Daily Devotions
Matthew
Ending of A Note of Triumph
Text: Matthew 26 : 1 - 30
At no time did Jesus give the impression that He felt defeated by the prospect of His suffering and death. Clearly the Lord’s Supper was instituted as an ordinance to remember His death! But even as He spoke to His disciples there was every confidence that He would emerge victorious and triumphant.
“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 26:29
1. “But I say to you…”
The disciples would by now be familiar with this phrase. It was always used when Jesus wanted to do the following:-
a) When He wanted to make a statement contrary to popular comprehension.
b) When He wanted to make an emphasis.
c) There was always a special sense of authority in each and every such statement.
In this case, His enemies would imagine that if they killed Jesus He would no longer be a threat to them. The slaying of Jesus would remove the worse of their problems! Jesus on the other hand, thought otherwise. He made it known to His disciples that He would triumph over this obstacle too.
2. “In My Father’s kingdom…”
There are a number of ways in which we can understand what Jesus said and meant. Let us consider the following thoughts.
a) The Eternal Nature of the Father’s Kingdom
This is an important point to remember at the onset! The Kingdom of God has always been an eternal one. Thus Jesus could preach that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand. Anyone who had faith in Jesus was invited and included into His Father’s kingdom!
b) A special reference to the Kingdom being established with reference to the New Covenant
This is a more complex thought, but by no means impossible to comprehend. Let us turn to the Book of Jeremiah where the idea of the Davidic kingdom was raised up.
“Thus says the Lord: ‘If you can break My covenant with the day
and My covenant with the night, so that there will not be day
and night in their season, then My covenant may also be broken
with David My servant, so that he shall not have a son to reign
on his throne, and with the Levites, the priests, My ministers.
As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea
measured, so will I multiply the descendants of David My servant
and the Levites who minister to Me.'”
JEREMIAH 33:20-22
What Jeremiah wrote was also a theme found in Psalm 89. Let us ponder the following text.
“I have made a covenant with My chosen,
I have sworn to My servant David:
Your seed I will establish forever,
And build up your throne to all generations…My covenant I will not break,
Nor alter the word that has gone out of my lips.
Once I have sworn by My holiness;
I will not lie to David:
His seed shall endure forever,
And his throne as the sun before Me:
It shall be established forever like the moon,
Even like the faithful witness in the sky.”
PSALM 89:3-4, 34-37
Israel did not have a king to rule over the nation for a long time now. These prophetic words by both Jeremiah and the psalmist Ethan, would only make sense if they were applied to Jesus as the Son of David! He would fulfil what God had promised David – that his seed and his throne would be established forever.
c) From the Interim Period to the Setting up of the Messianic kingdom
There would, of necessity, be an “interim period” before the Messianic kingdom is established. That period would last until Jesus returned to the earth with all His angels in glory. The Messianic kingdom may indeed be called the “Father’s Kingdom”. Jesus always deferred to His Father.
ABSOLUTE FAITH EXPRESSED IN HYMN SINGING
The Last Supper had ended with the Lord’s Supper. Matthew noted that Jesus sang with His disciples to conclude the evening together.
“And when they had sung a hymn, they went out
to the Mount of Olives.”
MATTHEW 26:30
What a tremendous expression of triumphant faith – to be able to sing in the face of suffering!