Scripture:
Matthew 28:16–20 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
John 20:21–22 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
Matthew 28:16–20; John 20:21–22
Devotional Thought:
Jesus gathers the disciples on a mountain — and some of them are still doubting. This is worth pausing on. The Great Commission is given not to a group of polished, fully-convinced, doubt-free followers. It is given to a mixed group of worshipers and doubters. And Jesus gives the mission anyway.
The commission rests entirely on Jesus’s authority, not the disciples’ certainty. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go. The foundation is not their confidence — it is his. The mission is possible not because they have figured it all out, but because the resurrected King has all authority and he is sending them.
And John’s account adds the crucial element: before they go, he breathes on them. Receive the Holy Spirit. The mission is not given as a task to accomplish in their own strength. The same breath that animated Adam in the garden, the same wind that brought the dry bones to life — it is breathed into these ordinary, doubting, worshiping disciples. They will go, but they will not go alone.
You have been given the same commission. You may be carrying doubts. You may feel under-equipped. The commission doesn’t wait for you to feel ready. It rests on the same authority and the same Spirit. Go — because he has all authority. Go — because he is with you. Go — because he has breathed his life into you.
Reflection Questions:
1. How do you relate to the disciples who worshiped and doubted simultaneously? How does Jesus’s response to them encourage your own faith?
2. What would it look like in your specific life to take the Great Commission seriously this week — not as a program, but as a way of living?
Application:
Identify one person in your life who doesn’t yet know Jesus. Write their name down. Commit to praying for them every day this week and ask God to open one natural opportunity for you to share your life and your faith with them.