A Messiah Who Ate with Outsiders
When Jesus was asked if He was the Messiah and what exactly was His mission, He responded in a curious and unexpected manner:
33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ (Luke 7:33-34, ESV)
Instead of quoting messianic prophecies or sharing a parable, Jesus pointed to his table theology. One of His core ministry strategies was sharing meals. Whether with religious elites or social rejects, Jesus broke societal norms by sitting (or laying) at the table with different people, bringing with Him the very presence of the Kingdom of God.
Meals in the Gospel of Luke: A Thematic Overview
The Gospel of Luke is filled with stories that center around meals and hospitality. Narrowing it down to snapshots of Jesus eating with others, we find ten specific meals, seven of which are unique to Luke. These meals can be divided into three phases:
- Meals during His Galilean ministry
- Meals while journeying to Jerusalem
- Meals surrounding His death and resurrection
Let’s explore each of these moments in more detail.
PHASE 1: Meals in Galilee
Meal #1: A Banquet with Sinners (Luke 5:27-32) – After calling Levi (Matthew) the tax collector to become His disciple, Jesus is invited to a banquet, where he is the quest of honor. Jesus does something unthinkable for a rabbi, He dines with a crowd of tax collectors and so called “sinners.” This act of radical hospitality shocked the religious establishment.
Meal #2: Anointed at Simon the Pharisee’s House (Luke 7:36-50) – Jesus shares a meal with a Pharisee named Simon, where a woman with a sinful reputation anoints His feet. The scene becomes a powerful teaching moment about forgiveness, grace, and love.
Meal #3: Feeding the Five Thousand (Luke 9:10-17) – While not a formal meal in a home, this miraculous dinner revealed Jesus’ compassion and divine authority, turning five loaves and two fish into a feast for a multitude.
PHASE 2: Meals on the Road to Jerusalem
Meal #4: Dinner with Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38-42) – Jesus accepts hospitality in Bethany. While Martha is distracted by preparations, Jesus praises Mary for choosing to sit and listen, prioritizing presence over performance.
Meal #5: Meal with a Pharisee and Harsh Words (Luke 11:37-54) – Another meal with a Pharisee where he is criticized for not washing ceremonially. He responds by confronting the hypocrisy of religious leaders, using the moment to teach difficult truths.
Meal #6: Banquet Teaching on Humility and the Kingdom (Luke 14:1-24) – At yet another Pharisee’s house, Jesus heals on the Sabbath and tells a parable about God’s great banquet, emphasizing generosity, humility, and the inclusion of the poor and outcast.
Meal #7: Zacchaeus’ House (Luke 19:1-10) – In Jericho, Jesus invites Himself to dine with Zacchaeus, a despised tax collector. This encounter leads to repentance and public restoration, and Jesus declares that salvation has come to this house.
PHASE 3: Meals in the Passion and Resurrection
Meal #8: The Last Supper (Luke 22:7-38) – In a guest room in Jerusalem, Jesus remembers the Passover with His closest friends. This meal becomes the institution of the Lord’s Supper, a defining moment of Christian worship and identity.
Meal #9: Meal in Emmaus (Luke 24:28-32) – After His resurrection, Jesus walks with two disciples who fail to recognize Him. But when He breaks bread at dinner, their eyes are opened, and they recognize their teacher.
Meal #10: Fish and Proof of Life (Luke 24:36-49) – In one of the final post-resurrection scenes, Jesus appears before His disciples and asks, “Do you have anything here to eat?” (v.41). He eats broiled fish with them, not just to satisfy hunger, but to prove He was truly alive in the flesh.
Meals as Missional Moments
Jesus didn’t just eat to stay alive. He ate to bring life! He used meals to challenge cultural boundaries, to teach, to forgive, and to reveal Himself. As Joel Gren notes in his commentary on Luke, “The presence of Jesus at the table with social outcasts begs for rationalization, given that shared meals symbolized shared lives, intimacy, kinship, unity” (246).
Our Turn: Sharing Tables, Sharing Lives
If meals in Jesus’ ministry were strategic spaces of mission, could same be true for us? What would happen if we took our kitchen tables, coffee shop conversations, lunch breaks at work, and BBQs seriously as gospel opportunities?
Are we willing to open our lives by opening our tables, to our neighbors, coworkers, classmates, or even those very different from us?
Jesus did! And salvation came to many as a result.
Photo by Stefan Vladimirov on Unsplash