The Saturday within the Octave of the Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord
Posted on April 26, 2025 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
The commission in Matthew builds on that which was given in John 20 when the Lord breathed upon His apostles and entrusted to them the office of the keys. St. Matthew carefully records that these words were spoken to “the eleven” so that the Church would not be confused concerning who bore the responsibility to baptize and to teach. The office of the keys—the responsibility to loose the sins of the penitent and bind the sins of the impenitent—is inextricably bound up with the responsibility to teach and baptize.
The Lord establishes the ministry and calls men to that office. It is not an office subject to being redefined according to the whim of men or the changing circumstances of the world. Rather, it is the continuation of the apostolic ministry, now bound to particular places and times, with the unchanging responsibility to preach the Word of God in its truth and purity and to administer the Sacraments according to Christ’s institution.
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.
