Matthew 28:16-20
16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 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, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Reflection
Jesus’ disciples (Matt. 28:16) are now commissioned to make disciples throughout the world (v. 19). Matthew has shown throughout his book that the kingdom of God crosses all social boundaries (1:3, 5; 2:1–12; 4:15; 8:1–13; 9:9–13; 12:38–42; 15:21–39), so it is not surprising that Jesus sends his disciples to “all nations.” Jesus’ royal authority extends to the whole universe, and the disciples are to extend that authority everywhere through disciple making (see also Rom. 15:8–15; Eph. 2:11–22; 3:7–10; Rev. 5:6–14; 7:9–12; 21:23–26).
Disciple making involves two basic tasks: baptizing and teaching (Matt. 28:19–20). Water baptism symbolizes the inward cleansing that God performs in us when we hear the gospel and turn from our sins to trust in Christ for forgiveness (3:14–15; see also Luke 3:3; Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom. 6:3; 1 Pet. 3:21). “Teaching” involves instructing people to follow Jesus’ commandments, such as the ones he gives in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:1–7:29; see also Rom. 6:17–18). Those who are truly the disciples of Jesus will joyfully do what he has commanded as a result of the transformation God produces in their hearts through the proclamation of the gospel (Rom. 6:12–14).
1 Corinthians 13:4-13
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Reflection
Love “does not envy” and “is not arrogant,” but the Corinthian church is full of jealousy (1 Cor. 3:3), boasting (4:6), and arrogance (4:18–19; 5:2; 8:1). Love is “not rude,” but Corinthian worship is shameful and indecent (11:5, 22; 14:40).
No church is immune to these temptations; we therefore need God’s pardoning, transforming, and sustaining grace so that we may follow the “more excellent way” of love (12:31). Those who have received the gifts of the Spirit must exercise them alongside the fruit of the Spirit, including love, patience, and kindness (Gal. 5:22). Wherever the gospel message goes, it bears the fruit of faith, hope, and love (1 Cor. 13:13; Col. 1:4–5; 1 Thess. 1:3). Of these, love is the greatest, because unlike hope (which will be fulfilled at Christ’s return) and faith (which will then become “sight”; 2 Cor. 5:7), love will never pass away. For all of eternity, love will be the appropriate response to the mercy we receive in the gospel. As we seek to grow in love, we must always keep Christ’s saving work in clear view, since Scripture consistently treats this as the ultimate demonstration of love (John 3:16; 15:12–13; Rom. 5:8; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 2:4–7; 5:2, 25; 1 John 3:16; 4:9–10; Rev. 1:5).
Psalm 90:16-17
16 Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. 17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!
The calling to “make disciples” (Matt. 28:19) is fundamental to the mission of the church and of every individual Christian. Ask God how you can invest yourself in the lives of others to help them know and grow in their walk with the Savior.