Luke 19:5–7
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.”
Matthew 9:10-12
While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.”
Scripture Insights
I love a good party. Some of the best parties I’ve ever attended were unplanned, spontaneous ones, where things just came together and a party broke out be cause of the unexpected confluence of love, fellowship, and good food.
In the Gospels, impromptu parties seemed to follow Jesus around as the kingdom broke into everyday situations around him and brought people close to the Father and into new life. This kind of heaven-touching-earth occasion annoyed religious leaders who couldn’t get their heads around how Jesus did things. But I think he was teaching us something profound about the kingdom. Can we be such spontaneous kingdom party people?
Today’s Prayer
Father, thank you for each opportunity you give us to show your love and heart to
the people around us. May we be such authentic, holy people that your kingdom
breaks into all our gatherings, whether planned or spontaneous.
—Jim Ritchie
Global Missions Director, Church of the Nazarene
