Look inside this book.Where the Bush is Burning: A Daily Devotional by [Thomas Tice]

Tag: Matthew 26
The Christ, The Son of God

The Christ, The Son of God

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But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God! 

Matthew 26:63-64 

Christ was unambiguous about His identity. Our text tells us that, for the most part, He was silent before the false witnesses and the high priest. When He refused to comment on the accusations leveled against Him, the high priest, in exasperation, put Him under oath to declare His identity as ‘the Christ, the Son of God.’ At that point, Christ uttered these words, ‘It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.’ This is as clear a declaration of His identity as it can be. The high priest understood exactly what He was saying. His response was to tear his clothes and accuse Christ of blasphemy. Thus, there is no real question regarding Who Christ claimed to be. It is not a matter of whether He claimed it, as much as it is of whether we believe it. The religious leaders of the Jews did not. The disciples did. The disciples went forth over the whole earth with the message that Jesus Christ is Lord. We are proclaiming that same message. He is the Christ, the Son of God. We rest by faith in Him.  

Our Gracious God and our Savior, 
we rejoice that You are who You claim to be. 
We praise You that we have the privilege 
to make You known.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

He Waits For Us

He Waits For Us

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For it is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom. 

Matthew 26:28-29 

Christ controls His future and ours. On the night before He went to the cross, as He was in the upper room with His disciples, He instituted the communion feast. He took the bread, broke it, and distributed it among the disciples saying, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’ After that, He took the cup and gave it to them saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you.’ Our text is His next statement. For our purpose today, we are dwelling upon the second portion of the text, ‘but I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.’ Christ is the Host at His communion feast. He instituted it with an eye to the future. As the perfect host, He has determined to wait until all His guests are gathered together before He participates in the feast again. This shows us the magnanimous nature of our Savior. He will not be wholly satisfied, or willing to enter fully into the celebration of eternity until all the ransomed people of God are saved to sin no more. This is a joyful thought for us who are still journeying through this world. The Master of the Feast waits for us until the appointed hour. 

Our Gracious Master and our God, 
we rejoice that You are preparing all things for our future. 
We look forward to that day, 
when we shall sit with You in the kingdom. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
A Good Work

A Good Work

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But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, Why do you trouble woman? For she has done a good work for Me.  

Matthew 26:10 

Christ sets high value on works done out of pure love for Him. The passage from which our text derives narrates the story of a woman who entered the house of Simon the leper with an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil. Other accounts of this incident set the value of it at almost a year’s wages. In his account, John indicates Judas Iscariot was the most vocal critic because he was the treasurer of the group, and a thief. Christ defended the woman, reasoning that the disciples had opportunity to do good to the poor always, but that He would not be available much longer. He went on to say she was anointing His body for His burial. He set His seal of approval upon her service to Him by saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.’ This woman, whom John identifies as Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, demonstrated pure love for Christ. She had sat at His feet, witnessed Him raise her brother from the dead, and loved Him thoroughly. Thus, to her, this was not an extravagant gift. Christ set high value on her good work. He recognized the purity of her love and devotion. What can we do out of pure love for Christ? Surely there must be something. 

Our Gracious God and our Savior, 
we rejoice that You see those who have pure love for You. 
We praise You that You will reward their love.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
Son of Man, King, Lord

Son of Man, King, Lord

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When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 

Matthew 25:31 

Who is Christ? As He is speaking of the Last Judgment, Christ refers to Himself in several ways. He begins with the term Son of Man, saying that when He returns He will sit upon the throne of His glory. Later in the narrative He refers to Himself as the King, ‘Then the King will say to those on His right hand, Come you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’ When He quotes those who are responding to Him at the Judgment, they refer to Him as, Lord. From these various references we conclude that Christ is all these things and more. He is the Son of Man, that is, genuinely human. Luke dedicates his whole gospel to portraying Him as the Son of Man. Matthew portrays Him as the King. John portrays Him as the Son of God and records Thomas’ confession,  ‘My Lord and my God.’ In Revelation, John depicts Him as King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and the Judge of all. We want to be clear about this Person. More than a good man, a prophet, or even a miracle worker, Christ is the brightness of God’s glory and the express image of His Person. We could multiply titles and magnify His perfections, but we take this opportunity to set Him forth in order to make abundantly clear who He is.   

Our Gracious God and Savior, 
we rejoice at the many ways in which the Scripture reveals You to us. 
We praise you that as we gaze upon You, 
there is always more to learn. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
In My Father’s Kingdom

In My Father’s Kingdom

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He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. 
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, 
for He shall bear their iniquities. 

Isaiah 53:11 

For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.’ 

Matthew 26:28-29 

Christ waits for His redeemed. As He spoke with His disciples on the night before He went to the cross, He instituted the communion feast. As He gave them the cup, He uttered the words that are the second portion of our text. There are several things which, by their existence refer to the subject of the Isaiah text. He says, ‘This is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many….’ Isaiah says, He ‘shall justify many.’ Christ said He would gather both the sheep of His flock from Israel and also His sheep from the flock of the Gentiles until they were all in one fold with one Shepherd. John identifies them as ‘a great multitude which no one could number.’ This is the many for whom Christ shed His blood. He goes on to say He will not drink of the fruit of the vine anymore, ‘until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s Kingdom.’ Christ is reserving Himself from participating in the fullness of celebration until all for whom He died gather together at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. This will be the gathering of the many. As He said, ‘many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.’ On that great occasion, Christ shall celebrate the satisfying result of His work.  

Our Glorious Living Christ, 
we rejoice at the day that is coming, 
when we shall so You Face to face. 
We praise You that You graciously wait for us. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

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