After Jesus rose from the grave, He received all authority in heaven and on earth from the Father (Mat 28:18). He then gave His disciples their mission, the Great Commission. Different aspects of the same commission are recorded in five locations in the NT. When we study these passages in the Greek, there are only two imperatives (commands): (1) make disciples and (2) proclaim the gospel. The remaining content describes the mission’s focus, message, destination, and source of power.
Those whom God saves are called to be disciples who make disciples. You heard the gospel because followers of Christ have been making disciples who make disciples for the past 2,000 years. As we go through life, our mandate from Christ is to proclaim God’s story of salvation with lost people so they, too, can become disciples of Christ maturing in Christlikeness. Study the five passages below, and you will see an emphasis on taking the message to the nations (the ethnicities), to the end of the earth. The chart below highlights a distinct element of Christ’s commission from each of the passages.
Matthew 28:18–20 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.”
Mark 16:15–16 15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
Luke 24:46–47 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
John 20:21 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”
Acts 1:8 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
| Matthew | Make Disciples |
| Mark | Proclaim the Gospel |
| Luke | Proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins |
| John | As the Father sent Christ; He sends us |
| Acts | The power to witness comes from the Holy Spirit |
From our five passages above, we can see that Making Disciples Who Make Disciples requires:
- That all believers embrace their status as “sent ones.” Jesus said, “I am sending you.”
- Spirit-empowered witnessing to all the nations (ethnicities), to the end of the earth.
- Proclaiming the gospel (death, burial, and resurrection) (including repentance, the turning to God in belief)
- Baptizing converts in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- Teaching disciples to obey all that Christ commanded, including making disciples.
Finally, Jesus gave His followers a promise in Mat 28:20: He promised to be with them (with us) as they (you and me) carried out the mandate to the end of the age. We are not alone. The Great Commission, the mission of disciple making is not sustained by human effort but by Christ’s authority and the Spirit’s power. May God be glorified in our making disciples!
