Matthew 28:19–20: Edit history

Context

This passage forms the closing scene of the Gospel of Matthew. The risen Jesus meets the eleven disciples on a mountain in Galilee. The disciples worship him, "but some doubted" (Matthew 28:17). Jesus declares that all power in heaven and in earth has been given to him, gives this command, and concludes with the words "lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." This final promise corresponds to the name Emmanuel at the opening of the Gospel (Matthew 1:23).

Interpretation

• Disciple-making as the central emphasis: Interpreters frequently note that the Greek original contains only one main verb, "make disciples" (rendered "teach" in the KJV), while "go," "baptizing," and "teaching" are participles that modify it. On this reading, the heart of the command is not merely to gain converts but to raise up disciples who follow Christ throughout their lives.
• A missionary mandate: As a command directed toward "all nations," the passage became a central foundation of the modern Protestant foreign missions movement. The English Baptist missionary William Carey's argument that this command remains binding on the church today is well known in the history of missions.

Debates and Issues

• Baptismal formula: This verse, which commands baptism in the name of the three persons, is a basis for belief in the Trinity and the standard for the baptismal formula. By contrast, the Book of Acts records baptism "in the name of Jesus Christ" (Acts 2:38). Some Oneness churches within the Pentecostal tradition baptize in the name of Jesus only, and mainstream denominations criticize this practice as a denial of the Trinity. Some scholars regard the Trinitarian formula as a later refinement, but no Greek manuscript lacking the formula is known.
• Recipients and mode of baptism: Views diverge between the Baptist position, which appeals to the order of making disciples and then baptizing to argue that baptism should be given only to those who have made a profession of faith, and the Presbyterian and Methodist position, which holds that "all nations" includes the children of covenant households. For details, see infant baptism controversy.

In the Korean Church

In Korean Protestant churches, the passage is a principal text for missionary commissioning services and missions conferences, and the Korean discipleship training movement adopted it as its core foundation.

Related Passages

• Mark 16:15
• Luke 24:46–49
• Acts 1:8
• Matthew 1:23