The Great Commision

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” These are the words of Matthew 28:19-20 (NLT), also known as the Great Commission. This is by far one of my favorite parts of the Bible. The context of this passage is right before Jesus ascends into Heaven. He leaves the disciples with one small nugget of wisdom. These are the last words of Jesus ever recorded until the day He will come back! Jesus commands his disciples to go and spread the word of his death and resurrection. This passage initiates Act 5 of the Story, according to what we read today in class. In the book of Acts, we see how the disciples respond to Jesus’s words – they create the first church. Now that God has completed the Redemption part of His plan, the disciples pretty much become the first Christians (converting from Old Testament Judaism). They do their job given by the Messiah, and the message of Salvation spreads to the world! As churches spring up all over, ranging from Rome to Corinth, Paul continues his work by sending letters of encouragement to the churches. These letters now make up a large portion of the New Testament, and as Christians we can study them to learn from the first churches’ successes and mistakes. The cool thing is, that by learning from these churches, we can now fulfill our part of the Great Commission and reach out to tell others about the Good News of Salvation. I've included a brief video that is amzingly powerful! Check it out real quick and share your feedback in the comments below!