Dinner and the Gospel

“Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. 

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.’ So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, ‘He has gone to be the guest of a “sinner.”’  But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, ‘Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.’ 

Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.’” (Luke 19:1-9 NIV)

I know a couple in a large city who invite people into their home for a meal as a ministry.  Being from the Midwest, they discovered people in this city rarely had dinner in other people’s homes.  Instead, they typically met at restaurants.  This couple saw the opportunity for a ministry.  It’s referred to in the New Testament as “hospitality.”

Pastor and theologian Eugene Peterson observes in his book, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places, that much of Jesus’ ministry took place where food was served.  Think about it.  In Simon the Pharisee’s house where the woman wept at Jesus’ feet (Luke 7).  At Matthew’s house where He ate with sinners (Matthew 9 ). The Last Supper (Luke 22). And, of course, his meal with Zacchaeus. (We know there was a meal because invited guests were always served a meal in the 1st Century culture.)

Jesus could have talked with Zaccheaus on the street, but He invited Himself to his home because there was intimacy there.  To be a guest in someone’s home is to be, at least for the moment, a part of that family. And what really makes one feel “at home” is to eat together with your hosts.  As you share a meal together, you feel part of the family.  This is the power of hospitality and Jesus made great use of it, even though He never hosted anyone.  

We are told in Acts 2:46-47 that the believers continued this practice of hospitality.  It only makes sense.  The very message of the Gospel is one of intimacy—God desiring reconciliation with human beings.  And Jesus exemplified this during His life on earth by spending time with sinners in their homes eating at their tables.  As Peterson points out, Christians in this culture often seek to proclaim the Gospel without any intimacy. Tracts and evangelistic events are often the method of first choice.  In reality, from observing Jesus, perhaps a home-cooked meal would be a lot more effective.

Today, consider whom you might invite over for dinner.  If Jesus made hospitality a central part of His ministry, shouldn’t it be a part of ours as well?

© Jim Musser 2013