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

Tag: Matthew 28

Go Therefore

Go Therefore

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has even given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen. 

Matthew 28:18-20 

Christ has the authority to send His people into the world to bear witness to Him. The context of the verse we have been considering lately is the Great Commission. Christ, having risen from the dead, sends His disciples  into the world with His message. He has the authority to send them. He would later say to them, ‘but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’ Thus He made the world their parish to preach Christ. While in the narrow sense we can say He was speaking to these few whom we call the Apostles, or sent ones, the work of bearing witness is broader than what these few could do. In the wider context, bearing witness to Christ is for all His people. All of us have some realm of influence. We touch lives every day. Within whatever context God puts us, we have occasions which arise quite naturally when we can point those around us to Christ. We are His witnesses in those situations just as certainly as were the disciples. Christ is worthy of our speaking of Him. He tailor-makes our opportunities by His providence.  

Our Good and Wise God, 
we rejoice that You have given us the privilege of  
speaking of You. 
We praise You that You provide opportunities for us 
to point people to Christ.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

All Authority

All Authority

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

Matthew 28:18 

Christ has all authority in heaven and on earth. Our text is His articulation of that fact. This has far-reaching implications. The immediate context is His Great Commission to the disciples to go and make disciples of all nations. They would spend the rest of their life carrying out this commission. Thus His statement regarding His authority applies to this immediate context. If we consider the rest of the Scriptures, we arrive at the conclusion that His authority extends far beyond this. It means, for example, He has authority over death and the grave. One of the texts we have recently considered is Revelation 1:18. The last line of that verse are His words, ‘And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.’ Again this is a definitive, categorical statement indicating His authority. To have the keys is to have the authority to open and close anything according to the will of the one who holds them. This is only one of the areas over which Christ has authority. It is a significant one because death and the grave are such an inevitable part of life for us. Christ’s authority over these is only one of the areas over which He rules.  

High King of heaven, 
we rejoice that You reign. 
We praise You, that because You do, 
we have confidence.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Go Therefore

Go Therefore

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has even given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen. 

Matthew 28:18-20 

Christ has the authority to send His people into the world to bear witness to Him. The context of the verse we have been considering lately is the Great Commission. Christ, having risen from the dead, sends His disciples  into the world with His message. He has the authority to send them. He would later say to them, ‘but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’ Thus He made the world their parish to preach Christ. While in the narrow sense we can say He was speaking to these few whom we call the Apostles, or sent ones, the work of bearing witness is broader than what these few could do. In the wider context, bearing witness to Christ is for all His people. All of us have some realm of influence. We touch lives every day. Within whatever context God puts us, we have occasions which arise quite naturally when we can point those around us to Christ. We are His witnesses in those situations just as certainly as were the disciples. Christ is worthy of our speaking of Him. He tailor-makes our opportunities by His providence.  

Our Good and Wise God, 
we rejoice that You have given us the privilege of  
speaking of You. 
We praise You that You provide opportunities for us 
to point people to Christ.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

All Authority

All Authority

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

Matthew 28:18 

Christ has all authority in heaven and on earth. Our text is His articulation of that fact. This has far-reaching implications. The immediate context is His Great Commission to the disciples to go and make disciples of all nations. They would spend the rest of their life carrying out this commission. Thus His statement regarding His authority applies to this immediate context. If we consider the rest of the Scriptures, we arrive at the conclusion that His authority extends far beyond this. It means, for example, He has authority over death and the grave. One of the texts we have recently considered is Revelation 1:18. The last line of that verse are His words, ‘And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.’ Again this is a definitive, categorical statement indicating His authority. To have the keys is to have the authority to open and close anything according to the will of the one who holds them. This is only one of the areas over which Christ has authority. It is a significant one because death and the grave are such an inevitable part of life for us. Christ’s authority over these is only one of the areas over which He rules.  

High King of heaven, 
we rejoice that You reign. 
We praise You, that because You do, 
we have confidence.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Go Therefore

Go Therefore

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has even given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen. 

Matthew 28:18-20 

Christ has the authority to send His people into the world to bear witness to Him. The context of the verse we have been considering lately is the Great Commission. Christ, having risen from the dead, sends His disciples  into the world with His message. He has the authority to send them. He would later say to them, ‘but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’ Thus He made the world their parish to preach Christ. While in the narrow sense we can say He was speaking to these few whom we call the Apostles, or sent ones, the work of bearing witness is broader than what these few could do. In the wider context, bearing witness to Christ is for all His people. All of us have some realm of influence. We touch lives every day. Within whatever context God puts us, we have occasions which arise quite naturally when we can point those around us to Christ. We are His witnesses in those situations just as certainly as were the disciples. Christ is worthy of our speaking of Him. He tailor-makes our opportunities by His providence.  

Our Good and Wise God, 
we rejoice that You have given us the privilege of  
speaking of You. 
We praise You that You provide opportunities for us 
to point people to Christ.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning