When Jesus tells His disciples that many will come from east and west to sit down in the great Messianic banquet (Matt. 8:11-12), we heard echoes of the great promise found in Isaiah 25:6-8.
“And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.”
There is a veil covering all the nations, including ours, and faithful gospel proclamation, followed by faithful gospel worship, are instruments in the hands of a holy God who is in the process of fulfilling these great and ancient promises. These are His promises, not ours, and He will do it. He is doing it. The mouth of the Lord has spoken it.
You have a seat at this table—it is a feast of fat things, with rich wine. As we come in true faith, this has the effect of pulling the covering back, the covering that shrouds all the nations. It hastens the day when death is swallowed up in the victory of Christ’s return. Our celebration of this meal, with a true and robust evangelical understanding, is a means by which the Lord God will wipe away every tear. Moreover, as a reproach lies upon His people, this is the way that the reproach will be removed. So come in faith, come with nothing but faith.
As often as we eat and drink, we proclaim Christ’s death until He returns. What does the proclamation of this gospel do? Why it is the salvation of the world. Come then, and welcome, to Jesus Christ.