ST. LOUIS (May 23, 2025)— Jesus’ parting words to His disciples, known as the Great Commission, have been a prominent hallmark of American Christianity. But when these words, “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. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19–20 ESV), are misunderstood or not put in their proper context, they can turn into something they’re not. In Clarifying the Great Commission: Jesus’ Parting Gifts to His Church, Rev. Daniel Christian Voth identifies common omissions from the collective understanding of Jesus’ farewell discourse—omissions that turn Christ’s promises of forgiveness, life, and salvation into a legalistic command. This new book is available now on the CPH website.
“This farewell discourse is about more than ‘You have to tell people about Jesus or they end up in hell on account of your silence,’” Voth writes. “This is about Christ establishing His church, which Satan cannot prevail against. It is not full of legalistic commands that must be obeyed. It is full of Gospel, full of the Good News that Jesus has come to forgive sin, and this is news worth sharing.”
Readers will discover a richer understanding of the Great Commission, either individually or in a group setting. Discussion questions follow each chapter to enhance understanding and encourage deeper reflection.
“When reading and understanding the Great Commission, American Christianity has lost something quite profound,” said Rev. Dr. Adam Filipek, Lutheran pastor and author of Life in Christ: Rooted, Woven, and Grafted into God’s Story. “With remarkable brevity, clarity, wit, and faithfulness to God’s Word, Rev. Daniel Voth reveals the promises and gifts Jesus gives us in His farewell discourse.”
Visit cph.org for more information about the book. Contact Erica Sontag to schedule an interview with the author.
Praise for Clarifying the Great Commission
For entirely too long, the church has tried to squeeze the Bible into the Great Commission. What if we inverted that and instead used the Scriptures to get at the meaning of what we call the Great Commission? What if instead of laying a procrustean bed of assumptions about how “we need to get out there and witness because people are going to hell!” we instead heard the Great Commission in light of Matthew’s Gospel particularly and then the Scriptures as a whole? Well, a delightfully different framework comes into view, and that is what Rev. Voth so soundly delivers in this monograph. I cannot recommend this book highly enough to those who love the Word, for here a servant of the Word has provided great insight into a passage that has so often been misused as a cudgel to squelch the joy of life in Christ. Give it a read! You will not regret it!
—William Weedon, assistant pastor, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Hamel, Illinois; catechist on Lutheran Public Radio’s podcast, The Word of the Lord Endures Forever
From promise to command. Clarity to confusion. Certainty to doubt. Building one another up to tearing one another down. Comfort and joy to guilt and shame. A work of God to a work of man. When reading and understanding the Great Commission, American Christianity has lost something quite profound. We have lost the power of Christ and the fullness of His Gospel. With remarkable brevity, clarity, wit, and faithfulness to God’s Word, Rev. Daniel Voth reveals the promises and gifts Jesus gives us in His farewell discourse. When you rightly see the Great Commission as God’s promise to create, sustain, strengthen, and abide with His church until the end of the age rather than as a command to tell others about Jesus or the church will die, you, too, will be comforted by the Gospel, strengthened in the faith, and enlivened to tell others to “come and see.”
—Rev. Dr. Adam Filipek, pastor, Holy Cross Lutheran Church and Immanuel Lutheran Church, Lidgerwood, North Dakota; adjunct professor of practical theology, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis; author of Life in Christ: Rooted, Woven, and Grafted into God’s Story
About the Author
Rev. Daniel Christian Voth has been a pastor for more than 25 years, serving in Wisconsin and North Dakota. He currently serves as senior pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota. He earned a bachelor of science degree in land use planning from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and worked in both the public and private sector before attending Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he earned his master of divinity degree. Pastor Voth is married to his wife, Crystal. Together, they raised four wonderful children who have blessed them with four grandchildren. In his spare time, he enjoys being outside when the North Dakota weather permits, spending time with family and friends, and reading good theology books.
