“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.” (Matthew 28:16-20)
Prior to His ascension into heaven, the Lord Jesus commissioned His disciples to make disciples of all nations, of all peoples. They were to teach them the truth of the gospel, the truth about Him, the truth about living a life of obedience, holiness and faith. He commanded them to baptize all in the name of the Triune God. In fact all they were commissioned to do was for the glory of the Father by the teachings of Jesus and in the strength and power of the Holy Spirit. These disciples followed the call of Jesus to preach the gospel to the ends of the Earth. Each of them was so sure and certain in his faith that each was martyred rather than deny or compromise the truth of the gospel.
The great commission is given to all disciples including we who are alive now in the 21st Century, a time of spiritual and moral chaos, violence and despair. We who have faith in the gospel of Jesus should be so grateful that God has given us His mercy and grace that we should be eager to share the hope of the gospel with everyone me meet. Because we have been so greatly delivered we proclaim to all nations the glory of the Lord and what He has done in the person and work of Jesus, his atoning death, burial and resurrection. Just as the disciples were sent we have been sent out to a strategic location and divinely commissioned to preach the gospel there. We have the calling and the means in Christ Jesus.