Go 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 all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
euntes ergo docete omnes gentes: baptizantes eos in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti: docentes eos servare omnia quæcumque mandavi vobis: et ecce ego vobiscum sum omnibus diebus, usque ad consummationem sæculi.Matthæus 28:19–20 · Clementine Vulgate
Explanation — not a translation
In brief
At the end of Matthew’s Gospel the risen Jesus sends His followers to “make disciples of all nations,” baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and teaching them to keep His commands. He ends with a promise: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
The setting
After the resurrection, the eleven remaining disciples meet Jesus on a mountain in Galilee. Matthew is frank about their state: “they bowed down to Him; but some doubted” (28:17). The commission is given to worshipers who are still unsure, not to people who have everything settled.
Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
Et accedens Jesus locutus est eis, dicens: Data est mihi omnis potestas in cælo et in terra:Matthæus 28:18 · Clementine Vulgate
The commission rests on Jesus’ authority: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”
What it says
In the Greek the main command is “make disciples.” Going, baptizing and teaching describe how that happens. A disciple is a learner and follower, so the task is more than winning converts; it includes the long work of teaching people “to observe all things that I commanded you.”
“All nations.” Earlier, Jesus had sent the Twelve only to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:5–6). After the resurrection the mission opens to every people. The Gospel that told early on of the visit of the Magi from the east ends by sending the disciples to the whole world.
“In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” The word name is singular, followed by three persons. Christians have seen here one of the clearest New Testament statements of the Trinity, and this formula became the standard form of baptism across the Church from its earliest centuries.
“I am with you always”
Matthew’s Gospel opens with the name Immanuel, “God with us” (Matthew 1:23), and closes with Jesus promising His presence until the end. The promise is not only for the eleven: it lasts “to the end of the age,” so it extends to every generation that carries on their task. Compare Matthew 18:20.
Across traditions
Catholics read the passage as the founding mandate of the Church’s mission. Baptism is a sacrament that brings a person into Christ and His Church, and “teaching them to observe all things” is linked to the teaching office entrusted to the apostles and their successors, with Christ’s promised presence guarding that teaching. Orthodox Christians read it in much the same way.
Protestant traditions also treat it as the charter for mission and often stress that it applies to every believer. They differ among themselves on baptism: Lutherans, Anglicans, Methodists and Reformed churches baptize infants and regard baptism as a means of grace or a sign and seal of God’s covenant, while Baptists and many other evangelicals baptize those who profess faith and understand baptism as an act of obedience that follows conversion.
Read it with
Acts 1:8 gives the same commission in Luke’s telling, and Acts 2:38–41 shows the first baptisms after Pentecost. The Faith & trust page gathers related passages.