Jesus Welcomes Us with Grace upon Grace

Psalm 23 uses two metaphors to explain why we should always trust Jesus: Shepherd and Friend. As the Good Shepherd, Jesus leads us into spiritual and physical wholeness, and leads us through death. At verse 5, the shepherd imagery has served its purpose. Shepherd, sheep, green pastures, still waters, and shadowy valleys are replaced with a well set table, festive oil, overflowing cups, and defeated enemies. At this table, Jesus is the one who secures victory, and invites us to celebrate. His is a table of grace.

David, the author of Psalm 23, brings his baggage to the table. He brings moral failure and political enemies. He brings nothing but weakness, but, at Jesus’s table, grace is always the special and only item on the menu. Jesus prepared the table, defeated the enemies, and overfilled the cups. David gets to sit at Jesus’s table by grace alone. This is Jesus’s way.

In the historical accounts of Jesus life and ministry, we often find him at dining room tables eating and drinking. In every case Jesus’s dinner date is someone of questionable character. Extortioners, thieves, and prostitutes were his favorite dinner guests. These guests don’t deserve to share a meal with God in the flesh, but they are welcomed with all their baggage to the table. Grace upon grace.

You see, at Jesus’s table we can bring our baggage, and he will bring the grace. Every time. We bring the sin, weakness, and enemies. He brings superabundant grace. In Matthew 11, Jesus says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden.” Jesus invites us to his table to feast on grace. By his grace we get to sit at God’s family table, freed from the tyranny of Satan, sins forgiven, and with the hope of eternal life overfilling our cups. May God open our eyes to see the abundance of grace given to us in Jesus Christ. There is no friend like Jesus who welcomes even us with grace upon grace. Come to his table.