Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.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,teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20

Do you ever find yourself feeling overwhelmed by or ill-equipped for the tasks before you? Let’s look at the first three words of today’s passage: Jesus came near. When Jesus had something important to say to His dearest followers, He came near to them and spoke directly to them. This kind of intimate instruction was not just reserved for Christ’s first century disciples; this is how He desires to communicate with all of us! Through the gift of Scripture and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, God is delighted to come near to us and share His heart with us.

Matthew 28:18-20 is known as The Great Commission: a charge, given to the disciples and applicable for all believers, to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with all people groups. Imagine how those eleven guys must have felt hearing this. “All nations?” they might have asked. “Teaching them everything?” It might have felt like way too tall an order for a ragtag group made up of fishermen, a tax collector, and a zealot.

This is why Jesus’s next words were this: “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Whatever God calls us to do, He never asks us to do it alone. His presence is permanent, reliable, steadfast. Let’s praise Him for that!