Jesus’ public ministry had lasted roughly 3 years beginning with His baptism and ending with His death on the cross.  During those three years, He had recruited 12 disciples who went through intensive training.  After the crucifixion, Matthew writes that Jesus appeared to the remaining eleven disciples in Galilee.  It is at this meeting, at the very end of the Gospel of Matthew, that we discover the purpose behind Matthew’s written account of Jesus. The followers of Jesus Christ are now being commissioned to make disciples just as Jesus had discipled them.

Making disciples is not relegated to only the leaders in the church.  All followers are instructed to make disciples.  Making disciples is the key aspect of this verse.  But it also explains how we are to make disciples.  The disciples of Christ are to Go, Baptize, and Teach others.   The instruction to “go” means that we are to be involved in our world.  We cannot just hide from the world and stay within a protected cocoon.  We are to be engaged in our community.  While it calls all of us to share our faith, it also calls all of us to be involved in the process of being transformed in the image of Jesus.

Baptizing does not mean that we are to dunk everyone we can in water.  The act of baptism means that a person now identifies with Jesus and His Kingdom.  It is a public declaration of their faith.  And it is our role to help lead people toward a commitment of faith.  Finally, we are instructed to teach other followers to obey God’s commandments.  This is a crucial element in making disciples.  It is not just a feel-good faith.  While we do experience the love of God through the sacrifice of His son, we are to respond with obedience.  So, while we are to engage the world around us, we are to be set apart from the world through our obedience. 

Now that we have celebrated the resurrection, it is important to remember, as the disciples were reminded, to go and make disciples, while teaching and identifying as a follower of Jesus Christ! The encouraging part of this command is that we are not alone.  Jesus gives us a promise that He has been granted “all authority” and that He will always be with us!

Read Matthew 28:16-20