In our recent trip to Israel, we spent our first full day in Jerusalem. One of the highlights of the day and trip was spending time in the upper room. We stood in the room for several minutes and I thought of all that had happened in that room so many years ago.
The days leading to His arrest, Jesus spent time in Jerusalem and the surrounding area. According to Matthew 26, in the hours leading up to his prayer in Gethsemane and arrest, Jesus spent the afternoon and evening privately with his disciples. It was at that time he shared what we refer to as The Lord’s Supper with his disciples, washed their feet and released Judas to carry out his plan of betrayal. It is believed by many these events took place in this upper room.
After Jesus’ resurrection, He met with His disciples several times. John 20 records one of those meetings. The scene was in a home in Jerusalem, and was likely once again the upper room. The purpose of that particular meeting was for Jesus to visit with Thomas and help him deal with his confusion and struggles related to the Lord’s death. Read John 20 again and take note of the gentle way Jesus interacted with Thomas.
A little over a month later, moments before Jesus ascended to heaven He instructed his followers to return to Jerusalem and “wait for the Promise of the Father” (Acts 1:4). Verse 13 states they returned to the upper room where they had been staying. Shortly thereafter, on the Day of Pentecost, 120 followers of Christ gathered in that large room and “all were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4).
As we stood in the upper room, I imagined all he weighty experiences that took place in that room 2,000 years ago. The Supper, washing feet, Thomas being restored from a state of confusion and discouragement, and then the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Oh, if only those walls could talk!
Let us also consider the significant experiences in our personal life journey. During this time of quarantine, you can share communion in your home, either alone or with your family. We are restricted from meeting together, but we are not alone. We can use the phone and internet to connect with others and chat about our own experience with the Lord. We, like those 2,000 years ago, can turn a room in a home into an altar and experience the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Let’s sing: “They were in an upper chamber, they were all in one accord when the Holy Ghost descended as was promised by our Lord…”
The Upper Room is in the southern part of the Old City of Jerusalem on Mount Zion and is perhaps best known as the traditional site of the Last Supper. The current structure of the room dates approximately from the fourteenth century, which accounts for the existing Gothic-era columns.