Matthew 28:18-20, HCSB:

Then Jesus came near and said to them, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

From Haug & Walker's Journey to the Cross:

"From beginning to end, Jesus' life on earth was marked by humility. 'Though he was in the form of God, [he] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross' (Philippians 2:7-8).

. . . 

"An incomparable condescension. The Son of God gave up his seat at the right hand of the Father for a place at the table with sinners and tax collectors. 'The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many' (Mark 10:45). 'Though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich' (2 Corinthians 8:9)."

[In the Sermon on the Mount,] Jesus outlines the life that is required of those who would follow Him in the Kingdom of heaven. Unlike conventional utopias, which provide an institutional key to the good society, Jesus says nothing about institutions and instead locates virtue in the individual human soul in obedience to God and under his blessing.

The Literary Study Bible

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also.

John 12:24-25, ESV

The arrival of Jesus signaled the beginning of a new era. . . . That meant that everything, quite literally every thing, had to be re-centered, re-imagined, and re-thought.

Eugene Peterson, Introduction to the New Testament, The Message

When they had eaten breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?"

"Yes, Lord," he said to Him. "You know that I love You."

"Feed My lambs," He told him.

A second time He asked him, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?"

"Yes, Lord," he said to Him, "You know that I love You."

"Shepherd My sheep," He told him.

He asked him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?"

Peter was grieved that He asked him the third time, "Do you love Me?" He said, "Lord, You know everything! You know that I love You."

"Feed My sheep," Jesus said. "I assure you: When you were young, you would tie your belt and walk wherever you wanted. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will tie you and carry you where you don't want to go." He said this to signify by what kind of death he would glorify God. After saying this, He told him, "Follow Me!"

John 21:15-19, HCSB