^13:1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end … ^17:26 “… so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

The Upper Room discourse records for us, by the pen of the apostle John, the most intimate interchange of our Lord Jesus Christ with His committed followers. The themes are many, the topics diverse, but unity is clear, and Love is the goal. The Lord was preparing the disciples (and us) for life without Him physically present. That was mind-boggling for those men in the Upper Room, as they were very much people of the earth, seeing life in the most tangible, physical sense. Many of them were fishermen, not given to ivory tower theological discussions that were of the esoteric or otherworldly sort. They had expected an earthly kingdom with Jesus as King. Indeed, did not Jesus Himself teach, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand”?

Now the disciples were confronted with talk about His betrayal (13:21), His departure (13:33, 36, etc.), Peter’s denial (13:38), His taking up new residence away from them to which they could not go until some undisclosed time in the future (14:4). He chided them for not rejoicing with Him (14:28), warned them of their being rejected by the world (15:18-20) and predicted they would be scattered (16:32). The atmosphere must surely have been ominous.

He repeatedly taught them that in the midst of depressing news, they should not be troubled (14:1, 27); and this despite the fact that His own spirit was troubled (13:21). They should rejoice now (14:28), for they will rejoice in the future (16:22) when they will see Him again. Hope was offered, infused through the gloom, but faith in Him was required. They must come to see His departure as a good thing—that was the teaching of their Master Teacher.

The Upper Room teaching of our Lord was intended to prepare His disciples for carrying on the mission to which He formally commissioned them in Matthew 28:18-20. The overriding, major theme was preparation for carrying on the movement of Jesus Christ after He is gone. Little did they realize, much less understand, that Jesus’ physical time with them was about to find closure after only three and a half years. But the movement was only beginning, the mission was about to begin. He made it possible by revealing God to us, through His teaching and ministry, and now through His substitutionary sacrifice as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Lord, thank You for preparing me to carry on Your mission in the world.