What Is the Great Commission?

Jesus answers this question! In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus says, “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 of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (NKJV). What is the great commission? It’s an order that all believers in Jesus have been given!

This commission was given just prior to Jesus’ ascension into heaven. Now numbering 11, the remaining disciples have joined together on a mountaintop somewhere in Galilee. They are away from the bustle of Jerusalem. Jesus gives His followers instructions about what to do in His absence. He actually answers the question, what is the Great Commission!

He begins by reaffirming a concept He has told them many times: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” In just a few more seconds, Jesus would give them authority too. The disciples, and the followers coming after them, would be His representatives to the world. They were tasked with this Great Commission, a specific call to make more disciples.

Does the great commission apply to all believers or just the disciples who were listening to Jesus that day on the mountain? It is a message to us too! The Great Commission compels us to share the Good News until everyone has heard. Let’s study two aspects of this commission:

“All Nations”
– We are called to make disciples of all nations. This is noteworthy because Jesus wanted the Good News of Jesus Christ to spread beyond the nation of Israel to the entire world—to every ethnicity and people group.

For GFA World, we are called specifically to those who have never heard this great message in Asia and Africa.

“Make Disciples”
– The followers of Jesus are tasked with making more disciples. Got Questions Ministries defines disciple this way: “The Greek term for ‘disciple’ in the New Testament is mathetes, which basically means ‘student’ or ‘learner.’ But a disciple is also a ‘follower,’ someone who adheres completely to the teachings of another, making them his rule of life and conduct.”[1] Those who heard this commission that day on the mountain knew firsthand what being a disciple entailed.

Jesus had already told them that discipleship would be costly. Luke 14:33 says, “So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.” (NKJV). Also, in Matthew 16:24, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (NKJV). Jesus was clear that a significant sacrifice would be expected.

“The disciples learned to pray by watching their Master spend all night before the Father. They learned what it meant to be a broken, humble individual by watching His life of total submission and obedience to the Father,” says GFA Founder K.P. Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan).[2]


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