Fellowship with the King

Read Matthew 9:10-11, Luke 22:14-20 and Revelation 19:7-9.

I’ve had some pretty interesting meals that I still remember to this day, including…

• Dinner with George W. Bush. He was at the table next to me.
• Meals with our foster child years ago. She had disabilities that only allowed her to eat with her bare hands, and I always feared for my clothing on spaghetti night.
• Lunch with a friend in high school. He really liked “See Food” and it was a miserable experience dining with him.
• Post-church lunch with a family we invited over that was struggling financially. They chowed down and fought with each other the whole time.
• Dinner with dear friends and co-laborers with East-West Ministries. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and encouragement and what I believe God intended for mealtime.

In the Ancient Near East in Jesus’ time, who you ate with signified a very close fellowship and friendship. And that’s why—in part—Jesus got in trouble. He associated and ate with tax collectors and sinners, people who did not match up to the standard of the Jewish faith of the Pharisees. He even instituted the Lord’s Supper with them.

In God’s kindness, We’re headed to a place of amazingly close fellowship with the King Himself in an idyllic setting. There will we dine with Him again at the Marriage Feast of Lamb—the ultimate Lord’s Supper.

Today when we think about the Lord’s Supper, it’s about remembering Jesus and the forgiveness He accomplished for us at the cross. It’s about fellowship with one another. It’s about anticipating Christ’s second coming. It’s about looking up to reflect on the fact that our Lord Jesus entered our world to eat with tax collectors and sinners. He is still willing to closely fellowship with us. Praise Him.

Father, thank You for this Christmas season. Help us reflect on the amazing gift of the cradle, the cross, the throne, and the fact that You eat with us. Amen.

-from our Executive Vice President of Field Ministries