The Great Commission, in Christian tradition, is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples, that they spread his teachings to all the nations of the world. It has become a tenet in Christian theology emphasizing mission work, evangelism, and baptism. It has been a primary basis for Christian missionary activity. Some Christian denominations believe that the Great Commission and other prophecy was fulfilled in the apostolic age (see Preterism).
The most famous version of the Great Commission is in Matthew 28:16-20, where Jesus calls on his followers to baptize all nations in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Matthew also records an earlier lesser commission (10:5-42), directed only to the children of Israel, undertaken during Jesus' mortal life. In Luke, Jesus says that all people will be called to repentance and tells his disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they become invested with power (see Pentecost). Luke also has Jesus dispatching disciples during his ministry, sending them to all the nations and giving them power over demons. In John, Jesus bestows the holy spirit on the disciples. The Great Commission in the traditional ending of Mark is thought to be a second-century summary based on Matthew and Luke.
Some scholars of the historical Jesus generally discount the Great Commission as reflecting not Jesus' words but rather the Christian community in which each gospel was written, for example see Jesus Seminar#Sayings of Jesus. Some scholars, such as John Dominic Crossan, assert that Jesus did commission apostles during his lifetime, as reported in the Gospels. Other scholars, however, see even these lesser commissions to represent Christian invention rather than history.
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