What is the Great Commission?

04/08/2025 Mike Falkenstine
Global Missions

“The Great Commission is not an option to be considered; it is a command to be obeyed” — Hudson Taylor

In our Christian circles, I often hear pastors and Bible teachers talking about the Great Commission, but I often wonder how many of them (and us!) really know what the Great Commission is. And as we know, if you don’t know the target you’re trying to reach, it’s hard to meet the goal. With that in mind, allow me to try and define what the Great Commission is so that there’s no confusion about what we’re talking about when we mention the Great Commission. First, let’s look at the ‘dictionary’ definition of the term. Actually, I don’t know of a dictionary that would define the term, so we turn to Wikipedia, which definitely has it’s issues, but seems to be a good ‘first stop’ to see what’s out there:

The Great Commission of Christianity is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples that they spread his teachings to all the nations of the world. It has become a tenet in Christian theology emphasizing ministry, missionary work, evangelism, and baptism.

That’s a good start, but I think we can do better. As we dig into the Scriptures themselves to see what Jesus Himself said, we can see a clear definition emerge. As I read the Biblical account and study the last 40 days of Jesus’ earthly life (between the resurrection and His ascension), I’m struck by this idea that in the last 40 days, this was the last chance Jesus would have to instruct his disciples and other followers on what He wanted them to know before He ascended. I really like that He saved the most important instructions for last. And what did He say?

I often use three passages of Scripture to compile what I call the Great Commission commands. It’s these three verses that we see the Great Commission. In Mark 16:15-16, Matthew 28:19-20 and Acts 1:8, we get a complete idea of what the Great Commission is. These commands are particularly poignant when combined with Jesus’ admonition in John 14:21.

5 Markers of the Great Commission

1.Proclaim the Gospel

      One of the cornerstones of the Great Commission is Jesus’ command for us to Proclaim the Gospel to the whole creation from Mark 16:15-16. This opening salvo of the Great Commission is often overlooked for the more popular Matthew passage we’ll look at next, but it’s really important because we can’t make disciples without new believers, and Jesus accounts for this.

      2. Make Disciples

      The next three markers of the Great Commission come from what is seen as the most popular passage of the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20. Jesus commands His followers here to “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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” In order to understand the first of the commands here in this passage for us to ‘Go and Make Disciples,’ there are always a couple of definitions that I like to give.

      What is a disciple of Jesus?

      Of course, we need to know what the goal is in terms of what Jesus is asking us to do. A disciple is simply a fully devoted follower of Jesus. Recognizing what Jesus has done in their lives, a disciple of Jesus learns from Him to be like Him, who worships Him exclusively while pointing people to Him.

      What does it mean to make disciples?

      Over the years, I’ve developed a carefully crafted definition of disciple making. Discipling others is the process by which a Christian with a life worth reproducing commits himself for an extended period of time to a few individuals who have been won to Christ, the purpose being to aid and guide their growth to maturity and equip them to reproduce themselves in a third spiritual generation. For those who do not know how to make disciples, I’ve written a book that is a step-by-step guide on how to start discipling others. It’ll be a great benefit if you have never had someone disciple you, which is generally one of the prerequisites to become a disciple maker yourself.

      3. Baptize New Believers

      In this same passage in Matthew, Jesus gives us two things to be doing as we ‘go and make disciples.’ One of those key tasks is to be ‘baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.’ This is important because in the order of the Great Commission, we’re first preaching the Gospel, then we’re making sure those new believers are disciples of Jesus. The next in the order is to be baptizing those new disciples of Jesus. In short, baptism is important because it is an outward testimony of the inward change in a believer’s life.

      4. Teach these New Believers everything Jesus Commands

      After baptism of these new believers, we see Jesus instructing us to be ‘teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.’ This is another part of the Great Commission that is often overlooked. I often focus on the ‘teaching them to observe’ here. The Greek word for observe has a literal meaning of ‘to guard, to keep watch over.’ The things that Jesus has commanded (we have a Bible Study on the 50 commands of Jesus that may be helpful), we’re to teach these new disciples to guard these commands, and yes, to obey them.

      5. Be Witnesses of what Jesus has done

      The final piece of the Great Commission is found in Acts 1:8 as Jesus, in the very last thing He says to those at His ascension, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” As I’ve heard teaching on this passage, many Bible teachers will mention that the ‘witnesses’ here is literally translated to ‘eye witnesses.’ As we continue in our walk with Jesus, the call here is to give account as to what you’ve seen and heard Jesus doing in your life and in the lives of others. This account is to be given in our local area and around the world.

      With these 5 markers, may we say that a good definition of the Great Commission is as follows: The Great Commission is a command that Jesus gives to all of his followers to proclaim the Gospel, make disciples while baptizing and teaching them to follow all of Jesus commands in their local area and around the world.

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