Disciples make disciples 3

What was Jesus' last command?

Having established Who it was giving the command, Jesus (Yeshua) of Nazareth, shown with power to be the Messiah, the Anointed One of God, what exactly was his last command? At first the gospel accounts might appear contradictory (and of course, whatever word of Jesus a certain gospel writes last, might not have been the actual last spoken words of Jesus on earth since there was 40 days during which He spoke with them after His resurrection). But on closer looks it becomes clear that all of them are saying the same thing in different words.

Matt.28:18-20 - "And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”"


Mark 16:15-20 - "And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs."


Luke 24:36-53 - "Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” "


Joh.20:19-23 - "Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.”"


Acts 1:4-11 - "And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” "

1. All nations (Matt., Luke), All the world, the whole creation (Mark), to the ends of the earth (Acts).
2. Make disciples (Matt.). What is a disciple? The Hebrew word for disciples is used for student in modern Hebrew. However, a disciples is much more than simply a student. It is much closer to the idea of an apprentice. It involves not simply transfer of knowledge (Luke: opened their minds), but actually the disciple doing the same things as die Master (John: as the Father sent me, so I send you).
3. Baptism was the public way to become a disciple of Jesus (a sign of repentance and forgiveness of sin: Mark.1:4-5), they are baptized into Him (Matt., Mark, Acts). This is good news! Repent and your sins will be forgiven in His Name (Mark, Luke)!
4. The nations are not to be simply taught what Jesus taught, but should be taught to do what Jesus commanded (Matt.) and do what He did (Mark, John). This includes the command to make disciples!
5. They were not to do it in their own strength (just as Jesus was first filled with the Spirit when He was baptized), but to wait to be baptized in the Spirit, to receive power when the Spirit comes on them. (Matt.28:20: I will be with you, Luke: stay until you are clothed with power, John: Receive the Holy Spirit, Acts: you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you). Although the Holy Spirit has been poured out, each one of us still need to filled with the Spirit before we can be His witnesses.