Upper Room Hospitality

Dannah Gresh: Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth wants us to consider the eternal significance of Jesus hosting the Passover meal for His disciples.

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: In this meal as Jesus breaks the bread and distributes the wine, He’s saying, “I’m giving Myself to you. I am your servant. I am your Host. I am your meal. I am the Bread of Life. I give Myself up for you.”

Dannah: This is the Revive Our Hearts podcast with Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, author of Adorned: Living Out the Beauty of the Gospel Together for April 17, 2024. I’m Dannah Gresh.

Jesus was about to endure great suffering, yet serving and showing hospitality to His disciples was important to Him. His invitation and longing for fellowship extends to us. Nancy explains as she continues in a series called, “You’re Welcome Here.” 

Nancy: I think one of the most remarkable demonstrations of true hospitality is a meal that takes place in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 22. It's what we commonly refer to as the Last Supper.

In fact, if you read through the Book of Luke, you'll see that there are many references to meals, many of them involving Jesus; but this particular meal was the last supper that Jesus was going to eat with His disciples before He went to Calvary, before He would lay down His life.

In this particular instance, Jesus is the host and He is the servant. He hosted a Passover meal right before His crucifixion. So we come to Luke 22, verse 7. He says, "Then came the day of Unleavened Bread when the Passover lamb must be killed." And, of course, we know that Jesus is our Passover, the Lamb of God, who was going to be killed shortly for the salvation of the world.

It was the time of the Passover feast in celebration. And Jesus, verse 8, "sent Peter and John, saying, 'Go and prepare the Passover for us that we may eat.'" In spite of the fact that He is going to suffer, that He's going to die, that He's going to be denied, be betrayed, be rejected, be handed over to the authorities; Jesus takes time to host a meal.

Now that in itself is remarkable to me because I think of times in my own life that would not begin to equate with what Jesus was going through at that moment. But in my times of sorrow or heaviness of heart or difficulty, the last thing in the world I want to do is say, "Ya'll come over to my home and let's have a meal."

I don't want to host a meal when I'm hurting, when I'm needy. I want somebody else to host me at that time. And yet, as we minister grace to others, we find that God ministers grace to us.

So Jesus says, "Go and prepare this meal." And then I love what He says in verse 15 as they come together and the disciples join, they gather around the table, it says that He sat down and the twelve disciples sat with Him. Then verse 15 says to His assembled disciples, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer" (NKJV). With fervent desire. Jesus says that “I am really looking forward to spending this evening meal with you.”

Can you imagine that? The night before He goes to the cross, Jesus is looking forward to having dinner with His disciples? It's an incredible thought to me! “With fervent desire, with longing, I have longed to be with you, I've longed to share a meal with you, to commune with you, to fellowship with you, to serve you, to share My heart with you.” What a heart! What a Savior!

As we see this meal unfolding, Jesus is the One who serves. He breaks the bread. And He speaks of how it pictures His body that is going to be given for the salvation of the world. And He distributes the bread to the disciples. He distributes the wine, the juice; and He says, "This is a picture of My blood which is going to be shed for you." And He distributes it to His disciples.

He starts that meal by going around and washing the feet of His disciples as a host and as the servant of His disciples. And remember, that among those He is serving is one who is going to betray Him—Judas is there.

Among those sitting at that table is one who is going, hours later, to deny that he even knows the Man—His closest disciple, Peter. And yet, Jesus knowing this, knowing what is coming says, "I long to spend this evening with you. I long to give Myself to you. I long to serve you."

He demonstrates generosity, hospitality, service, to those who have rejected Him, or will, and those who could never pay Him back—even if they wanted to.

And in this meal, as Jesus breaks the bread, as He distributes the wine, He is saying, "I am giving Myself to you. I am your servant. I'm your host. I am your meal—I am the Bread of Life. I am the Living Water. I am the One who cleanses your feet, cleanses your sins. I give Myself up for you." What a sacrifice! What a picture of love.

It's a picture of His desire to have a relationship with us. He says, "I want that relationship not to be a distant one, not to be a strained one."

There's an infinite gap between a holy God and sinful man, and yet Jesus says, "I've come to bridge that gap. I've come down to be God to you and to bring you to heaven, to bridge the gap between heaven and earth, to make you holy."

He says, "I want to know you. I've earnestly desired to have this meal with you. I want to have communion with you. I want to have fellowship with you." He says, "I want you to open your heart to Me. I want you to receive Me as I have received you."

So when we come to the last book of the Bible Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and" what? "dine with him, eat with him, fellowship with him, commune with him and he with Me" (Revelation 3:20 paraphrased).

This is a picture of the relationship that Jesus wants us to have with Him and that He wants to make it possible for us to have with God. So He says, "I've received you. I've given Myself for you. I've laid down My life for you. I am the Passover Lamb. I am the sacrificial lamb. I am the Bread of Life. But you must receive Me. You must partake of Me."

Jesus says to His disciples in John, 6:53, "Except you eat of My body and drink of My blood, unless you by faith partake of Me, you cannot see God, you cannot have eternal life. But, if you eat of Me, if you eat with Me, if you partake of Me by faith, then you, in eating of Me and with Me, you have eternal life." (paraphrased)

Now, this is mystery. I couldn't begin to explain it in a way it needs to be explained. But I see something here of the heart and longing of God to have communion with us. Again it takes us back to the brokenness of Christ, the Cross of Christ. We sing again in that little Christmas carol,

O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
There is room in my heart for Thee!

You see, when Jesus first came to earth there was no room for Him. There was no room in the inn. "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not" (John 1:11). They rejected Him.

But Jesus said, "I'm coming back to your heart's door. I'm knocking. I want to come in. I want to be your guest, and I want to be your host, and I want to be your home, and I want to be your meal. I want to be your everything, but you've got to receive Me."

And so He calls to us not only to open our homes and our hearts to others, but the real starting place for Christian hospitality is opening our hearts and our homes to Him. It’s opening our lives to Him and saying, "Lord Jesus, come in. Be my Savior. Be my Passover Lamb. Thank You for earnestly desiring to commune with me, to dine with me, to eat with me."

If I had been there on that last evening of His life, He would have said, "I have earnestly desired to spend this evening with you."

As we feast with Him, as we partake of Him, as we eat of Him in His Word and commune with Him and receive Him—not only initially as our Savior but day by day as we receive His Word and His Spirit into our lives—we really are having just a foretaste of what we referred to last week. And that is that eternal banquet in heaven that is yet to be.

In fact, when we come to Revelation, chapter 19, we read about that supper—the Wedding Supper of the Lamb. We hear about a voice of a great multitude that John heard as he was given this revelation.

The voice says, "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give Him glory: for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife [His bride] has made herself ready" (Revelation 19:7 NKJV). There's a wedding coming.

There's a wedding feast coming, and we have been engaged to God's own Son. He's inviting us to come to His home, to come to this wedding feast, but we have to make ourselves ready. We do that by receiving Him, by having a heart that is continually open to Him.

And then the angel said to the apostle John, "Write [this down]: Blessed are those who are called to the wedding supper of the Lamb" (Revelation 19:19 NIV). Blessed are those who are invited.

You see, only the disciples were invited to that last supper. You and I were not there. We didn't have a chance, literally, to participate in that meal; though, as we partake of the Lord's Supper in our churches, we do partake of that meal. We’re not looking ahead as they were to the cross, but looking behind, looking back to the cross, and looking forward to that great feast that is still awaiting us in heaven.

Blessed are all those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. We are invited as the bride, we're invited as the guests, to participate. Our name is on the invitation list for that great supper.

As we extend hospitality that is prompted by genuine love and that is energized by the Gospel of Christ, as we take the place of Christ, so to speak, we incarnate what He was here on earth.

We say to others, "I've earnestly desired to be with you, to commune with you, to show you the sacrificial love," and Christ says, "I have partaken of Christ, so I want to share Christ with you." As our hospitality is energized by the gospel of Christ, we point people, as one writer has said, to the party that's coming.

We're making people long to be at that great feast. We're bringing them to the place where their name can be on the invitation list as they come to partake of Christ.

One last thought about that wedding feast that really is very moving to me. And that is, that according to the Scripture, our host, the Lord Jesus Himself, once again at that feast will serve us, even as He did as He hosted that Last Supper thousands of years ago.

How do I know that? Luke 12:37. Jesus said, "Blessed are those servants, whom the Master when he comes will find watching: Assuredly I say to you, that He," the Master, "will gird himself, and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them."

Have you ever thought about that at that great feast that's coming? Jesus will once again put a towel on His arm and stoop down to wash the disciples feet. He will serve us for all of eternity.

Is that an incredible thought? Does that motivate you as it does me to want to be a servant? To have the servant heart of Jesus?

Who is beneath me to serve? Who is too low for me to serve? What job is too low for me to take? When I serve, when I open my home, when I tell people to sit down and eat and "let me serve you," I'm just revealing and expressing the hospitable heart of our Savior.

Lord, what a thought that You would want to spend time eating with us, that You would give Yourself as the meal for us. As we gather around that meal, even when we were Your enemies, and we often deny You and betray You in the way that we live, yet You serve us, You feed us, You bless us, and You call us now to open our hearts and our homes. You call us to give people a picture, a foretaste of that great eternal wedding feast where You will come and serve us. 

We love You, Lord Jesus, our great, gracious, generous, eternal Host. I praying in Jesus’ name, amen.

Dannah: If you’re a child of God, you can look forward to being hosted in the most amazing way possible. Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth has reminded us of the wonder that Jesus became a servant on this earth and that He is preparing a place for us. He is going to show us hospitality forever!

A young woman named Sandra has discovered that hope after many years living in darkness. She grew up in Lithuania. Her father was in prison, and Sandra even dabbled in Satanism. But her father was radically saved along with all of Sandra’s family. And then a Revive Our Hearts Ambassador visited Lithuania and told Sandra about Revive Our Hearts. She was eager to hear God’s Word, and the message of hospitality really stood out to her.

Sandra: I shared this with my mom how important it is to be hospitable to other people, and how we reflect Christ, and how we share the gospel by just opening up the doors and being welcoming.

Dannah: A Revive Our Hearts program featuring Rosaria Butterfield meant so much to Sandra.

Rosaria (on podcast): We’ve seen people come to Christ. We have seen the gospel change hearts and minds! We have watched as people have their lives turned around by Christ . . . and all we’ve done is open the door to a pretty messy house!

Dannah: Sandra and her mom took practical action so they could show more hospitality!

Sandra: This resulted in the building of the house and making it larger so that more guests could come and stay. We started remodeling it, but we were not sure whether we needed to expand it. Then I shared how great it is to be hospitable and how this touched my heart.

And then I asked her, “Do you mind if we have just another floor added to the house?”

She was like, “No, I don’t mind.”

This was the first step to move forward! My mom is a great cook, and she loves cooking. It was just on our hearts to do this more.

Rosaria (on podcast): Open, daily hospitality has been one of the ways that God blesses us, to show us that He is adding to His kingdom.

Man: Hebrews chapter 13, verses 1 and 2: “Let brotherly love continue .. .” 

Sandra: We’ve had missionaries, pastors, our neighbors, friends from all walks of life . . .

Man: “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers . . .”

Sandra: . . . university professors come just to relax and enjoy and spend time together—people from different countries.

Man: “. . . for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”

Sandra: I live in a small town, which is not in the big city, so it’s very quiet and tranquil there. I really enjoy the surrounding, and I think that’s also one of the reasons that people really like to come. They step out of their busyness into the quietness and just enjoy fellowship and prayer together.

Dannah: Sandra has found encouragement in many of the messages she’s heard on Revive Our Hearts.

Sandra: What it means to be a true woman, how our differences from men really matter, and how we should view it through the eye-lenses of God’s Word. Getting back to becoming a woman of the Word and becoming a woman of prayer is really important.

It’s just a constant reminder how it is important to get back to the basics and to have an intimate and vibrant relationship with Jesus Christ.

It’s made me think more about what things entangle me and draw my attention away from Christ that, in a very subtle way, can become an idol in life. We have to be careful and vigilant, whenever we live every day, to spot these different areas that become a way to slide away from Christ.

So it just refreshes my thinking and also brings me more to my knees, to understand what things need to be corrected in my life, how I need to turn away from the small things that can—in any time—become big in life and just to catch them where they are. I need to repent of them and keep walking in joy and love and faithfulness to the Lord Jesus Christ.

I really appreciate Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth’s stories and the videos that she does. They really get you to think deeper about your relationship with Christ, how everything flows out of it.

And bringing personal stories is really amazing because sometimes you can see, it connects. It’s like, “There is a connection between my life and that life.” Or sometimes you think, It has nothing to do with my life.

But then you meet somebody else later who is struggling, going through similar things, and then you can say, “You know, there is a very nice video that you can watch and maybe you can get something out of it.” That’s a great means to connect with other people as well.

Dannah: She’s thankful for the financial gifts from listeners, gifts that help provide the Revive Our Hearts app and podcasts.

Sandra: Oh, that’s amazing because this is so easy to get into the wealth of material just with two clicks. I really enjoy . . . Every morning when I get up, I turn on to listen while I’m still getting dressed and wash myself and just enjoy the Bible being preached to the heart of a woman!

It refreshes the soul, it helps to wake up—not only physically, but spiritually as well!

Dannah: If you’ve ever supported Revive Our Hearts, do you realize you’re part of Sandra’s story? Not only that, but you’ve now played a role in all the people now receiving hospitality from Sandra and her family there in Lithuania.

When you support Revive Our Hearts with a gift of any amount this month, we’d like to say thanks by sending a brand-new resource that helps you embrace the heart of hospitality. You’re Welcome Here, is a six-week Bible study based on the teaching of Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth.

To make a donation, just go to ReviveOurHearts.com, or call us at 1-800-569-5959. 

We’re glad you joined us today. Have you thought about the people God has brought into your life. How they might experience His love through your hospitality? Discover the power of having an “open door” policy as Nancy continues this rich teaching on tomorrow’s program. Please be back for Revive Our Hearts.

This program is a listener-supported production of Revive Our Hearts in Niles, Michigan, calling women to freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ.

All Scripture is taken from the NKJV unless otherwise noted.

*Offers available only during the broadcast of the podcast season.