Chapter 21: Dining with Jesus
The Romans conquered Jerusalem and forced the Jews to pay taxes to them. The Romans hired Jews to be the tax collectors, called publicans, and paid them well. The Jews despised their fellow countrymen who worked for the Romans. Levi was a tax collector. One day he prepared “a great feast in his own house” for “a great company of publicans” and invited Jesus to join them, which He did. The scribes and Pharisees criticized Jesus, asking: Why does he “eat and drink with publicans and sinners” (Luke 5:29-30)?
Jesus dined with those who invited Him.
Zacchaeus was also a publican, the chief publican in the town of Jericho. He was rich and he was short. When Zacchaeus heard that Jesus had come to Jericho, he wanted to see Him as did many others. Zacchaeus could not see over the crowd, so he ran ahead and climbed a tree. “When Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, that he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner” (Luke 19:2-7).
Would you be ready to joyfully receive Jesus if he invited himself to have dinner at your house?
Jesus spoke a parable about a lord who “made a great supper” and invited many guests. When everything was ready, he sent his servant to tell the invited guests it was time. One by one the invited guests made excuses why they could not attend. The servant returned to his lord and reported that none of the invited guests would come. The lord said, “Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.” The servant did as he was told saying, “It is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.” The lord told the servant to go “into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled” (Luke 14:21-23).
In what ways are you too busy to dine with Jesus?
Jesus worried that the multitude who had come to hear him preach in the wilderness had not eaten for a long time. He expressed concern that they might faint from lack of food on their way home. So he told the people to sit down on the grass. Then he “took… five loaves and… two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children” (Matthew 14:19-21).
Jesus has compassion for physical needs and can perform miracles to satisfy hunger.
Jesus likened the kingdom of heaven to a wedding celebration in which He was the bridegroom. He told of ten young women who wanted to attend the festivities. The problem was that no one knew the exact time the bridegroom would arrive. “At midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.” Five of the young women were caught unprepared, while the other five were ready. When the bridegroom came “they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.” The unprepared tried to get in but could not. (Matthew 25:1-10).
If you are not prepared, the door may be closed and your opportunity lost to dine with Jesus.
After the resurrection, Peter and some of the other apostles went fishing. Suddenly, Jesus called to them from the shore, saying: “Come and dine.” Jesus had prepared a meal for them. When they had eaten, Jesus said to Peter: Lovest thou me?
Peter: Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.
Jesus: Feed my lambs…. Peter, Lovest thou me?
Peter: Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.
Jesus: Feed my sheep…. Peter, Lovest thou me?
Peter: Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee.
Jesus: Feed my sheep” (John 21:12-17).
A significant feature of the gospel of Jesus Christ is eating together and feeding each other whether it is a feast or a simple meal of bread and fish in the wilderness. Jesus taught and exemplified the importance of being aware of another’s hunger and feeding His lambs—the children—and His sheep—the adults. Jesus admonished that we prepare food for “the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind” (Luke14:12-13).
Today Jesus might say, “Prepare a meal for your neighbors, the lonely, the handicapped, and those who are blind to the gospel. For “inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these… ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40). In this way we can dine with Jesus.
(c) Marilynne Todd Linford, 2018
Zacchaeus was also a publican, the chief publican in the town of Jericho. He was rich and he was short. When Zacchaeus heard that Jesus had come to Jericho, he wanted to see Him as did many others. Zacchaeus could not see over the crowd, so he ran ahead and climbed a tree. “When Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, that he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner” (Luke 19:2-7).
Would you be ready to joyfully receive Jesus if he invited himself to have dinner at your house?
Jesus spoke a parable about a lord who “made a great supper” and invited many guests. When everything was ready, he sent his servant to tell the invited guests it was time. One by one the invited guests made excuses why they could not attend. The servant returned to his lord and reported that none of the invited guests would come. The lord said, “Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.” The servant did as he was told saying, “It is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.” The lord told the servant to go “into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled” (Luke 14:21-23).
In what ways are you too busy to dine with Jesus?
Jesus worried that the multitude who had come to hear him preach in the wilderness had not eaten for a long time. He expressed concern that they might faint from lack of food on their way home. So he told the people to sit down on the grass. Then he “took… five loaves and… two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children” (Matthew 14:19-21).
Jesus has compassion for physical needs and can perform miracles to satisfy hunger.
Jesus likened the kingdom of heaven to a wedding celebration in which He was the bridegroom. He told of ten young women who wanted to attend the festivities. The problem was that no one knew the exact time the bridegroom would arrive. “At midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.” Five of the young women were caught unprepared, while the other five were ready. When the bridegroom came “they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.” The unprepared tried to get in but could not. (Matthew 25:1-10).
If you are not prepared, the door may be closed and your opportunity lost to dine with Jesus.
After the resurrection, Peter and some of the other apostles went fishing. Suddenly, Jesus called to them from the shore, saying: “Come and dine.” Jesus had prepared a meal for them. When they had eaten, Jesus said to Peter: Lovest thou me?
Peter: Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.
Jesus: Feed my lambs…. Peter, Lovest thou me?
Peter: Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.
Jesus: Feed my sheep…. Peter, Lovest thou me?
Peter: Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee.
Jesus: Feed my sheep” (John 21:12-17).
A significant feature of the gospel of Jesus Christ is eating together and feeding each other whether it is a feast or a simple meal of bread and fish in the wilderness. Jesus taught and exemplified the importance of being aware of another’s hunger and feeding His lambs—the children—and His sheep—the adults. Jesus admonished that we prepare food for “the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind” (Luke14:12-13).
Today Jesus might say, “Prepare a meal for your neighbors, the lonely, the handicapped, and those who are blind to the gospel. For “inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these… ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40). In this way we can dine with Jesus.
(c) Marilynne Todd Linford, 2018
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