Saturday within the Octave of the Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord
Posted on April 6, 2024 by under
Scripture: St. Matthew 28:16-20 (NKJV)
28:16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 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, 20 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.” Amen.
Devotion
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations.”
Jesus meets His disciples on a mountain. Good things happen on mountains, but this one is in Galilee; Galilee “of the Gentiles.” No room for confidence in the mountain. The eleven disciples are there, but there should be twelve. No room for confidence in the number. We are told that “they worshiped Him, but some doubted.” No room even for confidence in the disciples’ confidence.
Then Jesus speaks. All authority in heaven and on earth are His. There, and there alone, is what faith latches on to: Jesus, and that which proceeds from Him. His words charge the Eleven with the making of disciples, defined as Baptism in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, and “teaching them to observe all things” that He has imparted to us. When all other sources of spiritual security fail, Jesus holds, and so does His Baptism and His teaching. God grant us therefore to discard all false sources of security, and instead faithfully to cling to Jesus, His Baptism, and His teaching.
Collect: Almighty God, Who, through Thine Only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, hast overcome death, and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life: We humbly beseech Thee, that, as Thou dost put into our minds good desires, so by Thy continual help we may bring the same to good effect; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
