The Backdrop
You don’t have to be around Christianity very long before you hear someone talk about the great commission. If this is the first time you’ve heard that phrase, here’s a little background: After Jesus’ resurrection and before He ascended to heaven, He said these words to His disciples: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (
Because of the historic commissioning nature of this command, it’s been dubbed The Great Commission. The thing is, this isn’t the only time Jesus gave an historic go-and-do command. In fact, most times when He gave a command to go, He included a command to “do.”
The What
Listed below are several verses from the gospels in which Jesus gave a command to go and do something. Print these out, and as you read these passages, do this:
1. Draw an arrow pointing forward over the word go.
2. Circle the command that accompanies the command to go.
3. Make a list in the margin of your sheet of all the things Jesus told people to go and do.
“But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (
“As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near'” (
“Jesus replied, ‘Go back and report to John what you hear and see'” (
“‘Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers? The expert in the law replied, ‘The one who had mercy on him.’ Jesus told him, ‘Go and do likewise'” (
“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you'” (
“[Jesus] said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation'” (
The So What
There is something cool about the word go that’s good to know. The Greek word (Greek was the original language of the New Testament) we translate go carried a meaning of “as you go about your way.” While we can take each command as “go do this now,” we also can take it as “do this as you go about your day.”
Spend a couple minutes reflecting on Jesus’ words that you just read. Meditate on the things He said to go and do. Feel free to look up these passages in your Bible so you can get a feel for the context of Jesus’ words. Also, you may want to journal your thoughts about what God might be calling you to do. As you reflect, think about how you can implement these commands into your daily routine of life.
Seal the Deal
After you’ve reflected, meditated and journaled, consider putting a plan in motion to do one of Jesus’ go-and-do commands. You can think of it as your personal great commission.
