And as He spake, a certain Pharisee besought Him to dine with him, and He went in and sat down to meat. Luke 11:37
One of the largest turnouts ever for the Saint John Board of Trade monthly dinner occurred some years ago when the Board invited industrialist J.K. (Big Jim) Irving as its guest speaker. It was a rarity to hear a public speech from a senior member of the billionaire Irving family, so people flocked to the dinner just to hear him. As he began his speech, Mr. Irving noted that there were two big surprises for him in his invitation to speak at that meeting. The first surprise, he said, was that the Board would invite him to speak. And the second surprise, he added, was that he accepted the invitation! I do remember that speech as being one of the most memorable that was ever given at the Board of Trade dinners. Like Mr. Irving’s invitation, it is surprising that the Lord Jesus would get a dinner invitation from a Pharisee. But how surprising was it that He accepted the invitation?
We will never know exactly why the Pharisee invited Jesus to his meal. Was he looking for excuses for arguments? Was he looking for a bit of prestige among his peers as the only Pharisee to host the Galilean Teacher? But let’s give him credit for doing something that most of the other Pharisees would have refused to do. And let’s give him the benefit of the doubt; maybe he sincerely wanted to know more about the Lord Jesus. Regardless, he put himself in a position to learn from the greatest Teacher of all time. And it may have been his sincerity that led the Lord Jesus to accept his invitation.
Why did the Lord Jesus accept the invitation? He would have known that he was unlikely to make much of an impression on the Pharisee. And He would have known that other Pharisees would be there, looking for anything that they could find to accuse, embarrass, and tarnish Him with. But He had two very good reasons for attending that meal, other than the food, which would have been good. Firstly, He would have a good opportunity to teach those who were there. Every situation and discussion that would arise would be an opportunity for Him to teach. And many of His remarks on this occasion are preserved for us in the Gospels. Had He not gone, we would have missed out on much. But His greatest reason for going to that dinner was His grace. The Pharisee might have considered his invitation to be an act of kindness to the Lord Jesus. But in actuality, the kindness was shown by the Lord Jesus. This was probably the only opportunity for that Pharisee, and others who were there, to be so close to the Saviour. They could hear His words directly, and ask Him questions. If they were sincere, He would reveal Himself to them.
How gracious of the Lord Jesus to make Himself available even to people who were unlikely to believe on Him! How gracious of Him to make Himself available to us! -Jim MacIntosh