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Giving Jesus My Room
Giving Jesus My Room
If you ask me, Luke 22:8-13 is one of the most surprising passages in all of the New Testament.
So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.” They said to him, “Where will you have us prepare it?” He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters and tell the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ And he will show you a large upper room furnished; prepare it there.” And they went and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover(ESV).
Certainly, Jesus’ foreknowledge of the man with the water pitcher being at a certain place at just the right time and, therefore, being able to lead the disciples to the room is pretty surprising. However, to be honest with you, at this point in the gospel records, Jesus’ displays of power, though amazing, don’t surprise me. This is a pretty small miracle compared to healing the sick, casting out demons, and raising the dead. What surprises me is the master of the house let Jesus use his upper room for the Passover feast.
The master of the house didn’t argue. He didn’t demand payment. He didn’t whine or complain. He didn’t question. He heard the Teacher needed it and he handed it over. The Teacher’s wish was his command.
I ask myself what I would have done if two guys I never met (I assume they never met because Jesus didn’t say, “Go to Bob’s house”) came up and said, “The Teacher wants to use your upper room.” I’m guessing the master of the house knew who “the Teacher” was; Jesus’ reputation had gone far and wide. However, even with that, to just at the drop of a hat open up his house for 13 men to eat a major meal in his upper room is pretty amazing.
What would I do? I would have started asking questions. “Wait just a minute. Exactly who is this teacher? Who is going to be coming with him? What is he going to expect out of me? What is he willing to pay? Can I at least get a deposit?”
All of this makes me think about our lives today. Jesus is not sending someone to tell us, “The Teacher wants to use your upper room.” He has sent the Spirit to tell us through His Word that the Teacher wants to use our very lives. He wants to use our entire house. He wants to use our cars, computers, televisions, radios. He wants to use everything about us.
Can you imagine the master of that house when Peter and John knocked on his door? That picture is us at this very moment. The Teacher is saying, “Where is your heart that I may reside there and you be my disciple?” How will we answer Him?
-Edwin L. Crozier
