Jesus came and told His disciples; I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of age. (NLT)

To set the stage for us in Matthew 28:18-20, it’s important to know that Jesus has just been resurrected. Mary Magdalene and the "other Mary,” as Matthew describes her, but whom many scholars believe to be Mary, the mother of Jesus, are at the tomb.  A great earthquake shakes the ground and the stone covering Jesus' tomb is rolled away, revealing that Jesus is not there.

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Then, an angel appears before the two women and tells them not to fear because Jesus has risen from the dead. The angel then instructs the two Marys to go quickly and tell the disciples that Jesus had risen, that they should leave for Galilee, and that Jesus would see them there. Here, we pick up the story in verse 18 of what is often called “The Great Commission.”

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What a whirlwind week for the disciples! Jesus came into Jerusalem on a Sunday and had the Last Supper a few days later. Then, he was arrested on Thursday evening, was found guilty and crucified on Friday, and rose from the dead on Sunday morning, what Christians now call Easter. If all that was not enough for the disciples to wrap their heads around, then Jesus reveals himself to them as alive! I'm sure none of us has ever had a week quite as intense as what the disciples experienced, but out of that week would come the good news and salvation of the whole world.

I think one could argue that it was right here, through Jesus Christ, at this moment in time, that the story of your salvation and my salvation began. After the week the disciples had, think how easy it would have been for them to give up. They were probably absolutely lost on what to do next.

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But the story did not end there. Christ told these eleven disciples that he had been given all authority in heaven and earth and because of that authority, his disciples should go out to ALL nations and baptize them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And yet, the story did not end here either! Jesus also commanded the disciples to teach the new followers to also obey his commands.

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In John 14:12, Jesus tells us if we believe in him, we can do the same works and even greater works after he would ascend to heaven. Jesus gives us the power to work alongside him and to continually deliver his message of salvation to the lost. Think of how amazing this is: What started out through the Great Commission to his disciples would turn into a commission to hundreds and then thousands of followers in just 40 days (Acts 2:41), leading us to the estimated 2.4 billion followers of Jesus around the world today.

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Are you one of those followers in the long line of believers? Consider today how God is calling you to continue his Great Commission. Maybe you are someone that has heard the good news that Jesus asked his disciples to share all those years ago, but you haven’t yet given your heart over to Christ. Can you believe that the good news of Jesus has traveled through a long, long line of believers, all the way to you, in this very moment? Is today the day you say yes to the Savior of the world?

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for letting us come along side of you to share the gospel through the Great Commission you gave to your disciples. Lord, I pray that we continue sharing this story of salvation today and every day. Father, I ask for those that have heard but have not yet given their lives over to you, that today would be that day. It is in your Holy Name we pray, amen.