Acts 1:8
About this verseBefore ascending, Jesus promises his followers power from the Holy Spirit to tell of him from Jerusalem to the farthest places on earth.
Matthew 28:19-20
The risen Jesus sends his followers to make disciples among every people, baptising and teaching them — and promises to be with them always.
Go, then, and make disciples of all the nations: baptize them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to keep everything I have commanded you. And remember this: I myself am with you every day, until the close of the age.”
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What Matthew 28:19-20 means
These are the risen Jesus’ final words in Matthew, given to a group the text admits still had doubters among them. The commission is not reserved for the confident.
The scope is “all the nations,” and the task is making disciples — not merely converts — through baptising and teaching. The promise at the end is what makes it possible: his presence, every day, until the close of the age. Command and comfort arrive in the same breath.
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Questions about Matthew 28:19-20
What does Matthew 28:19-20 mean?
It is Jesus’ commission to his followers to go to all nations, make disciples, baptise them and teach them to obey him — with his promise to be with them always.
Why is it called the Great Commission?
Because it is the church’s founding assignment from Jesus himself: the instruction that sends his followers beyond their own people to every nation.