Day 1: His Target Audience
Experiencing the Upper Room - A Good Friday Devotional Series
An Intro.
Before assuming the Upper Room was filled with chocolate covered Easter bunnies and sweet heavenly cherubs, we need to realize there was tension at the table. The Upper Room more closely resembles a Christmas family gathering gone wrong than the Holy of Holies. My hope and prayer is that through the messy moments leading to the cross, the message and mandate of Christ would be awaken our hearts and re-align our lives.
Experiencing the Upper Room will take us on a journey utilizing passages from each of the Gospels. Each day we will be invited to Rest, Read, Reflect, and Respond. Let’s place ourselves in these stories. Picture ourselves at the table. Gaze in Jesus’ eyes and glean from his every word. Let’s learn about the Upper Room and experience it. I will do my best to help along our way.
This week, I am praying we all experience the person of Jesus, the presence of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Just a girl pursuing God’s goodness, Erin Nicole Thompson
Day 1: His Target Audience
Rest.
Take a moment to settle into your seat, silence your mind, and savor that warm cup of coffee you may be holding. After a moment of silence, pray, “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.”
Read.
Before we dive into the drama of ego, betrayal for money, scandalous acts of humility, and desperation in the garden; we are going to pause. Pause to see whom all this pain and drama was for.
Let’s go back to verse 14 and 15 and read them again slowly. “When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, “ I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.”
The Passover is one of three feasts the Jews celebrate to remember when Israel was delivered from the hand of Egypt. They remember when they were miraculously led out of a land of bondage and slavery. Fast forward to the Upper Room, once again the Jews are in a land dominated and occupied by foreign rule, the Romans, but at Passover they all gather in Jerusalem to celebrate.
Passover would start with a prayer of thanksgiving and be followed by four cups of diluted wine. Each served like a course. After the first cup, they would eat bitter herbs that reminded them of their long and bitter bondage and then worship with Psalm 113-114. Another cup and then they served the main meal. The unleavened bread (made without yeast) remind them that their ancestors left in a hurry, without time for the bread to rise. Then enters the Norman Rockwell platter of the lamb. The lamb would have been chosen, taken to the temple to be slaughtered, and then prepared for the Passover meal. Worship would continue after a third cup of wine. It was likely this moment in the Upper Room where Jesus led in the inaugural first communion.
So recline at the table. Taste the wine. Join in the Psalms of worship. What would your prayer of thanksgiving include? What would you think as you ate the, crunchy instead of spongy, bread? What if you had been part of the lamb’s preparation process. What would you feel as it passed your lips?
Picture it.
Then your leader, mentor, brother, and friend grasps the cup and he takes a tangent from your tradition. A tradition that’s been in existence for hundreds of years, which you and your family have practiced all your life.
Boldy he says, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”
My blood.
For you.
At the table, sat pride, selfishness, betrayal, murder, and deceit. At the table sat sin, yours and mine.
And yet Jesus, calm and courageous Jesus, persists in the plan of his Father and says, “My blood…will be poured out for you.” And days later as he hangs from the nails, prays, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”
His target audience was you. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – will, is, and has always been targeting you.
Reflect.
What are you feeling knowing you were, are, and will always be Jesus' target audience?
What might God be speaking to you right now? Take a moment to listen.
(Note: Hearing God’s voice is possible. It isn’t audible but it can be an impression on your heart or a picture or a thought that enters your mind. It will never contradicts Scripture. You can consult a trusted friend who is in God's Word or email me, if you need help.)
Respond.
Dear Jesus, All we can do is say thank you. Thank you for what you endured. Thank you for what you dealt with on your way to the cross. Thank you. May we taste and see how great your love for us is and how good your forgiveness feels.
Let’s we respond with a Psalm of worship to join in the Passover tradition.
I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;
He heard my cry for mercy.
Because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.
The cord of death entangled me,
The anguish of the grave came over me;
I was over come by distress and sorrow.
Then I called on the name of the Lord;
Lord, save me!
The Lord is gracious and righteous;
Our God is full of compassion.
Psalm 116:1-5 NIV
Amen. Till tomorrow.
