1. A Commission to Baptize

In spite of what most of us have been taught, there is not just one Great Commission. There are four. Yes, each one of the four gospels has one. Taking them together is the way get the most accurate picture of what Jesus charged the Church to accomplish--Jesus' commission to the Church.

Looking at all of them together, you'll probably be surprised when you see how important baptism is in the Great Commission.

Mark: Believe and Be Baptized

What did Mark record Jesus as saying in the Great Commission, right before Jesus ascended to Heaven?

Go into all the World and preach the Gospel to all Creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned (Mark 16:15-16; NASB).

Indeed, the apostles preached the Gospel everywhere they went, encouraging people to be baptized. One woman named Lydia they met in Philippos, and since she and her prayer group conveniently met near a river, once they believed, they were baptized.

On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home (Acts 16:13-15).

Now, the Great Commission is one of the most important things Jesus ever said. It's a command on par with the Great Commandment and the Ten Commandments. However, as shocking as this might sound, you’ll find that these words of Jesus are unwelcome and even prohibited in many Evangelical churches today.

Don't take my word for it. Test it out. I dare you to go to an Evangelical congregation and simply find a convenient opportunity to quote this passage aloud. Say what Jesus said: ‘He who believes and is baptized will be saved’ (NKJV). If you simply say those words in most churches, even though you're simply quoting Jesus, you’ll be rejected at the least and deemed a heretic at most.

Instead of pastors reading this simple verse aloud and giving people time to meditate on its meaning, they’ll avoid it. If someone asks them about it, they’ll provide long explanations of how to interpret it. They’ll "spin" the passage to their liking, according to their human theology, and will present a teaching on how unnecessary baptism is for salvation.

That’s the wrong approach—the approach of contradicting Scriptures.

The reason why most pastors will take the 'spin' approach is because of their theology of salvation by "faith alone." They feel obligated to say that we only need faith to be saved--a message that doesn’t sound like Jesus’ message. Our Lord didn’t talk the way they do. Rather, Jesus added something to faith in his formula for salvation—baptism.

What did Philip include in his presentation of the Gospel. It's evident in that when he finished preaching, the next words out of the Ethiopian eunuch's mouth were: 'Here's water. What impedes me from being baptized?' (Acts 8:36) Evidently, Philip included baptism in his presentation of the Gospel.

... they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” (Acts 8:36)

So, Jesus said: 'He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved' (Mark 16:16). Did Jesus not use the conjunction and in his statement? He did use an and, yes! Therefore, according to Jesus, in order to be saved, one must have believed and have been baptized. His formula is simple:

disbelief = condemnation

belief + baptism = salvation

Nothing complicated about it. Jesus says that it takes one bad move to be condemned, and two good moves to be saved. Our focus in this post is not what it takes to be condemned—it’s what it takes to be saved. Jesus requires faith and baptism for salvation. Have you exercised faith in Christ through baptism? Do you exhort others to do the same?

Matthew: Making Disciples

Matthew's Great Commission is more well known than the other three. You've likely heard it before--but do you take it seriously?

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all that I commanded you… (Matthew 28:19-20; NASB)

Reading this passage, you have to admit that baptism is the initiatory rite in the disciple-making process. The process continues as we teach disciples to observe everything Jesus commanded, but baptism is the first step. You get baptized with a view towards the training that will shape the rest of your life, discipleship.

Baptism can be compared to a college entrance exam. If you pass it, your studies may commence. If you pass it, you are on the road to a degree and professional development. If you do not take the exam, you simply haven't started.

Jesus commands us to baptize converts. He didn’t make it optional. Jesus prescribed baptism as the primary method of evangelization. The Church fulfills the Great Commission of Christ by making disciples, and it does so by two means: baptizing and teaching. No other means fulfills the command. Only baptism and teaching will do.

We initiate the discipleship process with baptism. There is no other legitimate means by which a new disciple can start their new life in Christ. Baptism is the only method established by our Lord Jesus.

Luke and John: Forgiveness of Sins

Each of the four Gospels contains a Great Commission passage. We just surveyed the Mark and the Matthew Great Commission passages, noting the importance they place on baptism. Now, as we observe the John and the Luke Great Commission passages, we would expect similarities to Mark and Matthew. We would expect to see baptism mentioned again, but what we find is that they both focus on the forgiveness of sins. Is that a distinction or a similarity?

As the Father has sent me, I am sending you… If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not (John 20:22-23).

[Jesus] told them, ‘This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the Dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem’ (Luke 24:46-47).

The apostles preached the Good News, calling people to repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

What should we conclude when we compare the four Great Commissions? Setting them side-by-side allows us to rightly interpret what Jesus meant when he commanded that we baptize people. Jesus intended his command to baptize new believers (found in Matthew and Mark) to be understood as the means by which sinners are forgiven of sins.

According to the Great Commissions of Luke and John, forgiveness of sins is central. According to Mark and Matthew, baptism is central. And when the four Great Commissions are taken together as one message, it becomes clear that baptism is for the forgiveness of sins. We repeat: Baptism is for the forgiveness of sins.

Pentecost: Baptism for Forgiveness

Peter didn't issue a Great Commission, but he fulfilled it. When Peter was evangelizing that first group of sinners, the men and women responsible for Jesus' crucifixion, he started evangelizing exactly where Jesus told him and the apostles to start. Peter preached the exact things Jesus told him to preach in the Great Commission. Peter preached baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

… be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins (Acts 2:38).

Peter knew that the two were one: baptism and forgiveness. He knew that they go hand in hand. So that's how he preached on Pentecost. Lo and behold, it worked! Three thousand souls were saved that day.

Coupling baptism with forgiveness was nothing new. Long before the Crucifixion of our Lord, and long before Pentecost, during the original ministry of Jesus and the Twelve Apostles, they practiced baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

The Tradition of Baptism

From the start of his Earthly ministry Jesus was ‘making and baptizing disciples’ (John 4:1). Since our Lord baptized disciples from the start of his ministry right along with the apostles, it would have been perfectly natural for the apostles to continue Christ's tradition.

The Great Commission was Jesus’ signing off. It was his farewell charge to the apostles, but the command to make and baptize disciples had been a guiding principle all along. Making and baptizing disciples had already become a firm tradition of the apostles by the time Jesus issued the Great Commission.

Jesus didn’t start the tradition of baptizing people. It was already the number one most popular means of attaining forgiveness from sins in Israel--a means established through the ministry of John the Baptist. John was the most popular preacher of his day, a virtual superstar.

Heaven-Sent Success

John had a conversation with his disciples in which he indicated that Jesus’ ‘making and baptizing disciples’ (John 4:1) was the mark of Jesus’ success as a preacher. That is, the sign of God’s blessing on Jesus’ ministry were the many baptisms Jesus performed. You could say that God "crowned" the ministry of Christ with baptisms. You could say that Jesus fulfilled his own Great Commission before he issued it.

Some of John the Baptist’s disciples came to him with concerns about Jesus’ growing popularity, saying:

‘Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have borne witness [Jesus], behold, he is baptizing, and all are coming to him’ (John 3:26).

What was John's reply?

John answered and said, ‘A man can receive nothing, unless it has been given him from Heaven’ (John 3:26-27).

A ministry of baptism is a ministry God sends from Heaven! You are blessed if you are part of a ministry that baptizes people.

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