Monday Read: The Great Commission - Disciples Making Disciples
After his resurrection, Jesus gave his final instructions to the disciples on a mountain in Galilee: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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" (Matthew 28:18-20). These verses, known as the Great Commission, define Christianity's mission from that day to this.
Notice the foundation: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." Jesus wasn't sending them out on humanitarian mission or ethical teaching campaign. He was exercising cosmic authority over all creation, commissioning ambassadors to represent his reign. The resurrection proved his authority - death itself submitted to his power. Now he deploys that authority through his followers.
The command is specific: "make disciples." Not just converts, not merely believers, but disciples - students who learn to obey Jesus's teaching. The process involves going (to all nations, not just Israel), baptizing (marking converts as belonging to the Trinitarian God), and teaching (instruction in obedience, not just information transfer). Discipleship is comprehensive transformation, not one-time decision.
"All nations" shattered Jewish expectations. Messiah was supposed to restore Israel, not embrace Gentiles. Yet Jesus explicitly commanded global mission. The gospel wasn't for one ethnicity but every ethnicity, not one culture but all cultures, not select groups but all humanity. This was revolutionary - Judaism could accept Gentile converts who adopted Jewish identity, but Jesus demanded taking the gospel to Gentiles on their own terms.
"Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" raises the question: what did Jesus command? The Sermon on the Mount, parables, private instruction to disciples, post-resurrection teaching - all of it became curriculum for disciple-making. This wasn't about transmitting doctrinal information (though that's included) but cultivating obedience. The goal is transformed lives, not informed minds.
The promise matters as much as the command: "I am with you always, to the very end of the age." The disciples would face persecution, opposition, imprisonment, and martyrdom. Most would die violently for their testimony. Yet Jesus promised presence, not protection from suffering. He didn't guarantee they'd never be harmed but that they'd never be alone. His presence would sustain them through whatever came.
This promise extends beyond the eleven disciples. "To the very end of the age" means Jesus's presence continues with all his followers until his return. You're not obeying the Great Commission alone. The risen Christ is with you, empowering your witness, enabling your teaching, sustaining your discipleship efforts. This is why Paul could write from prison: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). Not "I can do whatever I want" but "I can endure whatever comes because Christ is with me."
The Great Commission also reveals the nature of the church's mission. Jesus didn't command building institutions, creating programs, or establishing denominations. He commanded making disciples. Everything else in church life should serve this central purpose. Worship services, small groups, mission trips, social programs, theological education - all are means to the end of making disciples who obey Jesus's teaching.
This challenges much of contemporary Christianity. We measure success by attendance numbers, budget size, building square footage, program diversity. But Jesus commanded making disciples. Are people in your church actually being discipled? Are new converts being taught to obey everything Jesus commanded? Or are they merely being added to attendance lists without transformation?
The Great Commission also requires us to examine what we're teaching. "Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded" means comprehensive instruction in Jesus's actual teaching. Not selective emphasis on favorite topics, not cultural Christianity disguised as discipleship, not political ideology baptized with Bible verses. Everything Jesus commanded - including the hard parts, the countercultural parts, the parts that create conflict with surrounding culture.
"All nations" means crossing cultural, linguistic, ethnic, and geographic barriers. The gospel isn't Western religion to be exported with Western culture. It's universal truth that must be contextualized in every culture while maintaining essential content. Disciples of all nations means Koreans worshiping as Koreans, Africans worshiping as Africans, Latin Americans worshiping as Latin Americans - all following Jesus while expressing faith through their cultural forms.
The baptismal formula - "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" - grounds discipleship in Trinitarian theology. You're not just joining a movement or adopting a philosophy. You're entering relationship with the triune God, marked as belonging to Father, Son, and Spirit. Baptism isn't optional or merely symbolic. It's covenantal marker of new identity.
Matthew's Gospel ends with this commission, making it the culmination of everything that came before. Jesus's birth, life, teaching, death, and resurrection all lead to this: disciples sent to make disciples of all nations. The story doesn't end with resurrection. It continues through commissioned followers who obey Jesus's final instructions until he returns.
So the question confronts you directly: are you making disciples? Not just attending church, not just believing correct doctrine, not just living morally - are you actually making disciples who obey everything Jesus commanded? Who are you baptizing, teaching, and training in obedience? The Great Commission isn't for professional clergy or full-time missionaries. It's for every follower of Jesus. All authority belongs to him. Therefore, go.
