The Great Commission is given to us by each of the four evangelists (Mt 28:18–20; Mk 16:15–16; Lk 24:46–49; Jn 20:21–22) and in the Acts of the apostles (Ac 1:8). It is reiterated in the charge to Paul as recorded in Acts 26:13–18. To Bible believers it has far-reaching implications. It constitutes an identification of the believers with Christ in accomplishing the divine purpose as unfolded in the missionary thrust of the Old Testament and incarnated in the Lord. It is the command to preach the gospel to every creature, the marching orders to evangelize the world, the divine authorization to be ambassadors of Christ to every nation of the world. The cumulative force of this reiterated command is evident, leaving no doubt in the mind of the believing and obeying disciple of Jesus Christ that the evangelization of the world is the unquestioned will and plan of the Lord. It is the divine imperative written in bold letters into the nature of Christianity and defined in a plain commandment by the Lord Himself. Such is the first impact of a study of the Great Commission. The Great Commission authoritatively states the Christian duty of world evangelization. I repeat, the Great Commission does not make Christianity a missionary religion, for no command could ever do this. The missionary nature of Christianity does not originate in a command; the command merely focuses it. The missionary nature itself springs from the God who is the source of Christianity.

The Great Commission does not create new duties; it merely defines original ones. Christian duties flow from the character of Christianity and their relation to the Lord.

This, however, is not the whole story of the Great Commission. The primary historical significance of the Great Commission lies in the fact that it gives to the church the pattern and purpose of missions. It defines and delineates the missionary task. We have in the Great Commission a compass, a charter, and a plan. A comparative study of the parallel passages is most illuminating and instructive. It yields precious truths and principles to guide the church in world evangelism and to define in specific terms the missionary aspect of the churches’ ministry.

The sixfold command in the gospels and Acts expresses one central concern of Christ: the concern of world evangelization; it declares one central purpose: the purpose of gathering a people for the name of the Lord from among the nations to constitute the church, the body and the bride of Christ, the temple and household of God; it prescribes one central strategy: the heralding of the gospel of Jesus Christ by Spirit-equipped witnesses making disciples among all nations. In addition to this common core, each one of the evangelists emphasizes a unique aspect or several aspects of the missions’ activity and movement.

 George W. Peters, A Biblical Theology of Missions (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1972), 178–179.