Dinner

They say there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Do you believe that?

Someone invites you out to eat and picks up the tab. They want something from you. Maybe they need it. It could just be your time, your expertise, or even just your presence. You might even pay for someone’s lunch just so you can be seen with them.

That’s what happens with celebrities. Think about it. You win a silent auction to have dinner with a well-known athlete. All the money goes to charity. But you get something out of it, right? You get to be seen with them. Hopefully your friends walk in, or better yet your boss!

That athlete gets a free meal, but not really. They are giving you the privilege of their presence.

When Jesus walked up to Levi in mark 2, he offered to have dinner with him. Think about what that meant to Levi. To his family, to his parents. This well-known rabbi was going to be at his house, was going to sit at his table, was going to have a meal with him.

“Make sure your neighbors find out,” Levi’s mom would have told him.

“Ask him what he thinks of the new governor, Pilate,” his dad suggested.

“Can we come too?” asked his friends.

Levi would have been embarrassed by that last one. My friends? But they’re all…sinners?

He finally, sheepishly, asks Jesus.

And Jesus says, “Sure! I’d love to meet them. The more the merrier!”

There’s no such thing as a free lunch.

You may be thinking ahead a bit. Levi left everything behind. He left his job as a tax collector. He became a disciple, leaving home and family. He didn’t get a free lunch. He gave all.

Well, sure he gave all. But he actually traded all for something better. Being a part of a famous rabbi’s entourage. There was a lot of esteem that Levi now had. There were a lot of benefits. He would have a front row seat for the greatest miracle worker the world has ever seen.

And those sinners who came to dinner. They didn’t give a thing! There was no entrance fee. There was no requirement. They just showed up. They got free food and an audience with the Son of God.

But there are no free lunches.

Who paid for that meal? I don’t mean who bought the ingredients, who prepare the dishes, who hired the servants. I mean who paid the ultimate cost?

Jesus would face extreme criticism for his actions, for being at the table with sinners. The experts of religious law would start talking about him behind his back and would ridicule him to his face.

Jesus paid the price of religious reputation. He paid the price of persistent opposition.

But there was a higher price paid.

You might be tempted to think that Jesus sat at that table and said, “Okay, sinners. Here’s the deal. I’m the Son of God, the holy one. Emphasis on holy. That means you all need to bring something to this meal.”

But he didn’t do that. Instead, he traded straight across.

Their sins for his righteousness. That was the cost of attendance.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)

²¹ God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

In other words, Jesus – who knew no sin – made a trade with sinners – who knew no righteousness. “Your sin for my righteousness. I’ll become the sin, you become righteous. Deal?”

The price for that meal was paid through the cross. Jesus gave up all. Not Levi. Not his parents. Not his friends. No sinner ever gave up more than Jesus did.

There are no free lunches. But Jesus offers us free life…and grace and righteousness and peace.

And he picks up the tab.