Jesus Hosted

What Did Jesus Do?

Come and have breakfast.
John 21.12

Last Saturday we visited the Moses Cone Estate on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Centerpiece of the estate is the house Cone built overlooking Blowing Rock, North Carolina, with captivating views of some of the best landscape in God's kingdom. We learned from a U. S. Park Ranger/Interpreter the the Cones were renowned hosts; invitations to visit their summer home there in the mountains were highly prized. Clearly, the Cones employed some of their wealth to express the gift of hospitality. But you don't have to wealthy to be a gracious host.

Consider the Lord. Jesus and His apostles found themselves in the midst of a wilderness along with a huge throng. The disciples, despairing of what to do with such a crowd, urged Jesus to send the people away to scrounge for themselves. But the Lord, well, He wasn't about to miss such an opportunity to host a multitude like that. So right there on the spot Jesus hosted such a memorable gathering that preachers regularly deliver sermons on the time Jesus hosted five thousand. (See Luke 9.10-17)

A lot of us, if we ever could manage to successfully host five thousand, would probably never try to take on such a challenge again. But hosting was something that Jesus did willingly, so when a somewhat smaller gathering of four thousand similarly were faced with privation after having attended to the Lord's teaching for three days, Jesus again memorably hosted a crowd. (Mark 8.1-9)

Now, don't get the wrong impression, the Lord did not exclusively host these huge, comparatively impersonal events. Jesus was equally adept at hosting small, intimate gatherings. Two examples come particularly to mind. The first was a meal so special that it is still celebrated some two thousand years later. And it is just as intimately personal a meal today, with Jesus still hosting, and His disciples still receiving His personal invitation to “Take, eat; this is my body” and to “Drink, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (See Matthew 26.26-29) And the great thing is, unlike the hospitality of Moses and Bertha Cone, which was reserved for the few who in their eyes merited an invitation, the Lord welcomes all who would by faith receive His invitation. In fact, the Lord specializes in hosting those who clearly do not deserve His grace, but rather desperately need it.

The final gathering I want to mention is the one cited above, an impromptu breakfast the risen Lord served up for Peter and six others of the disciples after they had spent a frustrating night trying to fish on the Sea of Tiberias (Galilee). Jesus had a charcoal fire and some fish ready for the weary boatmen, along with a catch so great they could hardly haul it in. After the men wrestled the catch ashore Jesus served them the fish He had prepared on the fire, along with some bread. I'm sure none of the apostles ever forgot the Last Supper with the Lord, but this far less celebrated “last breakfast” had to have been equally memorable for the seven. Whenever Jesus hosted it was an unforgettable occasion. (See John 21.1-10)

Well, the gift of hospitality hardly gets the attention that healing, or speaking in tongues receive. But I don't know that Jesus expects all of us to be healers, or to speak in tongues. And there is a good chance that many of us will never have the opportunity to exercise either of those more celebrated of gifts. But there is not one of us who doesn't have countless opportunities to honor Christ through the use of the gift of hospitality. It doesn't matter if we have a crowd to entertain, or just a small circle of family or friends, we can always be gracious hosts, even with but the most modest of means. That's what Jesus did.

S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4