The Great Commission and the Birth of Mission

After the resurrection, Matthew records Jesus commissioning the disciples: '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' (Matthew 28:19). Three things stand out. First, the trinitarian baptismal formula — early evidence of a threefold understanding of God. Second, the universal scope ('all nations'), which propelled a Jewish-Galilean movement outward across the Roman world. Third, the historical puzzle it answers: something turned frightened followers (who scattered at the arrest) into bold, often martyred witnesses within weeks. That transformation is a historical datum; that the risen Christ caused it is theological interpretation. The commission remains the engine of Christian mission and education — including the conviction that truth is worth teaching openly.