Guest or Host?

"I will keep the passover at thy house." Matthew 26:18

The Lord sent out this private message, to a man we know nothing about. But we know that when the disciples spoke to him, he was not surprised at the request. I know, it was supposed to be that way in the plan of redemption, but still. Think of what he did. He led them to a large room near the roof of his house, furnished and ready as planned. And the strange question came to me, why was the host absent from the blessed meal? Jesus and his twelve disciples walked through the entryway and up the stairs, but the host stayed behind. I can't help but think he had pure, yet half-anxious joy at knowing that they were there, in his house. But he did not join them. I mean, it was Passover! In his house, no less. Who even made that blessed meal? He did. So, he may have heard voices occasionally up the stairs, and Judas later stomping down the stairs, and then the final stanza of the Pascal Psalm sung before they left for Gethsemane. He was there, an outsider in his own house. He did not partake in the feast of love. Did he desire to be with them? Was it enough that Jesus was in his home, but desired nothing more?

We must not press the question too far. Speculation can be hazardous to your faith. But let me ask you a question; what is your relation to Christ? Are you content with being near, but absent?

I fear this text speaks of many in relation to Christ. They provide Him with the guest chamber of their hearts alone. In other words, He comes to them in the reading, preaching, in inherited traditions, but it’s all upstairs. They hear something of Jesus worth, His dignity, and His truth, but despite all this, there is no personal fellowship. He is in the upper room, the doors are shut, and they are downstairs. For some, He is welcome into their guest room, but He never gets invited into their living room. The intimacies of their fireside are not for Him. Jesus is Guest, but not Host. In other words, He is the Christ of power, truth, and salvation, but not of personal experience.

 Yet to the believer, the positions are reversed. Jesus announces, and then enters, and immediately the Guest becomes the Host. In Revelation, there is another visit by Christ, to another house. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." For the believer, it always ends this way. We think we accept Christ, but really, it is He that accepts us. When an old saint lay dying, a friend spoke about “laying hold of God.” The man answered, "Oh, no, we do not lay hold of God, but God lays hold of us." So here, He who has entered as a Guest now becomes the Host of the heart. O how this sums up the actual experience of meeting Christ! All at once, we realize that neither the upper room nor the house are ours at all. They belong to Him. The life we live, we live not to ourselves, but Christ lives in us. He is the Master of the House, welcoming us to sit down and break the bread of life, and drink the wine of love, with Him.

 As we begin a Communion Season, dear one, will Christ be Guest or Host? Will you be that one whom He walks by with His disciples and closes the door behind Him? Will you hear the conversation from afar, and never draw near? When the Table is spread, will Christ be the Guest in your Church, or will He be the Host of your heart?