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

Tag: Matthew 8

Shed For Many

Shed For Many

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And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 8:11

For this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Matthew 26:28

 Christ shed His blood for many. On the night before He went to the cross, as He was alone with His disciples, He instituted the communion feast. Our text is the portion where He speaks of the symbolism of the wine as, ‘My blood of the new covenant.’ He goes on to say, ‘which is shed for many for the remission of sins.’ As we have considered in past devotionals, the ‘many’ to whom He refers are those whom He would redeem. They are, by His description, ‘many.’ These are many as He uses the word. Thus, Christ takes a very broad view of the success of the gospel and of how many He will redeem. Why is this important for us to understand? It is important because we want to view things as Christ views them. If He has a broad view of the success of the gospel, we should adopt His view. This encourages us to seek the good of all and sundry. This is Christ for all nations, peoples, kingdoms, tongues, and tribes. There is no one who should not have the gospel opportunity. Christ has given us the privilege to bear witness of Him to the end of the earth and to the end of the age. He has shed His blood for many, and many shall come from east and west.  

Our glorious Living Savior,
we rejoice that You have made the ultimate sacrifice for us.
We praise you that You have a plan to save many,
and that all the Father has given shall come to you in due time.

Tomm Tice
When The Bush is Burning                   

Other Sheep

Other Sheep

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And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.  

Matthew 8:11  

And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.   

John 10:16  

Christ indicated the broadness of His plan of salvation on more than one occasion. The first portion of our text lies within the account of His healing of the centurion’s servant. The second portion lies within the general context of His public ministry in Jerusalem shortly after He had healed the man who was born blind. Christ says, in the first portion, ‘many will come from east and west.’ In the second portion He speaks of ‘other sheep I have which are not of this fold.’ He came primarily to Israel, knowing that the gospel would ultimately expand far beyond Israel to a host of people of every stripe and variety. The end result would be the fulfillment of His promise to Abraham, the father of the faithful, to make his descendants as many ‘as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore.’ This was a promise of spiritual descendants, not simply physical ones. We see in the book of Acts the beginning of the expansion of Christ’s kingdom to the gentiles and ultimately over the whole earth. The end is not yet. Christ is still drawing souls unto Himself. He shall continue to do it until all His sheep are gathered in and His saving work is complete. We have the privilege to point all and sundry to Him. It is always worthwhile to make much of Christ.   

Our Great God and our Savior,
we hope in You and in Your grand redemption.
We praise You that you will save many
and that all whom the Father has given You shall come to You.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
So Let It Be

So Let It Be

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Then Jesus said to the centurion, go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you. And his servant was healed that same hour. 

Matthew 8:13 

Christ recognizes, commands, and rewards faith in Him. In our text, we see His response to the faith of the Roman centurion. The man had such a high estimation of Christ, he believed that all Christ had to do was speak a word and his paralyzed servant would recover. He actively discouraged Christ from coming to his house when He offered. Rather, all he wanted was a word from Him. Christ marveled at the greatness of this faith, in His estimation, greater than any He had encountered in Israel. Christ would not ignore this faith but, would commend it and reward it. The man received his desire, and Christ received the glory. We have every reason to have as much faith in Christ as the centurion did. We have the whole Bible to show us Christ. We have even greater reason to have confidence in the power of His word. We already know more about Christ than the centurion did on the day. Therefore, if Christ rewarded his faith, we have every reason to believe He can give us faith that is what He will commend and reward. Everything we know of Christ should increase our faith. He is as good as His word, and ‘they shall not be ashamed that wait for Me.’ We long to hear from Him, ‘so let it be.’ 

Great God of wonders,
we rejoice in the power of Your word.
We praise You that You are ever proving Yourself
to be as good as Your word to us.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
The Sons Of The Kingdom

The Sons Of The Kingdom

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And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 

Matthew 8:11-12 

What are we to understand about the ‘sons of the kingdom’ to whom Christ refers in our text? He was speaking to a gentile. He was saying that many ‘from east and west,’ that is non-Israelites, would come to sit down with the fathers of the faithful in the kingdom. He contrasts that group with, ‘the sons of the kingdom,’ who would be ‘cast out.’ What does He mean? Israel had an abundance of revelation regarding Christ. As He said of the Old Testament Scriptures, ‘They are they which testify of Me.’ Israel had the first opportunity to hear Christ and to receive Him. While the common people heard Him gladly, the princes of the nation, ‘the sons of the kingdom,’ did not. They were the erudite, conservative, purveyors of formal, hypocritical religion. Their counterparts, the priestly class, were making astronomical amounts of money from religion by the way they ran the Temple. Thus, these people and those who sided with them, had a vested interest in opposing Christ and all He said. They would ignore all the ancient prophecies that revealed Christ. They would not believe Him or in Him. Thus, they sealed their own doom. Christ receives believers of every kingdom, tongue and tribe. Those who refuse Him, do damage to themselves.  

Our Gracious God and our Savior, 
we rejoice that You give an abundant revelation of Yourself. 
We praise You that You make it available 
to all who will receive it.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning
From East And West

From East And West

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And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 

Matthew 8:11-12 

Christ’s saving work is a large work. On the night before He went to the cross, as He instituted the communion feast, He said His blood was shed ‘for many.’ The scene in Revelation describes ‘a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues standing before the throne….’ In our text, He is standing before a Roman centurion, a gentile, and in the midst of His exchange, He uses the words before us. This hints at the broadness of the plan of salvation. When Christ said, ‘many will come, from east and west,’ He is indicating what is ‘many’ to Him. We perhaps thinks of ‘many’ in very different terms. Christ’s ‘many’ is a huge number. In fact, if in all things He must have the first place, there is good reason to believe there will be more saved than lost. This is tremendously encouraging for anyone who seeks to make much of Christ in the hopes that others will embrace Him as the Gospel offers Him. We have confidence in the plan of God. We believe that ‘many will shall come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.’ It is utterly worthwhile for us to proclaim Christ and to pray for those around us to believe. He will do His saving work and bring many.  

Our Gracious, Sovereign God, 
we rejoice at the broadness of Your plan of salvation. 
We praise You that it extends to all peoples 
over all the earth, in every generation. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

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