The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed…. 

Luke 4:18 

When Christ was beginning His public ministry, He went to the synagogue in His hometown of Nazareth. He read from the book of Isaiah, ‘“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.’ He then proclaimed, ‘Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’ Today, let us spend a few moments contemplating the implications of the statement that lies in the heart of the passage as it reflects upon the ministry of Christ, both then and now. He read, ‘He has sent me, to heal the brokenhearted.’ How many of us fit the description of being ‘brokenhearted,’ and how often are we that way. We are brokenhearted for many reasons. Sometimes we are brokenhearted because of our own sin and lack of personal holiness. Other times we are brokenhearted because of the wickedness of others and the awful effects upon the innocents against whom they have sinned. We may be brokenhearted to observe the wretched consequences of all sorts of evil. Christ came to heal the brokenhearted. He comes alongside the victim of abuse and lifts them up. ‘He places the solitary in families.’ In due course of time, as the ‘Judge of all the earth,’  He will deal with the perpetrators. For now, He addresses the deepest needs of those who are the most afflicted. Christ has come ‘to heal the brokenhearted.’ 

O, Gracious, Loving, and most Compassionate Christ, 
we praise You that You heal the brokenhearted. 
We are more grateful than we can measure, 
for all Your Grace and all Your Love. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep….I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 

John 10:7 & 9 

We have, in past days, spent time considering some of Christ’s descriptions of Himself. Today, we arrive at another one. Christ employs this description of Himself within the context of His Self-revelation as the Good Shepherd. A little cultural background will help us understand His reference. Christ’s reference to Himself as ‘The Door,’ seems most plain from verse 9, ‘If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. This falls in line with John 14:6, ‘Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”’ Beyond this, there is another consideration. When shepherds would gather their sheep together for the night, they would bring them into a prepared enclosure with one opening. The top of the enclosure was often covered with thorns and other obstructions, so as to make it impassable to predators. The shepherd would lie down in front of the opening. If any predator would seek to get to the flock, he would have to get past the shepherd, who was, in a de facto way, ‘the door.’ So Christ is, ‘The Door’ for His people. He is not only ‘the Way, the Truth , and the Life.’ He is also the Great Defender of His sheep. Woe be to the predator who preys upon the sheep of Christ’s fold. Christ, Who is the Gentle Savior, is also the Righteous Judge. He will not fail to do judgement and justice unto all who would do His people harm. 

O, Christ, Our Great Shepherd of the sheep, 
We rejoice that You both defend and protect all of your people,  
‘that all things work together for good to them that love You.’ 
We trust in You, who set Yourself as the Door, between us and our enemies.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

Hebrews 12:1-2 

The writer of Hebrews wants the best for his audience. He desires greatly their spiritual progress. To that end, he exhorts them, in the verse which serves as our primary emphasis today, ‘Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.’ This is a clear and strong exhortation.  We often hear impassioned preachers, apply it with strong challenges. It is impossible to perform these things such as, ‘lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset us,’ in the strength of the flesh because of our force of will or power of resolve. Such a self-focused emphasis merely sets us up for failure. How can we do these things and, ‘run with endurance the race that is set before us?’ The answer lies within the context. How did the heroes of the faith ‘subdue kingdoms, work righteousness, obtain promises, and stop the mouth of lions?’ Simply put, they looked to Christ. How may we succeed in the same manner in which they did? Again, simply put, we look to Christ. All spiritual progress, and success is integrally related to the Person of Christ. There is no growth, no development, no sanctification, no holiness, and no endurance apart from ‘looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.’ Herein lies the secret of all spiritual progress, and successful spiritual living. It is Christ, first, last and always. 

Our most Glorious and Wonderful Savior, 
we look to You this day and every day,  
to enable us to do what we could never do in our own strength. 
Hold us up and make us strong and true. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

…looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

Hebrews 12:2 

As we continue to dwell upon this text, we consider what the writer is urging us, as readers, to do. In due course of time, we intend to examine the practical implications of this urging. For the minute, in preparation for that, let us, please, consider this. We look to Christ, first as our Redeemer. Apart from His Imputed Righteousness, we have no acceptance with God. Beyond that, when it comes to matters of practical holiness, Christ is the quintessential ‘Christian.’ He is the Great Pattern of Holiness. Our text declares, ‘…looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.’ Notice, please, the example which Christ sets. ‘Who for the joy that was set before Him,’ tells us that He took the eternal view. Christ had the larger purpose of God’s Providential End in view.  His Joy would be the redemption of all whom the Father had given Him. To that end, He ‘endured the cross, despising the shame.’ Christ willingly submitted Himself to every conceivable indignity, endured all the horrific abuse, gave Himself over to the cruelest of executions, all to the end purpose of completing the overarching Purpose of the Sovereign God. Although we, in no way, can hope to understand the complexities of all that God is doing in us, with us and through us, yet we may look to Christ, Our Great Pattern, to observe how He did. It is the contemplation of Christ, that leads to the imitation of Christ. 

Our Great and Gracious Savior, 
we rejoice that You have done all things well. 
You are the Divine Template, 
after which we may pattern ourselves. 
By the power of Your Holy Spirit, 
renew us in the whole person after the Image of Your Own Great Self. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning