New Testament Accounts
Some version of the great commission appears in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and in the Book of Acts, which is the second part of Luke-Acts. Details vary from book to book, see Gospel harmony for the attempts to harmonize them. In Matthew, Jesus directs the disciples to baptize people of all nations in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, similar to the Trinitarian formula of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. In Luke, Jesus tells the disciples to preach repentance and forgiveness, and promises that they will have divine power. In John, Jesus says the disciples will have the Holy Spirit and the authority to forgive sins and to withhold forgiveness. In Acts, Jesus promises the disciples that the Holy Spirit will inspire them. According to some critics, in Mark Jesus never speaks with his disciples after his resurrection. They argue that the original Gospel of Mark ends at verse Mark 16:8 with the women leaving the tomb. See also Mark 16.
Mostly, Matthew and Luke follow Mark and are similar to each other, hence they are called the Synoptic Gospels. The infancy narratives and resurrection appearances, however, vary between Matthew and Luke.
The most familiar version of the Great Commission is depicted in Matthew 28:16–20:
- (16) Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. (17) And when they saw him, they worshiped him: but some doubted. (18) And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. (19) Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: (20) Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Other versions of the Great Commission are found in Mark 16:14–18, Luke 24:44–49, Acts 1:4–8, and John 20:19–23. All these passages are composed as words of Christ spoken after his resurrection.
Acts 10:9-47, Acts 11:18, has Peter forget the words Matthew 28v19 has Jesus say, " make disciples of all nations "
The call to go into the world in Matthew 28 is prefaced a mere four chapters earlier when Jesus states that the Gospel message will be heard by representatives of all nations, at which time the end will come. This is accented in Revelation when the Apostle John sees members of every tongue and nation gathered around the throne of God.
Read more about this topic: Great Commission
Famous quotes containing the words testament and/or accounts:
“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”
—Bible: New Testament Matthew 5:6.
“We must love one another, yes, yes, that’s all true enough, but nothing says we have to like each other. It may be the very recognition of all men as our brothers that accounts for the sibling rivalry, and even enmity, we have toward so many of them.”
—Peter De Vries (b. 1910)