Friday, February 6, 2015
Matthew 28:19-20 "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, 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."
MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL THE NATIONS
With these words, Christ sends His apostles out to all nations and makes all mankind their field of work. But the ones who heard these words were by no means alone. Rather, they were the roots of the tree planted by Christ that finally overshadowed the whole world, and representatives of the entire Church. Christ gave this commission to all the ages of His Church, for it was to the Church that He entrusted His Word as the right key to the kingdom of heaven. To His command, He added the promise: "And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
The holy apostles have been dead for many centuries, and although they filled the entire earth with the sound of the Gospel, millions of people continue to sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. Therefore, the command, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations," still sounds loudly in the ear of Christ's Church, and it will continue to sound until the Gentiles have concluded their entry into His kingdom, that is, until the Last Day. The Church for which the command was intended consists, not solely of the clergy but of all believing Christians.
Even if Christ had never spoken these words, the Church would still be obligated to spread the Gospel throughout the world. Doesn't each Christian have an eternal debt of love toward God? How, then, can he say that he loves God if he is able to look on peacefully as the enemy of God, Satan, holds in his snares millions of people who were created for fellowship with God?
O Christ, our true and only Light,
Enlighten those who sit in night;
Let those afar now hear Thy voice
And in Thy fold with us rejoice.
(The Lutheran Hymnal, 512:1)
-Excerpt taken from "God Grant It : Daily Devotions from C. F. W. Walther"
Concordia Publishing House, 2006.
