Upper Room

The story of The Upper Room…Jesus and His disciples.  Jesus makes clear to the disciples that from now on, things are going to change.  There are to become more difficult.  The Lord praying in the Garden.  Do you recall the painting, maybe found on the wall of the Sunday School room in your church when you were a child.  Jesus is kneeling in prayer in the Garden.  Isn’t that moving scene almost make you weep now to think of His suffering?  V. 40 – Pray that you will not give in to the temptation.  Is that my prayer?  Your prayer?  I’m sure it should be.  We are quite certain that none of us could ever even begin to fully understand what Jesus was experiencing in the Garden.  He was carrying the weight of the world’s sin.  Now, see the disciples, sleeping while Jesus is praying.  We don’t want to be too hard on them, of course, for we know they were very weary and worn out.  Yet…wouldn’t it seem that they would have tried harder to be available to help Jesus in any way possible?  Now, having sort of judged the disciples, let’s look at ourselves.  Have you ever sort of ‘fallen asleep’ spiritually speaking?  I fear so.  Judas…What do you feel right now as you think of that man?  Words like hate, pity, disgust…all these and more come to mind.  I once read, “We should read about Judas in the Gospel story, not so much that we may further judge Judas, but rather that we might realize the nature of what is evil in our own hearts!”  V. 53 – The power of darkness reigns.  It seems so even today, doesn’t it?  But – Jesus holds the Victory For Us All!

 

Donald E. Pardun