Old Table as a Place of Witness

True repentance not only changes a person’s relationship with God but also changes how they view the people around them. After being called to follow Jesus, Matthew held a meal at his house. He invited tax collectors and others who had been his companions. Matthew had received a life-changing call, and now he wanted his friends to meet the same Person.

Notice that Matthew did not begin his witness by preaching to a crowd. He opened his home, set a table, and brought his friends close to Jesus. Home, possessions, and social networks that once served self-interest are now used for God’s work. This is one sign of transformed life: everything we have acquires a new purpose. We no longer ask only, “How does this benefit me?” but “How can this be used to bring people to the truth?”

The meal surprised the religious leaders. In that culture, sharing a meal or sitting at the same table signified acceptance and fellowship. Tax collectors were seen as traitors, and “sinners” were regarded as outside the appropriate religious life. So when Jesus ate with them, the Pharisees judged that he had crossed the boundary that should be kept. Yet it is precisely at that table that the character of God’s Kingdom appears. Those who had been marginalized were given the chance to hear the call of salvation. Social boundaries did not block mercy, but truth was not lowered to make everyone comfortable. They were welcomed to hear the call and then called to leave their old way of life. The fellowship table becomes a door to repentance, not a celebration of sin.

Jesus’ presence among sinners does not mean he approved their sin. A physician approaches the sick not because disease is good but because the sick need help. Likewise, Jesus came to call them out of lives opposed to God’s will. His compassion is not tolerance of sin but an opportunity for sinners to repent and be restored. 

Here is a balance every disciple must keep. We must not live so exclusively that we are only comfortable with those already of one mind or deemed respectable. If the light withdraws from darkness, how can those in darkness see the way? Yet we also must not associate without discernment until we are drawn back into old ways. We come not to accommodate sin but to bring God’s presence and truth.

Matthew became a bridge because his friends knew him. They could see that Jesus’ call was not theory. The one who once sat at the tax booth had left that job and taken a new direction. The most powerful testimony is a life truly changed. If our character remains selfish, dishonest, quick to wound, and attached to the world, our invitation to others will lose credibility. Therefore, do not treat salvation as only a private matter between you and God. Those who have received grace have a responsibility to become a way for others to hear the truth. Who are the “tax collectors” around us—people unlikely to come to church but willing to come to our home, talk, eat, or work with us? Do they find love and truth through our life? 

Such witnesses need not begin with grand events. We can make time to listen to the hurting, invite a friend to discuss faith, help without expecting repayment, or tell of the change God has worked on us. What matters is that these relationships point to an encounter with Jesus, not to make us the center of attention. Also examine how we use our home, work, influence, skills, and resources. Don’t let them be used merely to enlarge our own comfort. Like Matthew, surrender what is in our hands to become space for God’s work. Those touched by God’s call will not hoard that grace for themselves. Grace that truly transforms will make our whole life a pathway for others to meet Jesus.