Changing the World One Meal at a Time

Last week we began a new series called Surprise the World. I challenged you to bless three people. Did you have good luck with this? Don’t Stop! Make it a point to bless three more people this week.

Today I want to give you another way that you can live a life that will make people want to ask you questions about why you act the way you do. I’ve entitled this message, “Changing the World One Meal at a Time.” I believe that we can use the table to reach people with the Gospel message of Jesus Christ.

Many of you are familiar with the first miracle that Jesus ever performed. That miracle is found in the book of John, chapter 2. If you have your Bibles with you, turn with me there and I want to read beginning at verse 1.

John 2:1–11 NIV

1 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” 4 “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. 8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” 11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

Let me give you a little bit of insight into a wedding during Jesus time. When a man’s daughter was born, at first he would be disappointed because he would need a son to carry on the family name, but after that he would begin preparing for his daughters wedding. Each year on her birthday he would take a barrel of the homemade wine, it wasn’t very good. It would taste like vinegar, but he would set it aside and by the time the wedding came that first barrel would be the best because it had set there for years. And each year he would put a barrel aside and so by the time of her wedding at the age of 13 or 16 or whatever he would have enough wine set aside for the wedding feast.

A wedding at Cana would be a big party and feast. Everyone in town would be invited to celebrate the wedding of this man’s daughter. And if this man ran out of wine at the wedding it would be a huge embarrassment.

So, as the story goes, Jesus and his mother, and the disciples were at this wedding. John doesn’t take the time to list who the wedding is for, but he focuses on what Jesus is going to do.

When they run out of wine, Mary turns to her son and asks him to do something. She had known for a long time about her son’s divine commission. She had complete and total trust in what her son could do. And Jesus let’s his mother know that his life was following a different timetable; he lived to carry out his Father’s business, according to his Father’s plans. So, Mary turns to the servants there and tells them to do whatever he says.

Jesus sees the purification pots over in the corner. These were six stone waterpots that would hold about 20 to thirty gallons of water. These pots were used for ceremonial washing. When a person was deemed unclean, according to the Levitical Law, they were cut off from the sanctuary and the festivals and they would have to be restored to the enjoyment of all these privileges.

You would be considered unclean if you touched a leper or if you touched a dead body or so on. They would have to use these jars of water to purify themselves so that they could continue to be a part of society.

Notice that verse 7 says, “so they filled them to the brim.” This was to show that nothing was added to the water to make the wine. Jesus completely turned each one of these six stone waterpots with 20 to 30 gallons of water into the best wine available for the entire wedding ceremony. There was no setting this wine aside for 16 or so years. There was no fermenting process. It was the best, most delicious wine that had been served at the party. What normally would have been the worst wine was now the best and it was served last.

Jesus begins his ministry at a wedding celebration. Some people think of Jesus as a stuffing shirt man that always clashed with the religious leaders of his day, but we can look all throughout the scriptures and see that Jesus is all about being involved in entertaining, fellowshipping with people, spending time around the table.

Take a look at another party Jesus attending at Matthew’s house. It is found in Matthew 9:10-13.

Matthew 9:10–13 NIV

10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

A few chapters later we see Jesus teaching on the hillside in front of 5000 people and the sermon gets long and the people get hungry and the disciples are wanting to send the people away so that they can eat. Look at what Jesus does in Matthew 14:15-21

Matthew 14:15–21 NIV

15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” 16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” 17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. 18 “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

What about when Jesus was invited to Simons house for a meal.

John 12:1–8 NIV

1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

And I could show you example after example of the times that Jesus ate with people and while he was eating he found opportunities to minister to those around him. The table was common place for ministry.

I believe that each of you could use your table to break down the walls that separate people in our society. Surprise the world by who you invite to share your table with.

I believe that if you will plan right, you can use the table to stir interesting conversations. When we eat with one another we are fostering community.

Sometimes in our churches we get stuck eating and fellowshipping with the same people all the time. We become victims of the holy huddle. We only invite Christians to our tables because we feel more comfortable with each other. But I believe that Jesus fosters community with unbelievers as well.

In Jesus’ time, a person would never eat with someone of a different social standing, and certainly never with someone of a different religion, you would never see a Jew eating at the table of Gentiles. But Jesus turns this on its head. he ate with them first, and asked repentance of them later. Remember the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10

Luke 19:1–10 NIV

1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. 5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. 7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” 8 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.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

How awesome would that be if people were getting saved at your dinner table. Or how awesome would it be if you got invited over to someones house and you ended up winning them over to the Lord at their dinner table. We need to become radial socializers.

When Jesus came to the end of his ministry, He had one final meal with His disciples on the night before His death. It was at this table that He told them as often as they eat and drink to remember Him. Jesus wanted them to remember the suffering that he would go through for them. He wanted them to remember all the lessons that He had taught them. He wanted them to remember all the joyous occasions they had together. He wanted them to remember. The table is a place for teaching. It is a place for communion with one another. It is a place of fellowship. It is a place of salvation.

Last week we talked about living questionable lives where when people are around us they want to know why we act the way we do. When it comes to the table there is no better way to do just that.

On the day that Jesus died, the veil that separated the Holy of Holies in the inner courts was ripped into. It was Jesus’ death that opened up the door to Heaven so that all of us could enter in and converse with God our Father.

Think about it. Jesus began His ministry with turning water into wine. He took the water that was used for purification, a symbol of separation, a symbol of exclusion, a symbol of religious piety, it tells us some are good and some are bad. It was a symbol of division. Jesus took that water and changed it and made it into something good. He made it into the best. Wine is the most fundamental symbol of inclusion. And then when He dies three years later the veil that represented all those things was ripped open for all of us to enter into the throne room of God.

No more separation, no more just the select few, no more religious piety, no more some good some bad, but all of us can now go to the throne of God and worship.

If you are struggling with addictions, you can go to the throne room. If you are living in sin and you don’t know where to go, you can go to the throne room. You can now go to the Holy of Holies and make your petitions known to God. He heals the broken hearted. He heals the afflicted. He heals the lame, the sick, and the lost. It is open now for anyone to come to the throne room of God. Jesus did that for you.

Here is the new challenge for you today. The way we eat can be intriguing. By refusing to be gluttons or drunkards we can model the character of God, foster community and surprise our guests with our table fellowship. So, I’m calling you to foster the habit of eating with three people each week. You won’t need to add a great deal into your often already busy schedule. You already eat three times a day. That’s 21 meals a week. I’m simply asking that you bring another person to your table for three of those. Of if you want to cut corners, you could bring three people to your table for one of them.

Invite the unpopular and the outcast as well as your friends and work colleagues. Let’s show the world what heaven will be like. Jesus regularly used the illustration of a banquet to describe his Kingdom. We can demonstrate this over a delicious meal with friends and soon-to-be-friends.

This morning I want us to take communion with one another. I want us to do what Jesus asked of us. I want us to remember him this morning and what He did for us. You should have been given a communion cup with the bread wafer attached when you came in this morning. Can we all stand together?

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 NIV

23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.