What is the main command in the Great Commission? Is "go" the command?

Whosoever Will, Sheep Beget Sheep: There is exactly one imperative in the Great Commission. One actual command. And it is not “go,” and it is not “baptize,” and it is not “teach.” It is matheteusate: make disciples. Everything else in the sentence is a participle hanging off of that single verb. “Going,” “baptizing,” “teaching” are not four coordinate marching orders. They are the how of the one command. Make disciples, by going, by baptizing, by teaching. And the “going” is the gentlest of all of them. The Greek is closer to “as you go,” “in your going,” “having gone.” It assumes movement through ordinary life rather than commanding a launch. Jesus is not saying organize an expedition. He is saying: as you go, wherever you already are, going about the life I have put you in, make disciples. Sit with what that does to the banner. The command is not to go somewhere. The command is to make disciples, and the making is done by teaching them to observe all things Jesus commanded. That is the whole engine. Not a program. Not a launch. A person who has been taught the Word, teaching the Word to the next person, as they go. Scripture, King James Version: Matthew 28:19-20, "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.".

Verified. Every scripture quotation on this page has been checked word-for-word against the King James text. Last reviewed 2026-10-18.