And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself” (Luke 9.23-25)?
If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple (Luke 14.26-28)
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28.19-20).
Dr Hal Habecker's Comments
When Christ calls us to come after Him, I don’t believe He had a particular age in mind. Therefore, as we grow into our 70s and 80s and beyond, the desire of our hearts ought to be to follow Him with every all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our mind, and all of our strength. Our spiritual strength and desires ought to keep growing in everyone of our retirement years. Our spiritual desire to make disciples would be no less in these aging years than it was 10-20 years ago.
Commentary (ref www.BibleRef.com)
Matthew 28:16–20 describes Jesus' commissioning the eleven remaining disciples on a mountain in Galilee. He had given them a message to meet Him there. Now He appears and commands them to make disciples from the people of all nations on the earth. He calls on them to baptize these disciples in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They must also teach these new believers to obey everything Jesus has commanded them to do. Matthew ends his book with Jesus' promise to always be with those who believe in Him.