And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)
The full commission
The "Great Commission" is actually paralleled in three of the gospel accounts: Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Here is a juxtaposition of the risen Jesus' "Great Commission" from the three gospels after he took his disciples up a mountain. This is not necessarily a 100% accurate ordering, but it does give us a good picture of what the full commission was by combining all the text. I've provided the verses so that you can look them up separately in your bible.
Mk 16:15 (pt 1). AND HE SAID (TO) THEM,
Mt 28:19 (pt 1), ref Mk 16:15 (pt 2). GO YE
Mt 28:19 (pt 2). THEREFORE,
Mk 16:15 (pt 3). INTO ALL THE WORLD,
Mt 28:19 (pt 3). AND TEACH
Mk 16:15 (pt 4). AND PREACH THE GOSPEL (or Good News)
Lk 24:47 (pt 1). AND THAT REPENTANCE AND (FORGIVENESS) OF SINS (or repentance leading to forgiveness of sins-JNT) SHOULD BE PREACHED IN HIS
NAME AMONG (or to) (people from)
Mt 28:19 (pt 4), ref Lk 24:47 (pt 2). ALL NATIONS,
Mk 16:15 (pt 5). TO EVERY CREATURE (or all creation).
Lk 24:47 (pt 3). BEGINNING AT JERUSALEM.
Mt 28:19 (pt 5). BAPTIZING (or immersing) THEM IN THE NAME (or reality) OF THE FATHER, AND OF THE SON, AND OF THE HOLY GHOST (or Spirit):
Mk 16:16. HE THAT (BELIEVES) (or trusts) AND IS BAPTIZED (or immersed) SHALL BE SAVED (or he who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved-
NASB); BUT HE (WHO DOES NOT BELIEVE) (or does not trust) SHALL BE DAMNED (or condemned).
Mt 28:20 (pt 1). (And) TEACHING THEM TO OBSERVE (or obey) ALL THINGS (EVERYTHING) I HAVE COMMANDED YOU:
Lk 24:48. AND (YOU) ARE WITNESSES OF THESE THINGS.
Mt 28:20 (pt 2). AND, (SURELY) (or remember), I AM (or will be) WITH YOU ALWAYS, (yes), EVEN (TO) THE (very) END OF THE WORLD (or age).
Lk 24:49.
AND BEHOLD, I AM SENDING FORTH THE PROMISE OF MY FATHER UPON YOU; BUT YOU ARE TO STAY IN THE CITY UNTIL YOU ARE CLOTHED WITH POWER FROM ON HIGH.
Then there's also luke's summary of the last 40 days of the risen Christ (Acts 1:1-9):
In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of my Father, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"
He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 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."
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
Luke clarified how the apostles were to wait until the Holy Spirit had been given to them, which must be the "Power from on high" he wrote about in Luke 24:49. This was probably emphasised in Luke's second letter because he wanted to show in the rest of this book how the Holy Spirit came upon people both in Jerusalem (Acts 2:4), Judea & Samaria (Acts 8:14-15), and the end of the earth (?). He also knew the importance of having the Holy Spirit, and mentions on numerous occasions how the early church were filled (directed and empowered) with the Spirit. Acts was a period of transition for the work of the Holy Spirit since Pentecost (Acts 2), and we now receive and can't lose Him when we believe the gospel (Eph 1:13,14). We must also be filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:17-19).
So why the difference between the gospels?
Each gospel account differs in content, but not in purpose. The purpose is that everyone would hear the good news, and disciples from every nation would be made. The focus of Matthew's account is on making disciples. He wanted to focus on seeing all the teachings that were recorded of Jesus passed on to others in all nations.
The primary verb in Matthew's account is "go". The tense here implies "as you go, make disciples". This is perhaps best illustrated by the example of Jesus' disciples after the stoning of Stephen:
Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. (Acts 8:4)
While the main verb is "go", the other verbs in the sentence re-enforce that main idea. They enhance and explain the idea. Thus, teaching and baptising people are words that describe how we are to make disciples.
While Matthew focused on multiplication, the Lord uses Mark to focus on what the preachers and listeners are to do. The apostles are to preach the good news to all creation, and the hearers are to believe and be baptised to save their souls. Note that "whoever does not believe will be condemned", not "whoever does not believe and get baptised will be condemned" - this is not works-based salvation. Also, to preach means to proclaim, like a herald bringing good news from his king.
God emphasises the progressive and continuous nature in Luke's account:
"This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things." (Luke 24:46-48)
We cannot just preach grace and forgiveness, but we must also preach that people everywhere must repent. Paul gives us a good example when addressing the Greek philosophers:
"Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead." (Acts 17:30,31)
Was the great commission "Jesus' last words"?
These words were spoken 33.5 years into Jesus' life, and were Jesus' last conversation with his disciples. Luke 24:51 shows us that Jesus blessed his disciples just before he ascended into heaven, so the commission itself was not strictly Jesus' last words, but the commission was the last words before Jesus' ascension that God inspired men to write down.
Is the great commission for us today?
Some have said that the great commission was only for the time of Christ (for example, the Berean Bible Society), and that the disciples themselves did likely fulfill it by making disciples from every nations while they were alive, as shown in acts (remember this commission is to preach the gospel to all nations, not necessarily to every person). While the disciples may have fulfilled it, or while it may very well be fulfilled today in terms of reaching the nations, we are still commanded to make disciples today:
"Make disciples of all nations" is the first command. Then we are told to "teach them to observe all that I (Jesus) have commanded you (the disciples)". Well, one thing Jesus just commanded them was to make disciples of all nations. Thus, the apostles would have made disciples by the power of the Holy Spirit, and taught those disciples to make disciples. Those disciples were then asked to teach everything to others who would teach others also (2 Tim 2:2). And so on, and here we are, disciples of Christ because of the work of Christ in his disciples 2000 years ago. Let's make disciples who make disciples and reach the world!
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