Matthew 28:19-20 "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations..."

"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, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20).

Question:

Often called the “great commission,” these are the concluding words of the Gospel of Matthew—and a rallying cry for the church that Matthew believes was the purpose and expression of Jesus' message and ministry. I think what's said in this brief passage is important. I think what's not said, but often assumed, is equally important.

Comment:

Jesus often, in all the Gospels, tells his followers to carry his work forward. He sends his closest disciples out in pairs to towns throughout Israel. He doesn't tell them simply to talk about Jesus and the works he is demonstrating. He tells them to perform their own healings and expressions of spiritual abundance. So it is here. It's often been believed that he is telling his disciples to convert the world to the religion of Jesus. But that's not what he says. He tells them to continue his spiritual work, to continue teaching and expressing the creative energy of God expressed through Father, Son and Holy Ghost—Source, Idea and Expression. "Obey everything that I have commanded you" means “Honor the universal spiritual principles that I have been teaching and demonstrating, and encourage others to do the same.” Jesus—his guidance, his love, his patient faith in our innate spiritual power and our ability to express it—is, indeed, with us through this entire human adventure. But the work of healing, prospering—creating the new consciousness that is the kingdom of heaven—that's ours to accomplish by following the example of Jesus, expressing our own Christ Power, and affirming the same Power in all others, no matter what particular path they might follow.   Blessings!

Rev. Ed