The Mission - Matthew 28:18-20

                            Alan Smith

If you’ve ever wondered what Jesus most wants His people to do, Matthew 28:18-20 answers it with plain words. These verses come at the end of Matthew’s Gospel, right after Jesus’ resurrection, when the disciples are still processing what they’ve seen and heard.

This moment is often called the Great Commission. It’s not a vague slogan or a church program. It’s Jesus giving His followers a clear mission, with clear authority, clear actions, and a clear promise.

What Jesus Said

Matthew 28:18-20 reads like a short speech, but every line carries weight. Jesus doesn’t start by assigning tasks. He starts by stating what’s true about Him. Then He tells His people what to do. Then He tells them what they can count on.

Jesus Has All Power

Jesus begins with a claim that changes everything:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:18)

That opening matters because the mission that follows is bigger than human strength. Jesus doesn’t ask the disciples to go on their own credibility or skill. He sends them under His rule.

Here’s what Jesus is saying in simple terms:

• His authority comes from God the Father, it is “given to” Him.
• His authority covers everywhere, heaven and earth.

If Jesus has authority in heaven, then nothing spiritual outranks Him. If He has authority on earth, then no government, culture, system, or enemy has the final say.

No limits to Jesus’ rule.

That’s not abstract theology. It’s the foundation under your feet when obedience feels costly. It’s the difference between “I hope this works” and “Jesus sent me.”

Go Make Followers

Next, Jesus gives the core command:

“Go and make disciples of all nations.” (Matthew 28:19)

A disciple is not just someone who agrees with Christian ideas. A disciple is a learner and follower. Someone who trusts Jesus and begins to pattern life around Him.

Jesus’ words include movement, purpose, and scope. You can hear it in the key actions:

1. Go: Don’t stay frozen in place. The mission pushes outward.
2. Make disciples: The goal isn’t to collect crowds, it’s to form followers.
3. All nations: No group is outside Christ’s concern, and no culture is beyond His reach.

This is not a call for a few “professional Christians.” It’s a command for the whole church, carried out in many settings. Some will cross oceans. Many will cross the street. The location may change, but the mission stays the same.

A helpful way to picture this is like a lighthouse. A lighthouse doesn’t move, but the light reaches out. Jesus’ command includes both. Sometimes the church goes, and sometimes the church stays planted, shining where God placed it. Either way, disciples are made when people meet Jesus, learn from Jesus, and keep following Jesus.

Baptize in the Name

Jesus then gives a specific marker of entry into this new life:

“baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19)

Baptism is not presented as a private spiritual feeling. It’s a public step. It marks someone as belonging to the triune God.

Jesus names:

• Father
• Son (Jesus)
• Holy Spirit

This is Christian faith at its center, One God in three persons. Jesus doesn’t treat God as a distant force. He speaks of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as the living God into whose name believers are baptized.

Baptism points to cleansing and new life, but it also points to allegiance. It’s like saying, “My old life is not my master anymore. I belong to God.”

This is why baptism matters. It’s not a graduation ceremony after someone becomes “good enough.” It’s a beginning step of obedience for those who trust Christ.

Teach to Obey

Jesus continues:

“teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:20a)

This line guards the mission from becoming shallow. The church doesn’t just announce forgiveness and stop. The church teaches people how to follow Jesus in real life.

Notice Jesus doesn’t say “teaching them to know.” Knowing matters, but the target is obey.

That doesn’t mean obedience earns salvation. It means obedience is what discipleship looks like once someone belongs to Jesus.

Two key ideas are in the verse:

• Teach all Jesus’ commands, not only the comfortable ones.
• Teach people to obey, not just to admire Jesus from a distance.

That kind of teaching is patient. It takes time. It includes instruction, correction, encouragement, and repeated reminders.

It also means discipleship is more than a class. It’s life-on-life help. People learn obedience the same way children learn a language, by hearing it and practicing it, with someone who cares enough to keep walking with them.

If you want a simple way to check your own discipleship, ask one honest question: Am I learning Christ’s words, and am I putting them into practice this week?

Jesus Stays With Us

Jesus ends with a promise:

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20b)

That sentence is not decoration. It’s strength for the work. Jesus doesn’t give a mission and then step back to watch from afar. He promises His presence.

The heart of the promise is this: I am with you always.

That means:

• You’re never alone on the mission.
• Jesus stays with His people until the end of the age.

The disciples who first heard this were not powerful by the world’s standards. They didn’t have money, status, or safety. Some of them would suffer for preaching Christ. Jesus doesn’t pretend the path is easy. He promises something better than ease, His presence.

Jesus’ presence gives strength.

When fear rises, His presence steadies you. When you don’t know what to say, His presence reminds you the mission isn’t built on your perfection. When obedience costs something, His presence becomes comfort that the world can’t offer.

Key takeaway: Jesus doesn’t just send you, He stays with you.

Our Part in the Mission

The mission in Matthew 28:18-20 is not only for “out there.” It shapes ordinary life, family life, work life, and church life. It answers the question, “What should Christians be doing until Jesus returns?”

At the center, the mission is to make disciples. That can sound big, so it helps to think in everyday steps that match Jesus’ commands.

Here are three practical ways to live this out:

1. Share with friends: Speak about Jesus in normal conversation, with clarity and care. You don’t need a stage. You need faithfulness.
2. Get baptized if you haven’t: If you trust Christ, baptism is a simple act of obedience that honors Him.
3. Teach others: Help someone learn Christ’s words and put them into practice, even if it’s one person over coffee or a weekly Scripture reading.

This mission also corrects a common mistake. Many people think the goal is to “get people saved” and move on. Jesus’ words are fuller. He calls His followers to make disciples, baptize them, and teach them to obey all He commanded. In other words, Jesus cares about beginnings and endurance.

What This Mission Is (and Isn’t)

It’s easy to overcomplicate the Great Commission, or to shrink it into something smaller than Jesus intended. These clarifications help keep the mission straight.

The mission is about disciples, not just decisions. A decision to trust Christ matters, but discipleship shapes a life.

The mission is for all nations, not one type of person. The gospel is not owned by any culture. Jesus sends His people outward.

The mission depends on Jesus’ authority, not our confidence. The command starts with “All authority,” because the work requires His power.

The mission includes teaching obedience, not just sharing information. Christian teaching aims at a changed life, by the Spirit’s help.

A Simple Way to Pray Matthew 28:18-20

If you want to carry this passage into your week, try praying through it in four short parts.

• “Jesus, You have all authority. Help me trust You.”
• “Send me where You want me to go.”
• “Help me help others follow You, make me faithful to make disciples.”
• “Thank You that You are with me always.”

Keep it simple. Keep it honest. Jesus’ promise is not fragile.

Conclusion

The mission in Matthew 28:18-20 rests on three solid truths: Jesus has all authority, Jesus gives clear commands, and Jesus stays with His people. This mission isn’t only for missionaries or pastors, it’s the normal life of the church. Start where you are, with the people God has put near you, and take one step of obedience at a time. Christ’s promise still stands: “I am with you always.”