Then Jesus came to them and said, “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.” – Mt 28:18-20

Matthew 28:18-20

Then Jesus came to them and said – Jesus didn’t leave us guessing as to what he wanted us to do. He showed up on that hill to speak with a small group that included fishermen, and told them in plain language what the plan was.

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me – The world was made through Jesus and for Jesus. At the end of time every knee will bow to Jesus, not because they’re forced to, but because they’ll see his glory. And Jesus is the rightful King of everyone’s life today. It’s their default setting to worship Him, built right into their system.

Therefore go – In the Greek, “as you are going”. Everywhere you go, Jesus is King and his kingdom is at hand. The “therefore” matters. This isn’t a cool idea or an optional invitation. We go because Jesus is the King and he’s coming back soon.

and make disciples of all nations – In the Greek “disciple all the nations”. The Greek word for disciple is mathētḗs (from math-, the “mental effort needed to think something through”) – properly, a learner, so to disciple someone is to help them learn. It’s similar to manthánō – properly, learning key facts; gaining “fact-knowledge as someone learns from experience, often with the implication of reflection – ‘come to realize’ “. We disciple people by giving them experiences with Jesus that they can later reflect on and learn about him.

baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit – We disciple people to be dead to sin and alive in Christ. Dead to this world and full of the love of the Father. Free from Satan’s power and filled with the Holy Spirit.

and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you – Not just teaching them about the commands, teaching them to obey the commands of Jesus. This is how disciples learn: through the experience of obedience. Then they know things for sure, not just with head knowledge, because they lived them out themselves.

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age – Jesus is with us, not just as a comfort and companion, but as the one who gave us the authority to disciple the nations. The King sent us out to do something, and when people doubt our message, he’s right there to back us up.

Hallelujah!