In the last month of his life, Zubairu asked for his children one by one. He was a retired railway engineer who had spent thirty-five years keeping the trains moving between Kaduna and Kano, and he spoke the way he had worked: briefly and precisely. He knew the cancer would not give him much more time. He wanted his instructions understood.
His youngest daughter, Bilkisu, sat with him on the last of those afternoons. While he talked, she quietly recorded him on her phone. She did not tell anyone. It felt too private.
After the burial, the family met to decide how to honour him. The eldest son proposed a memorial hall in the village, with their father’s name in raised letters above the door. Another brother suggested an annual lecture at the polytechnic. Someone wanted to rebuild the family house in the old style. Each idea was expensive and impressive, and each person began his proposal with the same words: “Baba would have wanted...” The meeting went on for four hours. Over the following year, the hall was built. The lecture was launched with a large reception.
At the second family meeting, the subject of their late uncle’s children came up almost by accident. Two of the boys had dropped out of secondary school. Nobody had paid their fees.
Bilkisu took out her phone and pressed play. The room went silent as their father’s voice filled it. “Look after your mother. Keep paying the school fees for your uncle’s children until they finish, all of them. Do not let the farm be sold. And do not quarrel among yourselves over my things.”
That was all. No hall. No lecture. The family had spent a fortune honouring a man by doing things he had never asked for, while neglecting the plain things he had.
I have watched churches do the same with the last words of Jesus.
Last words from a living Lord
There is one great difference between Zubairu and Jesus, and it changes everything. Zubairu spoke his final words knowing he was about to die. Jesus spoke His commission after He had died and risen again. These are not the parting wishes of a departed founder whose followers must now guess at his intentions. They are the instructions of a living Lord who is still present with the people He sent.
PunchlineThat is why the commission must be heard in His own words. We do not need to reconstruct what He “would have wanted”. He told us.
Matthew sets the scene carefully. “Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them” (Matthew 28:16). The meeting had been arranged in advance; the angel at the tomb and then Jesus Himself had told the women to send the disciples to Galilee. And notice the number: eleven. The group was smaller than it had been, and it carried the memory of failure. Every one of them had fled when Jesus was arrested.
Then Matthew records something honest: “And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted” (Matthew 28:17). Worship and hesitation in the same company, possibly in the same hearts. The Greek word for doubt here suggests wavering, being of two minds, not outright unbelief. Jesus did not wait until every disciple was certain before He gave the commission. He came near and spoke to all of them.
That should encourage you. The Great Commission was not given to a hall of spiritual champions. It was given to worshippers who still had questions, and who had recently failed badly. If you have ever thought that the call to make disciples belongs to someone more confident than you, the scene on that mountain says otherwise.
Authority before assignment
Before Jesus says a word about going, He says this: “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18). The word translated power is exousia, which means authority, the rightful power to rule and to command. Jesus is not describing raw strength. He is announcing His position.
During His earthly ministry, Jesus had authority over sickness, demons, storms and sin. But this is something new. The risen Christ has been given all authority, in both realms. The phrase recalls Daniel’s vision of one like the Son of man who received “dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him” (Daniel 7:14). The commission is grounded in that enthronement.
Then comes the word that connects authority to assignment: therefore. “Go ye therefore.” Because all authority belongs to Him, His people are to go to all nations. The command is not the church’s idea for expanding its influence. It is the King’s instruction, issued on the basis of His own rule.
This explains why the scope widens so dramatically. Earlier in Matthew, when Jesus sent the twelve out on their first mission, He told them, “Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:5-6). That was a particular season. Now, with the cross behind Him and all authority given to Him, the boundaries come down. “All nations.”
Yet this was not a new plan. It was the fulfilment of the oldest promise in God’s dealings with Abraham:
Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
“In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” From the beginning, God’s choice of one family was for the sake of every family. Israel was chosen to carry blessing to the nations. Matthew’s Gospel opens by calling Jesus “the son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1) and closes with the command to disciple all nations. The book begins with Abraham and ends with Abraham’s promise being sent out across the earth. When you go to your neighbour, your colleague or a distant people group with the gospel, you are taking part in something God announced four thousand years ago.
NuggetThe commission begins with Christ’s authority and ends with His presence. Everything we are told to do stands between those two truths.
What the command actually says
Now we come to the words themselves: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20).
The first teach in that sentence translates a Greek verb that means to make disciples. The King James translators noted in their margin that it could be rendered that way. It is a different word from the second teach in verse 20. So the heart of the command is this: make disciples of all nations.
In the Greek sentence, make disciples is the main command. The other actions, going, baptizing and teaching, are attached to it and describe how it is carried out. That does not make the going optional. Disciples cannot be made among nations nobody visits. But it does tell us what the going is for. The aim is not travel, nor even preaching considered on its own, but learners of Jesus who are baptised into His name and taught to obey Him.
It is worth noticing what the command does not contain. It does not mention buildings, branches, titles, platforms or attendance figures. None of those things is wrong in itself. A building can shelter a congregation and a platform can carry the Word to millions. But they belong among the methods that serve the command, never among the command’s own terms. When a church measures its obedience to the Great Commission by the size of its auditorium, it has quietly substituted something Jesus never said for something He did.
There are also two things Jesus emphasises that we tend to underplay. First, “all nations”. The Greek word is ethne, peoples, ethnic groups, not only political states. The gospel is meant for the Fulani herder and the Lagos banker, the Tiv farmer and the international student, people who share our language and people who do not. Second, “all things whatsoever I have commanded you”. The commission is not to teach people some of Jesus’ words, the comfortable ones, the ones that promise blessing. It is to teach them to keep all of it.
We will look more closely at what making disciples involves in another teaching. For now, it is enough to see that the command is precise. It is ours to obey, not ours to redesign.
Luke’s account: a message and a power
Matthew is not the only Gospel writer to record the commission. Luke gives us a different angle on the same instruction, and it fills in two things we might otherwise miss:
And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
The first thing Luke shows us is the message. Jesus “opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,” and then He summarised what the Scriptures said: that Christ must suffer, rise from the dead the third day, and “that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations.” That is the content of the commission. It is not a general instruction to spread Christian values or increase church membership. It is a specific announcement: Christ has suffered and risen, and in His name there is forgiveness for those who turn to God.
Notice in his name. The forgiveness offered is grounded in who He is and what He has done. We do not offer remission of sins in the name of our denomination or on the basis of anyone’s personal merit. We offer it in the name of the crucified and risen Christ.
Notice also “beginning at Jerusalem”. The disciples were to start in the very city that had rejected and crucified Jesus. Grace would be offered first to those who had shouted “Crucify him.”
The second thing Luke shows us is the power. “And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.” The same disciples who received the command were told not to begin until they had received the Spirit. The commission was never meant to be carried out by human determination. The Lord who gave the task also gave the power to do it.
I believe this deeply, and I hold it as a Pentecostal conviction: the baptism of the Holy Spirit equips believers for witness. Sincere believers of other traditions understand the Spirit’s coming differently, and they should be heard with respect. But on this all agree. The Spirit of God is not an optional extra for evangelism. Without Him, the commission becomes a burden. With Him, it becomes an overflow.
The question they asked and the answer He gave
Luke continues the story at the beginning of Acts. Jesus has spent forty days with His disciples, speaking about the kingdom of God. Then, just before His ascension, they ask Him a question:
When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
“Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” It was a natural question. They had grown up on the prophets’ promises of a restored Israel. They wanted to know the timetable.
Sincere believers hold different views on how the promises to Israel will be fulfilled, and this verse is often drawn into that discussion. Some see in Jesus’ answer a confirmation that a future restoration is coming at a time the Father has set. Others see a redirection of the disciples’ expectations toward the spiritual kingdom being opened to all nations. You can weigh those views carefully elsewhere. What is plain to everyone is what Jesus did with their curiosity. He did not give them a date. “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.”
Then He gave them something to do instead. “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me.”
The word witnesses is martyres. A witness is someone who testifies to what he has seen and knows. In time the word came to mean someone whose testimony cost him his life, which is where our English word martyr comes from. Jesus did not call His disciples to be debaters, salesmen or managers of a religious organisation. He called them to be witnesses “unto me”. The testimony is about Him.
And then the map: “both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” The book of Acts follows that outline. The gospel spreads in Jerusalem in chapters 1 to 7, through Judaea and Samaria in chapters 8 to 12, and outward toward Rome from chapter 13. Samaria is the uncomfortable one. Jews and Samaritans had despised each other for centuries. Jesus deliberately named the people His disciples least wanted to reach.
Every believer has a Samaria. It may be a tribe your family speaks against, a neighbourhood you avoid, a group whose politics you cannot stand. The commission runs straight through it.
John’s account: sent as the Son was sent
John records the commission in an evening scene, on the day of the resurrection itself:
Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.
The doors were shut “for fear of the Jews”. These were frightened men in a locked room, and Jesus came and stood among them. His first word was “Peace.” Then He showed them His hands and His side. The wounds were proof that the risen Lord was the same Jesus who had been crucified. Then He said it again: “Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.”
As my Father hath sent me. That is the pattern of our sending. The Father sent the Son into the world, into real places, among real people, to live among them, serve them, speak truth to them and give Himself for them. He did not shout salvation from a distance. “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). The church is sent in the same manner: into homes, markets, hospitals and offices, close enough to be seen, carrying the message of the One who carried our sins.
Notice, too, that peace comes before sending. Jesus did not send anxious men out to calm their own fears by being busy. He gave them peace first, and then the commission. Our witness flows from our reconciliation with God, not from a need to prove our usefulness to Him.
How the first church actually obeyed
It is instructive to see how the commission was actually carried out in the earliest years. The apostles preached boldly in Jerusalem, and thousands believed. But for some years the church did not move much further. Then came the stoning of Stephen:
And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judæa and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial , and made great lamentation over him. As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison. Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.
Look at who went. “They were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judæa and Samaria, except the apostles.” The apostles stayed in Jerusalem. It was ordinary believers, traders, mothers, craftsmen, people whose names we never learn, who carried the gospel outward. “Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.”
Luke tells us that some of these scattered believers, “men of Cyprus and Cyrene”, reached Antioch and spoke to Greeks, “preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord” (Acts 11:20-21). The first great Gentile church began through unnamed believers who simply talked about Jesus wherever they found themselves.
This deserves honest reflection. The early church did not obey the commission because someone designed an excellent strategy. They obeyed it largely because they were displaced by persecution and could not stop speaking of Christ. They were not perfect in their obedience either. Even Peter needed a vision and a visit to Cornelius’ house before he fully grasped that the gospel was for Gentiles (Acts 10). The Lord who gave the commission also had to keep pushing His people across the boundaries He had named.
That is good news for us. The commission does not depend on our brilliance. It depends on His authority, His Spirit and His presence, working through ordinary people who keep obeying even when they understand imperfectly.
Before we design the programme
None of this means churches should not plan. Paul made careful plans, chose his companions, and returned to strengthen churches he had planted. Wise organisation can serve the commission well.
But the order matters. First we listen to what Jesus said. Then we ask how to obey it in our setting. When the order is reversed, we start with a programme we like, attach a Great Commission verse to it and call it obedience. That is how a church can run an expensive annual crusade while its members have never spoken of Christ to their own neighbours, or send money to distant missions while ignoring the Samaria at the end of its own street.
So let me draw the threads together. From His own words, across Matthew, Luke, John and Acts, this is what the risen Lord commanded:
- Go to all peoples, starting where you are and crossing the boundaries you would rather avoid.
- Proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins in His name, on the basis of His death and resurrection.
- Bear witness to Him, as people who know Him, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
- Make disciples: baptise them into the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, and teach them to observe all He commanded.
- Do all of this as those who are sent as He was sent, with His peace and in His presence.
Every programme should be tested against that list. Does it help believers go, speak, witness and make disciples? Or does it simply keep them busy inside the building?
A word is needed here for those who feel shut out of the commission. Perhaps you are elderly, or unwell, or your circumstances do not allow you to travel anywhere. The commission is still yours. Not every believer is sent across an ocean, but every believer is sent somewhere, and every believer can take part in the sending of others. Paul asked, “And how shall they preach, except they be sent?” (Romans 10:15). The church in Philippi never left Macedonia with Paul, yet he says they shared in his work “in the beginning of the gospel” because they gave to support it (Philippians 4:15). John wrote of travelling preachers who “went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles”, and he concluded, “We therefore ought to receive such, that we might be fellowhelpers to the truth” (3 John 1:7-8).
Fellowhelpers. The grandmother who prays every morning for a missionary in Niger, the trader who quietly funds a church planter in a northern village, the family that opens its home to a visiting evangelist: all of them are obeying the commission. So is the patient in a hospital bed who tells the nurse why she is not afraid. There is no believer for whom the Great Commission has nothing to say.
And then there is the promise that closes Matthew’s Gospel: “and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20). The commission began with authority and ends with presence. We are never sent out alone. The One who commands is the One who goes with us.
Bilkisu’s recording changed Zubairu’s family. The memorial hall still stands, and nobody regrets honouring their father. But the following month, the brothers sat down together and divided the school fees for their cousins among themselves. The two boys who had dropped out went back to school. One of them is now in his final year at the university in Zaria. Their mother is cared for, the farm has not been sold, and when the family quarrels, as families do, someone usually says, “Play the recording.”
PunchlineWhat saved them was simple. They stopped guessing what their father would have wanted and listened to what he had actually said.
The church has something better than a recording. We have the words of Jesus written in four Gospels and the book of Acts, and we have the Lord Himself, risen and present, by His Spirit. We do not need to guess. Before your church plans another event, and before you decide what your own obedience will look like, sit down with Matthew 28, Luke 24 and Acts 1. Let Him speak. Then do what He said.
Teaching Companion
For Reflection
- What does it tell you that Jesus gave the commission to disciples who “worshipped him: but some doubted”?
- Why does it matter that the commission begins with “All power is given unto me” and ends with “lo, I am with you alway”?
- Which of the four accounts (Matthew, Luke, John, Acts) adds something you had not noticed before?
- Where is your Samaria, the group or place you would least like the gospel to reach through you?
- Are there programmes in your life or church that carry the Great Commission’s name but not its content?
This Week
This week, read Matthew 28:16-20, Luke 24:44-49, John 20:19-21 and Acts 1:6-8 slowly, one passage a day. On the fifth day, write down in your own words what Jesus commanded, using only those passages. Then pray over one person in your Jerusalem and one group in your Samaria, and ask the Holy Spirit for one concrete step of obedience toward each before the month ends.
A Prayer
Lord Jesus, You are risen, and all authority in heaven and in earth has been given to You. Forgive me for the times I have honoured You with things You never asked for, while neglecting what You plainly said. Open my understanding of the Scriptures as You opened the minds of Your first disciples. Fill me with Your Spirit, so that I may be Your witness in my Jerusalem, my Judaea, my Samaria and wherever You send me. Thank You for Your peace, and for Your promise to be with me always. I will listen, and I will obey. Amen.
Truth received brings freedom. Truth believed establishes the heart.
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version. · Illustrations using first names only are composites unless stated otherwise.