Great Commission
The
Great Commission is a tenet in
Christian theology emphasizing mission work and
evangelism, particularly (but not exclusively) emphasized by
evangelicals. It has been a primary basis for
Christian missionary activity in general. The most familiar version of the Great Commission is recorded in :
Then the eleven
disciples went to
Galilee, to the mountain where
Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very
end of the age."(
NIV)
Other versions of the Great Commission are found in , /, and .
The commission from Jesus suggests that his followers have the duty to go, teach, and
baptize. Although the command was initially given directly only to Christ's
Eleven Apostles,
Christian theology has typically interpreted the commission as a directive to all Christians of every time and place, particularly because it seems to be a restatement or moving forward of the last part of God's covenant with Abraham in
Genesis 12:3.
Critics note that the portion of
Mark 16 which records the commission is not found in two of the oldest
Greek manuscripts of the
New Testament, the
Codex Vaticanus and the
Codex Sinaiticus. The response generally given is that this is immaterial, as essentially the same thing is quoted as having been said by Jesus in at least three other New Testament passages, and additionally that the passage in question was regarded as part of the
canon of the scriptures throughout most of
Church history.
Evangelicals often contrast this
Great Commission with the earlier
Limited Commission of , in which they were to restrict their mission to their fellow
Jews, to whom Jesus referred as "the lost sheep of the house of Israel" ().
*
Great Commandment*
Seventy Disciples*
Antinomianism*
Hyperdispensationalism*
Second Coming*
Catechumen*
Expounding of the Law*
Was the Great Commission Fulfilled?*
Blog Post about The Great Commission?*
Evangelism Forum - Discuss The Great Commission
