In this message, we are going to focus on the beauty of our Lord Jesus and upon some of the truths that surround Him. We want to meditate on the power and the effect these truths can have in our lives. In Luke 22:12 we have a most precious verse with much deep significance. “And he shall show you a large upper room furnished; there make ready.” In this meditation, I would like to take us on a tour of the upper room. Come and join me, as we travel through some of the things that happened in that upper room. I do not know how many of you have ever taken notice of the unique things that happened there, but there are many messages that could come out of what took place in the upper room. I sense that there are many things we can learn from what happened there, things that are very special and necessary for all of us. I am going to assume that the upper room was the same in the Gospels as in the book of Acts. So, let us start our journey now.
The Room was Large
I would like to emphasize the fact that the Bible says the room was large. It was a place that would hold many people. In the book of Acts, 120 gathered in this place. There was plenty of room there. It was as heaven will be; there will be plenty of room there. It was not a place where you would go to be alone with God, though that is an important part of our Christian lives. This was a place where people can meet together. That is what the Church is about—people. That is what heaven will be about—people.
The Room was an Upper Room
It was not down on the street level. It was not earthy but it was heavenly, separated, and other worldly. It was upstairs and it was a place where there were no partitions or walls—one large upper room, above the noise and din of the streets and the people selling their wares. It was a place of quietness, it was a place where you could have a meeting and you would not be disturbed by the things that were going on down on the street level below. Oh, may our assemblies be like these—heavenly places, where deep and intimate things happen.
The Room was Furnished
Everything was cared for here. All the furniture and all the necessary things needed for the occasion were provided. All they needed to do was go there. They could go there and rest. They could go there, pray, feast, and learn. Truly, that is the way it is with the beautiful things that happen in an assembly. Jesus has made all things ready. The price has been paid, the blood has been shed, and he is seated at the right hand of the Father praying for us. For us, all we need to do is have our heart prepared and the rest will happen, by the mercy of our God.
The Room was a Place of Fellowship
Rather than a place where we might go to be alone and meet with God, this upper room was unique in that it was a place for fellowship. It was the place where Jesus met with the twelve and where the Last Supper was eaten. It was the place where they ate the Passover lamb and where the first communion was served. A large upper room was made for close intimate fellowship. All these things are done together. They were locked out from the world, locked out of the busyness, and locked out of the noise of an active world below. It was an upper room away from all that was earthly. The door was shut, and people could gather, open their hearts, and learn. That is what happened in the upper room. May our churches be the same—a place where we can leave everything behind, and have fellowship.
Disciples were There
This is a beautiful thought, but also a definitive thought. First of all, let us consider the beautiful. What is a disciple? He is a follower of Jesus Christ. He is committed to Christ, committed to His ways, and committed to leaving all to follow Him. This is true divine fellowship. This brings a lovely one-mindedness that is strength to all who enjoy it. Secondly, let us consider the definitive nature of these words. What a mixture results when every kind of half-hearted person is there. I am not saying it should be the fellowship of the perfect. However, it should be the fellowship of the consecrated ones, those who love God with all their heart.
Jesus was There
He was without question the center of everything that was happening there. Jesus withdrew there with the twelve. I would guess that perhaps one of the most valuable paintings in all of art’s history is the one of “The Last Supper” with the twelve. Jesus was the center of attraction there, and He sat in the middle (at least the picture gives it that way, and the disciples were all around Him). He was the center focus of all attraction there. Yes, there were twelve disciples; Judas was there, but Jesus was the central figure. He is what made this upper room fellowship so sweet. Take Him out of the room, and what do you have? You have nothing but religion. It is the same today in our assemblies. We can have the people there. We can have all the furniture there. We can put everything in place, but if Jesus is not there, we do not have anything.
Love was There
It was a scene of love. In John 13:23 we have an account given by John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, that he had his head laid on Jesus’ breast. So we have a picture here of adoration and love. Maybe John sensed that they were near the end. The disciples had been given enough instruction that he could have known. Whatever his thoughts, we have a scene of intimate love and fellowship. This is a picture of how it should be with us today. In the upper room there should be close intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ. We are speaking spiritually here. We are two thousand years down the road, but we still need to lean our heads on Jesus’ breast. The love feeling that John had for the Master is to be the same in our hearts. There needs to be an intimacy, a depth of love that spiritually we trust Him and lay our head on His breast. In the upper room it happened, and it will happen for you and me if we dwell in the upper room—that sweet intimate adoring love for the Master where he is everything, and we pour out our hearts to Him.
Humanity was There
There were some things that happened there that were not the best. Some rivalry over who would be next to Christ in His Kingdom was expressed in the upper room. We must remember that this was before Pentecost. It is also good for us to be honest and acknowledge that things like this come into our lives. Peter made the strong declaration that he would not leave Christ, that he would not forsake Him. But Jesus said that “this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.” (Matthew 26:34) Peter also said “though I should die with Thee, yet will I not deny Thee. Likewise said also all the disciples.” (v. 35) That all happened sitting at the table in the upper room. It was a place where the news of a betrayal was made known. I do not think that any of the disciples knew that until they were there in the upper room. But there shut away from the world, Jesus broke the sad news to them that one of them would betray Him. Let us be honest and say that many times humanity gets in the way when we are trying to have fellowship.
Self-Examination was There
Jesus said to them, “One of you will betray me.” Very quickly, as it lighted upon the ears of all that were present, self-examination took place in the upper room. Men began to lay their hand on their breast and say, “Lord, is it I?” Self-examination is a principle that we all need to learn about the upper room, about communion, about sweet intimate fellowship. “Lord, is it I? Have I done something to grieve You? Would I betray You?” That all happened up there. They began to examine themselves one after the other. I think that all of them said, “Lord, is it I?” Paul said, “Examine yourselves” (2 Corinthians 13:5), and, “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.” (1 Corinthians 11:31) Finally Jesus revealed that it would be the one who would dip with Him at the same time in the cup. I would guess that they were eating the Passover meal at this time.
The Communion of the Cross was There
It was the place of the first communion, up there in the upper room. In Matthew 26:26 we see these words, “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it and gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’” Though we say these words 3 or 4 times a year as we participate in a communion service, here was the first time it was done in a service. These were not new words to the disciples, for they heard them in John chapter 6. However, this is the first time the symbols of the bread and the wine were used with those very deep words. In John 6:53-57 we have these words, “Then Jesus said unto them, ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in Me and I in him. As the living Father hath sent Me and I live by the Father, so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me.’” Now here the doctrine of communion was given, and it was acted out there in the upper room through the symbols of the bread and the wine with the eleven. We must eat and drink of Christ. For over 2,000 years since that meeting in the upper room, men and women have been partaking of Christ in spiritual communion with Him. The communion service is a picture of that life of feasting on Christ. As we partake of Christ spiritually, eating of him and drinking of him, we receive nourishment from Christ. His life makes us able to overcome the powers of sin in our lives and the powers of darkness in the world. Brothers and sisters, we must learn to be eating and drinking of Christ all our days. This is what communion is all about.
Servanthood was There
Feet washing was initiated there in the upper room. After supper was ended He took a towel, girded himself, and proceeded to wash His disciples’ feet. It seems that Peter was indignant. He said, “Lord, dost thou wash my feet?” Peter knew this was out of order and tried to stop Him. However, Jesus was giving them an example in lowliness and servanthood. So after He had finished washing all of their feet, He began to teach them what He was doing. Christ explained to them the principles of true greatness. Let the greatest serve the others. Humble yourselves and wash one another’s feet. He said to them, “Do as I have done to you.” This is how it should be in the church. It should be a brotherhood of servants who with lowliness of mind serve one another. As we wash each other’s feet today, this pictures how we should be all the time with each other. It is part of the Upper Room Fellowship. Lord, teach us to esteem our brother higher than ourselves.
Teaching was There
I do not know if you have ever thought of it before, but there was some very powerful teaching in that upper room. John 13-17 were spoken in the upper room. I do not know how precious and meaningful these words are to you, but they are very precious to me. Let us consider just a few of these life-changing revelations.
- I am going away, but I am coming again.
- The promised Holy Spirit.
- An intimate spiritual relationship with the living God.
- The key to an abundant fruitful life was abiding in the vine.
- A deeper understanding of love—sacrificial love.
These many truths take on rich meaning when you remember that their whole world is going to be turned upside-down very shortly.
Preparations for Calvary were There
That is what it was. He had them all there; they had their meal; He had washed their feet in chapter 13. Then He proceeded to give them some of the most profound truth in the whole New Testament, and finished with a beautiful closing prayer. Then He went to the garden, and on to cruel mockings, and then to the cross. Let me tell you, when we have an upper room, we can take a Calvary much easier. When we have the upper room with that sweet intimate fellowship of a brotherhood, when we hear from heaven and understand each other and the presence of God is there and love is there, then we can take the mocking and the scourging a lot more easily. However, so many people do not have an upper room. There are many Christians out there—and not through any fault of their own—who are in situations where they do not know what an upper room fellowship is like.
Prayer was There
Our Lord prayed the prayer recorded in John 17 in the upper room. It seems like it flowed out of His heart after He finished teaching them in the same manner that a prayer flows out at the end of our sermons. I have often wondered what it was like to be there when that beautiful priestly prayer was prayed. The greatest thrill of all is that the prayer has been answered. Oh, for prayer, anointed prayer in our churches.
The Upper Room was a Picture of the Church
As we end this meditation, we realize that church life is being expressed all through these points and all through the disciples’ experience with Christ. Oh, how beautiful all of this is. The whole thing is fellowship, communion, and other words that also describe togetherness. Jesus was the center of the upper room fellowship. All of these varied experiences flowed out of this one fact. God wants our assemblies to be just like this. When Jesus is the center, and all are looking to Him, lovely things happen. Honesty prevails and servanthood is a common expression. Love flows among the brothers and sisters, and God’s will is revealed. We could go on and cover all the points of this message. They all flow out from Him. Put the Lord Jesus Christ in the center of your church and keep him there. You will never be sorry, and you will have an Upper Room Fellowship.
