One event, four witnesses
The Great Commission
The risen Jesus sends His disciples to make disciples of all nations before ascending to the Father. Matthew, Mark, and Luke, with Acts, all record His final commission; the longer ending of Mark that contains it is textually debated, and this deserves an honest word.
“Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.”Matthew 28:16
“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”Mark 16:15
“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.”Luke 24:44
The event
The event. After His resurrection, Jesus commissions His disciples to carry His work into all the world. In Matthew, on a mountain in Galilee, the eleven meet Him, and though some doubt, He declares that all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Him, and sends them to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and teaching them to observe all He commanded, with the promise, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." In the longer ending of Mark, He tells them to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, with words about signs following those who believe. In Luke, He opens their understanding of the Scriptures, showing that the Christ must suffer and rise and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem, and He bids them wait for the promise of the Father, the power of the Holy Spirit, before He is carried up into heaven. Acts records the same charge and the ascension, with the promise that they will be His witnesses to the uttermost part of the earth. The risen Christ sends His church to the nations, clothed with His authority and His presence.
Read side by side: what is the same, what differs
Read side by side: what is the same, what differs. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Acts agree that the risen Jesus commissioned His disciples to take the gospel to all nations, and all connect the mission to His authority, to repentance and faith, and to the coming of the Holy Spirit or His abiding presence. Each has its own emphasis: Matthew stresses discipling and baptizing all nations under the triune name, with Christ's promised presence; Luke and Acts stress the fulfillment of Scripture, the necessity of the Spirit's power, and Jerusalem as the starting point; the longer Mark stresses preaching to every creature. One honest matter must be named: the ending of Mark that contains this commission, verses nine through twenty of chapter sixteen, is textually debated. These verses are absent from some of the earliest and most important manuscripts, and many Bibles mark them off or note the uncertainty. Faithful scholars differ: some hold the longer ending to be authentic, others that Mark's Gospel ended, or was lost, at verse eight, and that the longer ending was added early. This is a genuine question of the text, honestly acknowledged. Importantly, nothing essential to the faith rests on these verses alone, for the resurrection and the commission are firmly attested in Matthew, Luke, John, and Acts. The core, that the risen Christ sends His people to the nations, stands secure across the witnesses.
What it shows of Christ
What it shows of Christ. In the Great Commission Jesus is revealed as the risen and reigning Lord to whom all authority in heaven and earth has been given, who now sends His people as His ambassadors to every nation. His mission is universal, breaking every boundary of race and land, gathering disciples from all peoples, the fulfillment of the promise that in Him all families of the earth would be blessed. Matthew shows the King enthroned, commanding and promising His presence to the end of the age. Luke shows the risen Christ as the key to all the Scriptures, whose suffering and rising were foretold, and who provides His Spirit's power for the task. Acts shows Him ascending and pouring out that Spirit to make witnesses of the once-fearful disciples. He does not send them alone but with His authority, His Spirit, and His abiding presence. The Christ who died and rose now commissions a church to carry His name to the ends of the earth, and He promises to be with them always in the doing of it.
Questions people ask
Is the longer ending of Mark, which contains the commission, part of the original Gospel?
This is genuinely debated. Mark 16:9-20 is absent from some of the earliest and most important manuscripts, and many Bibles mark it off or note the uncertainty. Faithful scholars differ: some hold the longer ending authentic, others think Mark ended, or was lost, at verse eight and the ending was added early. It is an honest question of the text. Crucially, nothing essential to the faith depends on these verses alone; the resurrection and the commission are firmly attested in Matthew, Luke, John, and Acts.
Why do the accounts of the commission emphasize different things?
Each Evangelist draws out what serves his portrait and purpose. Matthew stresses discipling and baptizing all nations under the triune name and Christ's abiding presence; Luke and Acts stress the fulfillment of Scripture, the Spirit's power, and Jerusalem as the starting point; the longer Mark stresses preaching to every creature. These emphases are complementary, and all agree that the risen Christ sends His people with His authority to the nations.