The Great Commission (Mat. 28:16–20) is often taken as a rallying cry for action: “get out there and tell people about Jesus!” But have you ever noticed that it also calls us to a deep dependence on Christ?
Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission, captured these two truths in the memorable phrase: “go forward on your knees.” He understood that mission begins in devotion to Christ. If we are to be faithful to the Great Commission, we must also be faithful to Christ.
The Great Commission begins with a declaration of Christ’s lordship over all things: “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given.” It concludes with an assurance of his abiding presence in the church: “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” The mission begins and ends with Christ.
Famously, there is only one main activity in the passage: “making disciples.” The other activities—going, baptising, and teaching—are all aspects of disciple-making. This invites a question: what does a disciple of Jesus look like?
Well, if you’re a disciple of Jesus, then look in a mirror! Disciples of Jesus look like you!
Your response might be to laugh because you’re aware of your shortcomings. But I’m being serious! The fact is that we all have shortcomings. Even those to whom the Great Commission was first given.
Look at what the passage itself tells us. They are introduced as “the eleven”—a subtle reminder that one of them had betrayed Jesus. As for the rest? We are told that when Jesus met them “they worshipped him, but some doubted.” (Mat. 28:17). Even the closest of Jesus’ followers had abandoned him at his arrest and rejected claims of his resurrection. The followers of Jesus have never been perfect!
We see this even more clearly when we look at the church for whom the Gospel was first written. It was a community in transition. The first Christians had been thoroughly Jewish. But as more non-Jews placed their faith in Jesus, tensions grew. Paul’s writings show us what followed: confusion, argument, and division. Such were the first readers of Matthew’s Gospel.
To them, the Great Commission serves to renew focus. It offers a word of gentle rebuke: reminding them that the church lives under the authority of Christ, and of Christ alone. It offers a word of warm encouragement: reminding them that Christ is with them always. And it offers a word of clarity: a reminder that the church should be looking outward, seeking to continue Christ’s outreach to the world.
In this, Christ is always central. I already mentioned the opening and the ending of the Great Commission. But the very notion of “discipleship” shows that Christ is central. Even the ideas of “going,” “baptising,” and “teaching” speak to the centrality of Christ. “Going” reflects the sending heart of God. “Baptising” speaks of union with Christ. “Teaching” assumes Christ’s ongoing authority and his presence. Everything circles back to Jesus—the one who has been given all authority. The one who is always with us.
This is why devotion matters. Luke 13:6-9 tells of a fruitless fig tree. How is it to be made fruitful? Only through a process of patient nurture. Following Christ is the same. We become fruitful through sustained engagement with Christ.
There are many ways to do this. The church knows many ways of being with Christ: prayer, reading of Scripture, worship, silence, Sabbath observance, self-examination, the Lord’s Supper, and more. Each has its place and its benefit. God has given us many ways to be with Jesus and to empower us for his mission.
So although the Great Commission is a call to action, it is also a call to devotion. It requires acknowledging his authority and fostering his presence. There is an inward focus on devotion to Christ so that there might be an outward focus on making disciples. The Great Commission calls us not first to do more, but to abide more deeply — to go forward on our knees.