Title: Joy with you
Contents
A sacrament is a combination of the sacrament and baptism. The meaning of the Lord's Supper can be well understood in the Last Supper held in Mark's upper room just before the Lord's death. At that supper, the Lord not only commemorates the Lord by eating and drinking the bread and cup that symbolizes His flesh and blood, but also said to live as Christians, disciples, and saints. In this sense, the sacrament is a very important ordinance of union with the Lord.
And baptism is a word that has the meaning of ‘washing’, which means spiritual rebirth, that is, regeneration. It means that the body dies and the spirit lives. It means washing away sins and becoming clean. That is why we have fellowship with God as spiritual children.
So, what the Lord's Supper and baptism have in common is the very important meaning of being with our Lord Jesus Christ. This means union. It means being one.
After the resurrection, the disciples were very tired in body and mind due to the death of the Lord. There was no energy in life. Obviously, even after hearing that the Lord will rise again in three days, we forget. But soon after meeting the risen Lord, everything became new. We put aside everything from being discouraged for a while and from going back to our own lives. We have entered the path of fulfilling the Lord's precious mission again.
This text is famous for the great command of Jesus. In the text, they met and worshiped the Lord in Galilee, but there were still some who doubted. But that wasn't much of a problem either. The Lord dismissed the disciples' doubts by showing the traces of his cross.
And the Lord gives His disciples a mission beyond discipleship. Verse 18 says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given.” This word means that the Lord has the power that He has given to His disciples. It is the ability to bear the many miracles and ministries that the Lord has shown us. And the boldness to reach out to everyone in the world.
Then, what is the mission these disciples should do with this authority?
1. It is to make disciples.
There is no disciple without a teacher, and there cannot be a teacher without a disciple. For these disciples, the Master is the Lord. This Lord is now telling his disciples to make other disciples. This command is to save the dying souls of the Lord. If you change it to today, it is evangelism. In particular, it is a message to lead those who do not know the Lord to the Lord.
2. Baptism.
As mentioned above, baptism is a ritual of washing. Dirty things must be washed. Dirty to us is sin. We can put on the clothes of righteousness only when we put off the clothes of sin. Only by washing the hands and feet of sin can we go to the path of righteousness and eat and practice. It is a union with the Lord.
3. It is to teach and keep.
What do you teach and what do you keep? Word. The Word is the standard of all life. The lifestyle of our members is all contained in these words. Therefore, it is a sin to deviate from the Word. Fall. Darkness. A saint is a saintly law when he lives according to the Word. The Word is the most perfect food and clothing for us today.
So, where can we find the authority of the Lord to give this command? At the end of verse 20, it says, “I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” Hallelujah!
People leave us when the time is right, but the Lord is with us forever. As the psalm says, He neither slumbers nor sleeps, He is our watcher. This is a word that guarantees joy with the Lord. Even if everyone in the world leaves me, I believe that we should be satisfied with the Lord alone.
Today we will grow one step further as the Lord's people through learning and baptism. And you will enjoy the joy of being with the Lord by eating and drinking the Lord's bread and cup. There is no more grace and blessing than being with us. Because this is the way to salvation. I pray in the name of the Lord that boundless joy will be restored to all of us who are with the Lord today.