Feel Jesus' sorrow in the Upper Room

Located directly above the traditional Tomb of King David on Mount Zion, the Upper Room commemorates the Last Supper and the miracle of Pentecost. 

So, as we prepare to read God's word, take some time to prayerfully put yourself in Christ's shoes and imagine what he might have felt, knowing full well what was about to happen to him. 

Open your Bible and read Luke 22:14–23.

Ask God to help you reflect on what you've just read and see these events through the eyes of Jesus. 

Picture yourself reclining at the table, still perhaps a bit wet from having just washed the feet of all twelve disciples. You've been earnestly looking forward to this dinner (v. 15). 

Take a moment to look around at the men who've been with you for the last three years. Think about the progress they've made and how far they still have left to go. You wish there was more time because you know there's so much more you could tell them. 

So you pick up the cup and begin with a prayer of thanks to the Father, even if gratitude is but one of many emotions coursing through your all-too-human body at the moment. 

Then you take the bread, breaking it as a symbol for how you will soon be broken in payment for humanity's sin. You join them in eating the unleavened loaf as you've done so many Passovers before, knowing that it will be the last time you taste that bread before your prophetic suffering is complete. 

You then move on to the cup, seeing in it a reminder of the blood you'll soon shed on their behalf. And you tell them as much, hoping that when they look back on this night across the years to come, they'll finally understand why you truly came and be able to help others do the same. 

Let's conclude our time today by taking a moment to simply reflect on what Jesus experienced in that room and ask the Lord to help fill us with a renewed sense of awe, respect, and love for all he suffered on our behalf. 

Know that his love for you today remains just as real and powerful as it was for the men around that table all those years ago. 

Praise God.

Photo: The church built to commemorate the traditional site of the Upper Room. © Denison Ministries