the Great Commission from Matthew 28:18–20, after which I ask my question a second time. The students quickly see that although the Great Commission includes a call to evangelism, it doesn’t actually contain the word evangelism. What the students observe through more careful study of the Great Commission is that Jesus’ primary emphasis is on making disciples. Making disciples certainly includes evangelism but is by no means limited to evangelism. The sort of disciple-making to which Jesus commissions the church involves much more, including baptizing and teaching. Simply put, if we have only evangelized a people or a nation, we have not been obedient to the fullness of the Great Commission. In addition to evangelism, Jesus provided us with specific instructions that we are to baptize “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” and that we are to teach people “to observe all that I have commanded you.” Dr. Burk Parsons
“I know, in your Bibles Mark, Luke and John come after the Great Commission, but what comes next after the Great Commission chronologically in your Bibles is the Book of Acts. And for many, many years — for almost 2,000 years — Christians have called the Book of Acts the Acts of the Apostles, and I’m not going to quibble with that title, because it does certainly talk about what the various apostles did. But one Christian has said ‘You know, the Book of Acts really ought to be called The Acts of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ and the Sovereign Holy Spirit, for the Glory of the Father, with Whom the Often Stumbling and Bumbling Apostles were Used as Divine Instruments for the Bringing in of Men and Women and Boys and Girls from all the Nations; because, really, the Book of Acts is about what Jesus continues to do, reigning and ruling from the right hand — what the Holy Spirit continues to do, even when the apostles aren’t doing what they’re supposed to be doing. You see, that’s the way we need to understand the Great Commission. Yes, we are to be faithful, but ultimately Jesus is not coming to help us in our task of the Great Commission: He is inviting us to join Him in His great work of bringing the nations into the white hot enjoyment of the glory of His love and grace. And we need to remember that. We need to have that encouragement, because it’s daunting when you think of the task that’s before us: four or five billion human beings that aren’t bowing the knee to Jesus Christ.”—Dr. J. Ligon Duncan
“That mandate — to go and make disciples of all the peoples of the world — is as valid today as the promise that supports it: “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” If the promise is valid today, then the mandate is valid today. And the promise is valid because it’s good, Jesus said, “to the end of the age.” So until Jesus returns the promise holds that he will be with us. And that promise is the basis of the mandate, and so the mandate holds today. Jesus is commanding us — commanding Bethlehem — “Go make disciples of all nations.” – John Piper
Soli deo Gloria!
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