Matthew 28:20 Explained

"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." — Matthew 28:20 (KJV)

The last sentence of Matthew's Gospel, and the promise it closes on is presence rather than success.

Read it in context: Matthew 28 · The Book of Matthew. Also gathered under verses about loneliness.

Matthew 28:20 in context

What does Matthew 28:20 mean?

'Alway' translates a phrase meaning all the days: not one unbroken cloud of presence but every individual day, including the ones that feel empty. The promise is attached to a commission; it is given to people being sent somewhere, not to people sitting still. And it ends the Gospel that opened by calling him Emmanuel, God with us — the book closes on the name it began with.

What is the context of Matthew 28:20?

Jesus has been raised and is about to leave. He gives eleven men — one of whom Matthew has just told us was still doubting — an assignment far beyond them. Then, instead of a strategy or a guarantee of results, he gives them this.

How do I pray Matthew 28:20?

Pray it at the start of something you have been given and do not feel equal to. Say 'all the days' rather than 'always' — the plural makes it about today specifically. If you cannot feel the presence, note that the eleven were promised it while some of them doubted, and it was promised anyway.

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