<P> In Christianity, the Great Commission is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples to spread his teachings to all the nations of the world . The most famous version of the Great Commission is in Matthew 28: 16--20, where on a mountain in Galilee Jesus calls on his followers to baptize all nations in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit . </P> <P> The Great Commission is similar to the episodes of the commissioning of the Twelve Apostles found in the other Synoptic Gospels, though with significant differences . Luke also has Jesus dispatching disciples during his ministry, sending them to all the nations and giving them power over demons, including the Seventy disciples . The dispersion of the Apostles in the traditional ending of Mark is thought to be a 2nd - century summary based on Matthew and Luke . </P> <P> It has become a tenet in Christian theology emphasizing ministry, missionary work, evangelism, and baptism . The apostles are said to have dispersed from Jerusalem and founded the apostolic sees . Preterists believe that the Great Commission and other Bible prophecies were fulfilled in the 1st century while futurists believe Bible prophecy is yet to be fulfilled at the Second Coming . </P> <P> Some students of historical Jesus hypothesize the Great Commission as reflecting not Jesus' words but rather the Christian community in which each gospel was written . (See Sayings of Jesus .) Some scholars, such as John Dominic Crossan, assert that Jesus did commission the apostles during his lifetime, as reported in the Gospels . Others, however, see even these lesser commissions as representing Christian invention rather than history . </P>

Where is the great commission found in the bible