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” (Mathew 28:19-20).

Question:

I've always felt great comfort in Jesus' last sentence, "I am with you always, even to the end of the age." But I long for a deeper understanding of this passage.

Comment:

This passage is often called the Great Commission, and it's unfortunate that a lot of harm has been done by well-intentioned people taking it too literally, and feeling called to force Christianity onto everyone, no matter how anchored they may be in the same universal truths as expressed on other paths. Certainly Jesus was not ordering his followers to enforce a belief in Jesus upon the world. He is speaking here in his fully spiritual, Christ self. The “commission” must be heard with the same energy of infinite Love with which it was given. Jesus is calling each of us to transform the world by surrendering limitations and resistance, so that we can fully express our own Christ energy, as he did his. When we are able to recognize the Christ in each other, and in all people, then differences of religious belief will not matter. We will 'know the Truth' of our Oneness with God. And in that Truth we will be free. It's an awesome commission, to be sure. But we are simply channels; we don't ever act alone. The Christ—the great I AM Presence of God—is always with us, expressing as us. So the success of the commission is assured.   Blessings!

Rev. Ed