Jesus Christ is the speaker in these verses. He was about to ascend back to heaven (after His death and resurrection) and He gave His disciples a COMMISSION. He said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and MAKE DISCIPLES of all the 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 have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (NKJV).

To understand this let’s look at another COMMISSION that He gave to His disciples in Mark 16:15-16, “Go into all the world and PREACH THE GOSPEL to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” Some believe these “two commissions” are one and the same, but there is an important difference. In Mark’s gospel Jesus speaks of “preaching the gospel” and then He adds the thought of “being baptized.” In Matthew’s gospel there is no mention of preaching the gospel but simply of being “baptized” and then being “taught” commandments that Jesus had commanded. The reason Jesus spoke of the “preaching the gospel” followed by “believing and being baptized” is because ONE MUST BE SAVED BEFORE THEY ARE BAPTIZED IN ORDER TO BECOME TRUE DISCIPLES. Why? Because only one who is saved will desire to be baptized and become a follower of Jesus Christ. A person is saved by believing on Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross. We see this in Romans 1:16 and 1st Corinthians 1:18: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes…For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” After believing on Christ as SAVIOR, one will then want to own Jesus as LORD by submitting to baptism and to His teachings.

We saw in Jesus’ commission in Matthew’s gospel that He is emphasizing His AUTHORITY AS LORD over heaven and earth. In baptism one is acknowledging that authority and officially becoming His DISCIPLE (which means “learner” or “follower”). By being baptized in the name of the one true God they are “confessing Jesus as their LORD.” The Apostle Paul spoke of this truth in Ephesians 4:5 where he taught that there is “one LORD, one faith, one BAPTISM.” So, in these two commissions we see that one must first acknowledge Jesus Christ as SAVIOR by believing the gospel and then they will acknowledge Him as LORD by being baptized.

I know there may be some thinking, “But Jesus said in Mark’s commission, ‘He who BELIEVES and is BAPTIZED will be saved’, so isn’t baptism necessary for salvation?” No, for Jesus went on to say, “he who DOES NOT BELIEVE will be condemned.” In other words, it is FAITH ALONE that saves (see Ephesians 2:8-9) and it is the LACK OF FAITH that condemns (see John 3:18). Yet baptism is very important or Jesus would not have mentioned it. Why did He mention baptism? Ah, because He knew that baptism should naturally follow salvation as an act of obedience to Christ. In baptism one is, as we have seen, confessing the LORDSHIP OF CHRIST and that ALL AUTHORITY has been given to Him. In baptism one is expressing their desire to “learn all that Christ has commanded them and then to obey those commandments,” not to be saved, but because they have been saved. Let’s never confuse the difference between SALVATION and DISCIPLESHIP. Salvation comes first, then discipleship. Salvation is a free gift, bought and paid for by Christ’s death on the cross. Discipleship will cost us something, for as we follow Him and His teachings we will be hated by the world and persecuted (see Matthew 16:24-25 and John 15:18-21).  (DO)  (602.1)