How Jesus Brings Us Home: The Way to the Father's Table
Have you ever noticed that Jesus didn't just save people; He gathered them?
The answer to the longing in our hearts is not found in a ritual or a piece of furniture.
The answer is a Person. Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father.
If we observe Jesus closely in the Gospels, we will see a beautiful pattern: while He heals on the streets and teaches on the hillsides, He consistently anchors that restoration by gathering people at a table.
Jesus is the Host who opens the door.
Scripture is clear: "No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).
Jesus is the access point. But He does not merely bring us to a legal standing of salvation; He brings us home. When we look at Jesus, we see Him eating with tax collectors, breaking bread with disciples, and welcoming sinners. He uses the table to show us that we are no longer strangers, but family.
Three things happen when we accept Jesus' invitation:
1. We Enter the Father’s House: The Lord’s Table is often called Jesus’ table, but the study reveals it is actually the Father’s Table. Jesus is the Host who opens the door, but the Father is the one who sets the feast. Through Jesus, we step out of isolation and into the household of God.
2. We See the Father’s Heart: By observing Jesus at the table—feeding the 5,000 or eating at Zacchaeus’ house—we see the Father’s generosity. Jesus shows us that God is not a distant judge, but a Father who says, "My house must be full".
3. We Become Family: The work of Jesus on the cross tore the veil and opened the way. Now, when He gathers us at the table, He makes us one family—Jew and Gentile, rich and poor, united by His blood,.
The table is not the destination itself; intimacy with the Father is. But Jesus, in His wisdom, gave us the Table as the place where that intimacy is experienced, rehearsed, and enjoyed until we eat with Him in the New Jerusalem.
“For through Him [Jesus] we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household.” — Ephesians 2:18–19
What you can do today
READ: Read Luke 14:15–24 and observe how the Master of the House (the Father) sends His servant (Jesus) to gather the outcasts.
ACT: Spend time in quiet reflection today. Imagine yourself sitting at the Father's table, fully accepted. Thank Him that you are no longer a stranger, but a son or daughter.
SHARE: Think of someone in your circle who may need to hear this.
This blog is part of a 7-day series about the Table. It is based on Ian Shelton's "The Table" Bible study materials.
Email us at thetable@oneheart.com.au if you would like to learn more or be part of 6-week Bible discovery groups.
