The Great Commission in the Four Gospels
Christian SalcianuSep 19, 2025, 7:45 PM
What is the first biblical text that comes to mind when you hear “mission”? From the New Testament. From one of the Gospels… Do you know the exact reference – the book, the chapter, the verse/verses. Done? Before you say it out loud, let me present you with some perspectives on the subject, with biblical texts, and then let’s see if I’ve got you. Or rather, if you can find your text in my list.
I go to the words of Christ, from the gospels (so, not from Acts, epistles or Revelation) and find many facets of the concept of mission. Let’s see a few!
The similarity of the mission to a field. You recall texts such as: “I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, that they are white for harvest” (John 4:35). Perhaps more well-known is Luke 10:2 – “And he said to them, ‘The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few. Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.””
Parallels with silent friends, animals. “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16). We do not forget the call to Peter and his companions, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19 – the souls of men seen as “fish”), nor the final appeal, to the same chief apostle: “Feed my sheep” (John 21:17).
Articulated preaching. “This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations” (Matthew 24:14). We have the impression that the great evangelists of the world will fulfill the mission – they and the billions of books and pamphlets, the satellite broadcasts, the Internet, the apps, perhaps even artificial intelligence. On the contrary, Jesus says that each of us will give/be a witness (the man is the message): “They will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, throwing you into prisons, and bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake. These things will happen to you for a testimony” (Luke 21:12,13). And the message from person to person is emphasised by Jesus here as well: “I pray not only for these [the apostles], but also for those who will believe in Me through their word” (John 17:20).
A global action. “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). A creature of another race, another culture, with other customs, coming from other majorities or minorities. “The gospel must be preached to all nations” (Mark 13:10).
Many or few? “Someone said to [Jesus], ‘Lord, are there few who are being saved?’ He answered them, ‘Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able’” (Luke 13:23,24). Whether it is one or many, “I tell you that there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). “And then he will send his angels and gather together his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven” (Mark 13:27).
Following Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit. On an individual level, the Lord said to Peter, “Follow me” (John 21:19,22). To the apostles in the upper room, He gave the counsel and promise: “I will send the promise of my Father upon you, but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49).
I have presented no less than 15 clear biblical texts about mission from the words of Christ. Did I find the text you had in mind? I would be happy to believe that I did.
But if you had in mind Matthew 28…, then no, it is not here. I did not specifically add it to the list. Why? I'm tired of seeing this text cut out (like any quote that we think can work miracles), brought up every time and, sometimes, put forward as an ultimatum of the task of service, a platitude to justify both our knowledge of the text and the missionary actions through which, behold, we fulfill the verse ignored by other churches.
So, if the 15 biblical texts above are on your list under Matthew 28, I suggest you review your perspective on mission. To get out of the box we've been crammed into for so long... Mission is much more nuanced, richer, more fulfilling. Let me present it to you with different eyes. And, love me, hate me, I start with Matthew 28. Because it's an extraordinary text!
The “Great Commission” in the Gospel of Matthew
Since you are a Bible scholar, I invite you to open it to the well-known place of the mission, Matthew 28. As you read the text, try to see a red thread of the highlighted words:
Jesus approached them, spoke to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Amen” (Matthew 28:18-20).
You will certainly see the idea of authority (power) over space, over time, over people and their theories. This is, in fact, a key word in the Gospel of Matthew. You can check for yourself both in terms of the conclusion of the people after the Sermon on the Mount (“He taught them as one having authority” – 7:29) or after a miracle (9:8), and in His own words. He has the power to forgive sins (9:6). His coming on the clouds of heaven will be one with power (24:30) etc.
I invite you to read the same passage now – but emphasising different words – and see another common thread:
“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:18-20).
These are key words for our mission: all verbs, implying action, they seem to trace a path of doing evangelism. As Adventists, we find ourselves very easily in this framework: you have the commandments and the idea of keeping them, you have the concept of Bible study, of making disciples and baptising them, of going to the ends of the earth…
If I had to choose a single keyword for the “Great Commission” in Matthew, it would be Authority (power). Based on this text, you are empowered; you have here a strategy for presenting/teaching the truth.
But if I were to ask you now, can you tell me what the Great Commission looks like in the Gospel of Mark? "I want chapter and verse!" a teacher used to say, meaning I want you to give me the exact reference: chapter and verse. By heart!
The “Great Commission” in the Gospel of Mark
You know the setting! We are after Jesus’ resurrection, before his ascension into heaven. Sometime during those 40 days, he gave his disciples what we call the “Great Commission.” It was probably repeated and nuanced in different ways. So, in Mark we find it in chapter 16, verses 15 and 16. The text is almost known, because it is very similar to that in Matthew:
Then he said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
What we have to do is continue reading, because the following verses are an integral part of the “great commission.” We are told very clearly,
“These signs will accompany those who believe:
In my name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover” (Mark 16:17,18).
See the common thread here? These are all signs that have nothing to do with a doctrine lesson, an evangelistic series based on Daniel and Revelation, or a seminar on biblical archaeology. None of these.
The key word for the Gospel of Mark is Impact (someone else would say shock, earthquake, shaking). After Jesus passes through a place, there is clearly a before and after. Here are some examples:
When Jesus healed the paralytic who had fallen through the roof of the house, “they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this!’” (Mark 2:12). In Matthew it was about “power”; here it has an unparalleled impact. When a deaf-mute was healed, the people’s reaction is clear: “they were beyond measure amazed and said, ‘He does all things wonderfully’” (7:37). Here is another way to do evangelism!
Have we ever compared the two versions, Matthew and Mark? I ask because it seems that we overlap extraordinarily well on the model in Matthew, but we are very far from the one in Mark. “Signs”? We are experts in the signs of the times, for example, but far from us any supernatural manifestation… Let me ask it differently! If the version in Matthew – the one with Bible studies, commandments, baptism, etc. – fits perfectly with what we believe is the process of making disciples, when we read in Mark, which fits better: an Adventist church or a charismatic one? Is it something that seems plausible in Africa or in Europe? Is it something from the 21st century or only from apostolic times, at most medieval?
I think we have become stuck in the model of Matthew and are avoiding the one in Mark. Should we be surprised then that the Gospel of Mark ends with such words?
“After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and sat at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere. The Lord worked with them and confirmed the word by the signs that accompanied it” (16:19,20).
You see that the preaching of the Word is not without signs! Indeed, they strengthen the preaching. It is worth having a broader perspective, in which the model in Matthew and the one in Mark are integrated.
No, I do not mean that you have to be a superman. But let us all accept that there are spiritual gifts: I fit well into the model in Matthew (biblical studies, discussions, arguments, theory and logic). But someone with spiritual gifts in the area of relationships with people will find themselves much more easily in the model in Mark. And I am not talking now about exorcism, poisoning, snakes… Can I ask another way: do you know how to speak a new language, other than your own? For example, the language of a person going through a divorce? Do you know how to comfort someone who is waiting for a grim diagnosis? Can you approach those who live on the margins of society, tormented by vices, poverty, unmet basic needs? If so, then you are in the model of Mark.
If Matthew means evangelism, the public concert or seminar, I think Mark is what we do through action in the community, in society, rather ADRA or ACS or any NGO through which we truly approach people, before (or without) opening a discussion about religion. If in Matthew we had Authority (a strategy for presenting/teaching the truth), in Mark we have Impact – awareness of people’s needs, an answer for their fulfillment (healing). And these will be seen by people as “signs”. Only then will they ask you “what’s the secret?”. And then you have the opportunity to testify, to the glory of God.
Now you already know what’s coming…
The “Great Commission” in the Gospel of Luke
Where do we find the “Great Commission” in Luke? We open to the last chapter of the book and arrive in the upper room, when Jesus, after “opening their minds to understand the Scriptures,” said to the disciples:
“‘Thus it is written, and thus it behooved the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city of Jesus Christ until you are clothed with power from on high’” (Luke 24:45-49).
The key words have nothing to do with doctrines, nor with snakes and exorcisms. Here everything is centered around the basic need of man: awareness of the state of sin and liberation through the forgiveness of sins. And those through whom the Lord works are simply “witnesses,” not healers, not Christs, not prophets, not doctors of theology…
The “great commission” in Luke — repentance and the forgiveness of sins — is not a late invention, nor a forcing of things, nor some accidental discovery. The priest Zechariah, from the beginning of the book, prophesying about the mission of his son, John the Baptist, said:
“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High. For you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins; because of the great mercy of our God, because of which the Sun from on high has visited us, to shine on those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace!” (Luke 1:76-79).
Who does mission on the version in Luke? You cannot insist on distributing a book, a single book, even The Great Controversy, for years and expect extraordinary results. You cannot give sandwiches to the poor month after month or do endless humanitarian work without realizing (you or the beneficiaries of your services) that the needs are much deeper than a coat, a penny, or deliverance from a trouble… When the person in front of you sees in you a “witness” of Christ, someone who has truly gone through what he is telling, the mission becomes completely different, authentic, more involved, more transformative (of both the missionary and the one that is "evangelised").
Luke begins his gospel by recognizing that what he himself writes is not just a revelation in a moment of rapture, but a report compiled on the basis of testimonies as “they were entrusted to them by those who saw them with their own eyes from the beginning” (1:2). The witness has an undeniable power.
Oh, let me not forget! Among the most famous parables in the quiver of Christ are that of the lost sheep, that of the lost coin, and that of the prodigal son… The idea of the parables is clear, “I tell you that there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (15:10).
The great commission, according to Luke, is not about texts with which to shut someone’s mouth, nor about miracles that will leave them speechless, but about a discussion on a park bench, a camp with a hike in the forest, a dialogue that can take place late at night… It is about opening the soul to the One who reads it best.
The key word in Luke is Testimony. And this Testimony is done through my presence and yours, who reflect something else to our neighbor. It is about repentance that leads to a new life.
The “Great Commission” in the Gospel of John
The passage in John is found in chapter 20. In the same context of the upper room,
“Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’” (John 20:21).
At first glance, it doesn’t seem like a Great Commission. But the following verses speak of the power of those sent, the Holy Spirit. And of the change brought about in people’s lives, a combination of Mark and Luke, the preaching of the forgiveness of sins, and the faith (or unbelief) of the listeners. Moreover, this is not the first time that Jesus says it – He prayed, using the same words, in Gethsemane, on the Mount of Olives (see John 17:18).
What seems to me to be quite exceptional here is the formula “As he sent me… even so I send you.” I see a pattern here, to be replicated. God the Father made mission out of love (John 3:16). And I notice representativeness – for those around you to see God in you. And continuity – for them to feel that you are directing their attention to Him, not to you.
More than anything, I see (and put into my words) a central idea: As God called me, so I will be able to best call others.
The way God called you is the very blueprint for your own ministry.
You read well. The way God called you is the best model you can follow in your mission life. Not as the pastor says, nor as the mission leader or the book or the preacher say… But how God called you and how He confirmed this to you over time. Let me give you a few examples:
I came to faith by reading the Bible, by comparing biblical texts, by deepening my studies. It is no wonder, then, that the best way I draw others to God is through the same method. (Guess why you’re reading this on the ADC website!) The model in Matthew is what gets me. It’s where I get the most out of my time.
My wife, Claudia, had another journey, where the socialising, a group of friends and fellowship were the central elements. It’s no surprise: you’ll never see her in a pulpit, or handing out books, but she’s always there when someone needs help, whether it’s taking in a homeless person, cooking for the needy, or talking to a friend who’s going through a hard time.
The model in John is Walking with God. When I realize how God has led me, I seek to move forward, to continue writing this story. Naturally, I’ll discover more and more cues from God: when to speak, who to interact with, what I have to say, etc. Basically, I’ll replicate the model through which God called me.
If God has found a way to call me in a particular way, where I have been most open to Him, most malleable, best positioned to make something better of my life, then I am sure that is the model through which I myself will bear the best fruit. I will easily resonate with those who are going through the same experiences, who are undertaking the same journey, I will have an eye trained for their needs. Moreover, each such interaction will be a validation of my own experience.
Four Examples, One for Each Pattern
I will give you four biblical examples now, one for each of the four patterns, so that you can see for yourself.
When Philip evangelises the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8), he follows the pattern in Matthew. Take the time to study and you will see there the “go,” you will see the reading of Scripture, its explanation, questions and answers, and finally, the baptism and a disciple won for Christ, who will preach Him on another meridian.
If you analyze the pattern by which Jesus won the demon-possessed man of Gadara, you will immediately recognize the “impact” in Mark (chapter 5). The same “go” now has other implications, “tell all that the Lord has done for you.” Jesus does not accept his call to follow Him, but sends him to his own, as he is. Why? Because it is enough. Man is a miracle in himself; everyone knows how dangerous the before was and anyone can see what the after is like. The rest is the answer to the question “how is it possible?” And that is… Jesus.
When Peter, John and the other apostles preach to the people at Pentecost, the model is clearly that of Luke. Reading the Acts of the Apostles (chapter 2), we will find key words such as testimony (“we are all witnesses of him” – 2:32), repentance, forgiveness of sins, a new life, etc. To the crucial question of the crowd – “What shall we do?” –, the answer was open: “‘Repent,’ Peter said to them, ‘and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’” (2:38).
In the model of John, the Samaritan woman is not a specialist in missions or evangelism. But she knows one thing, she knows how she was called! When Jesus invited her into a closer relationship with Him, He told her to bring the man she was living with. A sinner, we would say. But Christ extends His grace to her and to him. To many. So the woman goes and calls not just the man but others as well. She feels there is room. Amazingly, “many of the Samaritans from that city believed in Jesus because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me everything I ever did.’ When the Samaritans came to Him, they begged Him to stay with them. And He stayed there two days. Many more believed in Him because of His own words. And they said to the woman, ‘We no longer believe because of what you said; for we have heard Him ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.’” (4:39-42).
What is my mission?
The first and most important is to discover how God called me. If it was through a miracle (Mark), then I will be open to supernatural experiences, to miracles through prayer, to opportunities for the Lord to show Himself Almighty over all the weaknesses of people. If it was through a biblical text, through a book, a sermon, a seminar… then this (Matthew) will be the most fruitful method. If you have had a deep spiritual experience (Luke), on your knees, surrendering before the Lord (before you knew about the Sabbath, or the Second Coming, or the mark of the beast, etc.), then be sure that this is how the Lord calls you to call others.
Second, walk with God further, as He leads you. I close with the text that gives me the greatest hope (John). It is my text for the mission. And yours. In the last prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, Christ prayed not only for the disciples, but also for the next generation.
“I pray not for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word” (John 17:20).
Applying Jesus’ prayer across generations, for the proclamation of the Word continued, orally or in writing, throughout the ages, we can think that Jesus also prayed for the one through whom your (great) grandfather or your parents received the truth of faith. For a Luther, for Wycliffe, for a Wesley, for a stranger who made himself available to Him. This is how the Word of God reached you. Moreover, Jesus prayed for us, those through whom He grows His kingdom even today. And, in the same prayer, Jesus prayed for those we are yet to reach, each in his own way.
If your church members say, “Let’s distribute books!” and your gift is different, go after your gift. If God calls you to be a witness, be a witness, not a preacher. Don’t force yourself, don’t get frustrated! If your gift is to help people, without suddenly forcing religion down their throats with humanitarian aid, then do that. God will take care of it further.
I invite you to get out of the prison of the mission, where the “professionals” have you stuck. Everyone is pulling the wool over your eyes, giving you wings if you do the mission as they believe and inducing a feeling of guilt if you do it differently. When you review the mission, at least through the 15 texts with which I began this article, you will see that God is calling you to much more than giving a flyer or a book, a like/share or a penny for some project that will “overturn” the world…
By understanding the “Great Commission” through the lens of all four gospels, you discover how He called you. Years ago, then and there, the greatest mission in the universe took place, as far as you are concerned. Grasping this idea, you will be set free. And you will be the best missionary for the One who calls everyone, each in his own time, in his own creative and surprising way.
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