The Great Commission

All scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Holy Bible unless otherwise noted.
John 20:21-23 "Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained." There are four accounts of what is known as, "The Great Commission." The most well known is Matthew's account where according to Matthew the Lord said, "... All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." (See Matthew 28:18b-20) Mark and Luke's accounts are found in Mark 16:15-18 and Luke 24:45-49 respectively. Finally, Johns gospel is somewhat less explicit but no less important. It is referenced in the beginning of this post.

In John's  account Jesus said, "Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained." Let me say that the disciples did not receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost here any more than anyone was baptized in Matthew 28:19. You say that Matthew 28:19 was a command to be baptized? No, it was one account of the four evangelists to go, to teach or preach, and to baptize. Matthew recorded the Lord commanding His apostles to go, to teach and to baptize. Mark (thought to be greatly influenced by the Apostle Peter) recorded the Lord commanding His apostles to go and preach. He added that whoever believed and was baptized would be saved but whoever did not believe would be lost. Then according to Mark, in verses  17-18 Jesus spoke of the signs that would follow those that believed. Luke (the only Gentile gospel writer) recorded Jesus, after He had upbraided them for their unbelief and spoke of the fulfillment of Moses and the prophets concerning Himself as saying, "that,repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." He then added that they were His witnesses and He told them to wait in Jerusalem for the promise  of the Father. Finally, according to John's gospel, Jesus said to His apostles, "Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained."

Acts 1:4-8 is the early churches consensual account of the great commission. Listen to what Luke wrote, "And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." After the Lord ascended out of their sight, the Bible says in Acts 2 that after they received the baptism of the Holy Ghost that, "...Peter, standing up with the eleven..." preached to the Jews that were gathered together the gospel just as Jesus had commanded them in the great commission.

After Peter had preached that first Christian message and the Jews were convicted of the death of their Messiah, they asked Peter and the other apostles (including Matthew), "Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.   For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." (See Acts 2:37b -39) The Apostle Peter and the rest of the Apostles standing with him (See Acts 2:14) weren't confused about what Jesus had commanded in "The Great Commission." Neither am I confused and nor should you be. What Peter said that day as recorded in Acts 2:38 was the beginning of the fulfillment of the command of the Lord Jesus. The apostles went, they preached, they taught, they baptized, just as the Lord had commanded them. That message is still true today. If you will truly believe the gospel and repent of your sins, if you  will be baptized in Jesus precious and saving name, God has promised to fill you with His Holy Spirit and get you ready for heaven.