The Final Appearances and Commission of Jesus
By Peter Amsterdam
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The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke all end by describing Jesus’ final interactions with His disciples, followed by His ascension into heaven.
In Matthew’s account, we read that “The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted” (Matthew 28:16–17). While the reaction of most of the disciples upon seeing Jesus was to worship Him, we’re told within the group of His eleven remaining disciples after the death of Judas, some were hesitant and unsure, some doubted. It may be that some weren’t sure it was actually Jesus they were seeing.
Elsewhere in the Gospels, we read that the disciples didn’t recognize Jesus. “Their eyes were kept from recognizing him” (Luke 24:16). “Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus” (John 21:4). (See also Luke 24:30–31.)
Upon their arrival at the mountain, Matthew tells us that “Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me’” (Matthew 28:18). Jesus started by stating that in His risen state He was quite different from the itinerant preacher, healer, and miracle worker that they knew so well.
“All authority in heaven and on earth” echoes Daniel 7:14, which says: “To him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”
Throughout the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus used the language of Daniel 7:13–14 when speaking of the future reign of the Son of Man. For example: “Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:30–31).
After stating that all authority in heaven and earth was given to Him, Jesus instructed His disciples: “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 all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19–20).
Rather than focusing on the ways His authority would be exercised, Jesus instead addressed what this meant for His followers. Because He was the risen Christ, the Son of God, and because He had God’s full authority, He could commission His disciples to “go” and to “make disciples.” Their job was to share the news of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection; to teach and train those who believed, so that they too would share that message throughout the world.
Jesus’ last words in the book of Matthew are “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). This Gospel ends with a final promise that His disciples aren’t going to be left alone to follow Him the best they can; rather, Jesus will be with them always.
The Long Ending of Mark
In the last chapter of the book of Mark (Mark 16), we read that Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome brought spices to Jesus’ tomb in order to anoint Him (Mark 16:1–4). When entering the tomb, they saw a young man (an angel) sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed (Mark 16:5). The angel instructed the women to “‘Go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’ And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid” (Mark 16:7–8).
It is at this point that some of the earliest translations of the Gospel of Mark end. However, other Bible versions include twelve more verses (Mark 16:9–20). These verses are referred to as The Long Ending. When they are included in Bibles today, they are usually printed in italics, and often have brackets at the beginning and end in order to set them off from the first eight verses of this chapter.
Some early Christians, such as Justin Martyr (ca. 100–165), quoted Mark 16:20 in his writings, as did other first- and second-century Christian writers, so there is some basis for accepting them as original. However, these last twelve verses are absent from some of the oldest Greek, Latin, Syriac, Coptic, and Armenian manuscripts, so it is also possible that they were a later addition. The ESV Study Notes comments as follows on this passage:
As in many translations, the editors of the ESV have placed the section within brackets, showing their doubts as to whether it was originally part of what Mark wrote, but also recognizing its long history of acceptance by many in the church. The content of vv. 9–20 is best explained by reference to other passages in the Gospels and the rest of the NT. (Most of its content is found elsewhere, and no point of doctrine is affected by the absence or presence of vv. 9–20.)
Since The Long Ending is included in most Bibles, comments on these verses will be included here.
“Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it” (Mark 16:9–11).
We’re told that on Sunday, the first day of the week, Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene. The Gospels of Luke and John also tell of Mary Magdalene’s involvement in discovering that Jesus was no longer in the tomb, and her going to the disciples to tell them that Jesus’ body was missing. In the Gospel of Mark the disciples, who were mourning and weeping over Jesus’ death, refused to believe that Mary Magdalene had seen Him and that He was still alive. Their response echoes what is told us in the Gospel of Luke, that “these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them” (Luke 24:11).
“After these things he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them” (Mark 16:12–13). This echoes what the Gospel of Luke tells of two disciples who were walking to Emmaus when they met Jesus on the road but didn’t recognize Him (Luke 24:13–16). We’re not told what His other form was when He appeared to them, nor whether they immediately recognized Him. Like the disciples who were walking to Emmaus, these disciples returned to where the rest of the disciples were to tell them they had seen Jesus.
“Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen” (Mark 16:14). When Jesus later appeared to the eleven, He reproached them for their doubts and their hard hearts. It’s hard to imagine that the eleven didn’t believe that their fellow disciples were telling them the truth, but considering all that had preceded—Jesus’ arrest, crucifixion, burial, and resurrection—it was probably a difficult and confusing time for the disciples.
Jesus then went on to say, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15). Here He expressed the commission to His followers as taking His message, the gospel, and sharing it with everyone. In other words, preaching the message to the whole creation in Mark’s Gospel meant that Jesus’ message was to be taken beyond Israel, beyond Judaism. The disciples were to share the gospel with everyone, everywhere.
In this passage, Jesus goes on to say, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16). Faith and belief in Jesus are key to salvation, which is stated throughout the Gospels. “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36).
“These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover” (Mark 16:17–18).
The book of Acts also speaks about the fulfillment of the signs that Jesus said would accompany believers. “Many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles” (Acts 5:12). It also describes instances when the disciples would cast out demons, such as when the apostle Paul cast out a spirit from a woman (Acts 16:16–18). Speaking in tongues is described in the book of Acts at the day of Pentecost when the disciples “were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1–4).
The Long Ending of the Gospel of Mark ends with Jesus’ ascension to heaven: “So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs” (Mark 16:19–20).
In the book of Acts, we also read an account of Jesus’ commission to His disciples and His ascension, “when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen, … appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:2–3). His final words before His ascension in this account echo His commission to His disciples in the Gospels: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
In the Gospel of Matthew’s ending in Matthew 28:18–20, the resurrected Jesus, who now had full authority over both heaven and earth, commissioned the disciples to “go” and to “make disciples” everywhere. This direction differs from earlier in this Gospel, when Jesus instructed His disciples to “go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans” (Matthew 10:5).
Now they were to go and reach all nations and baptize believers in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—the triune God, the Trinity. For “There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:4–6).
Besides going out and making disciples, Jesus’ followers were to teach them to “observe all that I have commanded you.” Some Bible translations say “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20). Believers are called to both teach and personally obey Jesus’ teachings, to apply them to their daily lives. Living and sharing the message of God’s love, of Jesus’ sacrificial death, and of His gift of eternal life is a commission for each of us.
As we live our lives in love and service to God, as we do our best to share His message of love and salvation with others, we can rejoice and be at peace as we hear Jesus’ promise: “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
Originally published August 2022. Adapted and republished July 2026. Read by Reuben Ruchevsky.
