Passover Preparations and Upper Room Revelations

You're listening to The Bible Guys, a podcast where a couple of friends talk

about the Bible in fun in practical ways. Hey, good morning, Jess.

Yeah, Hey, how about we talk about the Bible today. Let

me think something. Let's try something different. Okay, let's I'm trying to

make a joke. Dang it, it didn't work. Yeah, no,

I mean, but how can you How could you make it? You know,

you're usually trying to make jokes. Well, how could you make a

joke about saying let's not talk about the Bible on the podcast card? You

know? The So? Yeah, yeah, so I agree, let's talk

about the Bible. Okay, great, but before we do that, Yes,

let's do a segment called Who's most likely? Dun dun d And by

the way, I haven't read these yet. Have you read it? No,

I've not even glanced at them. However, I do have a feeling

that I think I think this is true. Most of the time, we're

in agreement on this. Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay, Yeah,

here we go. Ye, who's most likely to win their March Madness bracket?

That would definitely be you. It's me. Yeah. Let's let's tell

ever, pretty why because I'm a winner, No, because I did.

I have won the Office bracket a couple of times, and then my wife

won it one time. Because I loathe basketball. That's right. You load

loath basketball and basketball in general. You hate basketball. I do not like

basketball barely a Christian yep. Okay, So yeah, March Madness bracket.

I've now. By the way, did I tell you that as a youth

pastor, I tried. I had somebody train me because I thought I cannot

be successful as a youth pastor without being good at basketball. So I went

to like I went to, I grabbed somebody and said, please mentor me.

I must like basketball, and I forced myself. And then at the

end of months and months of me trying to become a basketball player, I

decided that I would surround myself with basketball players so that my youth group could

have basketball be a part of its culture. And I decided to abandon that

whole track. But you're not a so then did you just run around like

in the ref jersey or something. I just walked around shaking hands. I

would say basketball is one of those things you have to start when you're young,

and I did, I mean very young, and probably a couple of

months. Isn't gonna get you at the level where you're gonna be able to

capture you attention to teenagers. Well, I just wanted to like it.

Yeah, oh, you just wanted to like it. I just wanted to

be able to hang right, and I'll play well, just be able to

hang. Well, March Madness, you're going down this year. So I

was giving floor seats to the Atlanta Hawks game. Huh, and my feet

are on the floor and I'm literally right behind the players. And about midway,

I was like, I'm bored, Let's go home. I just wow,

Okay, well there you go. So I am most likely to win

the March Madness bracket? Correct? So number two? Who's most likely to

be voted class clown? That would definitely be me because I was yeah,

so was I? Were you really eighth grade? Why? Yeah? Well

great? Well great for you, jeez, I'd like to think it was.

That's a great question. Yeah, probably seventh grade. Wow, So

we're gonna split that point those points? Okay, that's amazing. Yeah,

that's really funny. Who's most likely to go off on a tangent during a

meeting? Jeff, Yeah, that's definitely you. I'm a tangent guy.

You're definitely a tangent guy. I have all my thoughts all at once,

all the time. I have all my thoughts all at once, all the

time. Everything reminds me of everything reminds me of another thing. Everything.

It's true. Who's most likely to be the favorite child? Oh? That's

me? Is it you? I literally call my parents and go, hey,

mom, it's your favorite son. You I do it. My dad's

birthday was a couple days ago. I called him, hey, it's your

favorite son. And so they bought me a shirt that said favorite son.

Oh yeah yeah, yeah, not my parents, but well so my mom

did, but she bought it for all of us. But yeah, yeah,

yeah, So even my brothers complained that I'm the favorite child. So

I'm the oldest. They got it right the first time, right, you

just can't everything? There it is? Which son? Are you? I'm

the fifth, I'm the youngest, so you're the last? Yeah? But

everything goes downhill? But actually I did. I always sign, well,

I used to a long time ago, sign sign my cards number five,

your favorite your favorite? Oh yeah, so there you go? Yeah yeah,

so are you really your my favorite? I can see the baby.

The baby is I'm not certain my mom is incapable, I think. Yeah,

so okay, I'm having favorites. Yeah, no, she's not.

That's funny. If you have to say that, then no, you're not

the favorite. That's all. I love everybody the same, right, means

you're not the favorite because parents go yeah, I disagree, Oh yeah,

disagree. It's true, dude, I've had that. You don't know me

my brothers. If my brothers are listening, my mom tells me that every

time she talks to me. Now I'm joking, that's not true. Okay,

I'm lying. Number five, Number five, who's most likely to get

stuck up a mountain and have to call for rescue? That would be me?

No, no, no, no no, Well okay, that's definitely.

Uh. I have mixed emotions, but the answer is definitely ne is

it you. Yeah, here's the reason why. Because number one, you

would most likely never have to call for a rescue for anything. That's really

the main operative part. Okay, you just gave me that. However,

the other half of this is I would never be on a mountain for any

reason whatsoever. Yeah, So if you're there, you need rescue. But

if it's unless it's on a mission trip, right, it was on a

mission strip, then I guess I can see myself being on a mountain.

It's funny. But other than that, I'm not voluntarily heading toward a mountain

anytime soon. I remember I told you, like, when I see those

like shows about people, oh no, they died on Everest, I have

like no compassion. I'm like, what do you think was gonna happen?

Yeah, of course you did. Yeah. I was like, I was

like, and then the weather came in and how tragic it was. I'm

like, yeah, that's what happens when you sign up to go to everytht

The way you don't die on Everest is, you know, don't climb Everest.

Don't climb Everest because chances are you're going to die. Yeah. Yeah,

so there's no compassion there. Last you, you, my wife and

I and my daughter we went to Grand Tetons and then at Jenny Lake.

If you've ever been there, it's beautifully, just beautiful beautiful, and the

Grand Teton Mountains are just so stark right there, and so you ride a

little boat across the lake and then we could hike up the hill. You

go into this valley and there's you know, elk and all kinds of stuff.

You try and see waterfalls. And I'm telling you so, I'm not

the super fittest guy, but when we do those kinds of things, I

just like, I don't care. I'll pay the price tomorrow, but let's

let's do these things. And I just I love doing those things. And

so honestly, you're sitting there and you're looking at these, what fourteen thousand

foot mountains, I'm like, I wonder what to take. I wonder how

much it costs to get a guy to go. You don't do that like

when you see big mountains. You don't know. Oh man, I look

at everything everything like that. I wonder if everything. I like, I

wonder what to be like to fly in a chopper over this mountain? Yeah,

people were doing that. No, I mean I'll do that. Yeah.

No, I just like at I wonder, and then I start thinking,

I wonder how expensive it would be to buy all the equipment and just

do like a five day hike through the through You are very different people.

Yeah, all the time. I always want to just go around the next

hill. I want to go up that Mountain. I want to see what's

just beyond all the time. I don't know why it's just in me.

Yeah, well, good for love, Yeah, good for love. That

but in my current physical state, that's why we're doing the seventy seven day

talents, right, that's rights in my current physical state, I'm likely to

have to call for rescue if I'd actually try to do those things. You

know, Oftentimes, when I'm not a certain way, I often, more

times than not, I'll say, you know, I really wish I was

this way. Oh, like I wish I wish I was the way that

you are, you know, that kind of thing in this particular case,

most people do in almost every stop stop. Yeah, but in this particular

case, I am so glad the way I am that I am, because

you don't want that, no desire to be that way. I don't know

why. Yeah, Ok, here we go. So we are in Matthew

chapter twenty six, and again short little verses, yep. But we're doing

each of these events in the life of Jesus. And so yesterday Judas committed

to betray Jesus, and so now here the disciples are preparing for the fat

passover. So Matthew twenty six seventeen says, on the first day of the

Festival of Unloved Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, where do

you want to us to prepare the Passover meal for you. As you go

into the city, he told them, you'll see a certain man. Tell

him. The teacher says, my time has come, and I will eat

the Passover meal with my disciples at your house. So the disciples did as

Jesus told them and prepared the Passover meal there. In Mark fourteen twelve,

it says, on the first day of the festival, a lem of bread

when the passover lamb is sacrificed, Jesus disciples asked him where do you want

us to go to prepare the Passover meal for you. So Jesus sent two

of them into Jerusalem with these instructions. As you go into the city,

a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him. At

the house he enters, say to the owner, the teacher asks, where's

the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciple. You

know'll take you upstairs to a large room that is already set up that is

where you should prepare our meal. So the two disciples went into the city

and found everything just as Jesus had said, and they prepared the Passover meal

there. And then in Luke chapter two, verse seven, it says,

now the festival of unleavened bread arrived. The passover lamb is when the passover

lamb is sacrificed. Jesus sent Peter and John ahead and said, go and

prepare the Passover meals so we can eat it together. Where he want us

to prepare it, they asked him. He replied, as soon as you

enter Jerusalem, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow

him at the house he enters, say to the owner the teacher asks,

where's the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples.

He will take you upstairs to a large room that is already set up.

That is where you should prepare your meal. They went off to the city

and found everything just as Jesus had said, and they prepared the Passover meal

there. So they're getting ready for Passover. Well, this is one of

those things where it was just like it was just like when Jesus found the

donkey. Remember that he says, going to the city and you're gonna find

somebody there with a donkey and colt and you're gonna say, the teacher's time,

the teacher needs a donkey, and he's gonna give you the donkey.

And we talked about that and I said, I said, gee, I

wonder if that guy was like overtaken with Jesus powers. You know, he

just went into a trance. Yes, yeah, here are the reigns of

my donkey. But then you suggested something which was hilarious because I'd never hilarious,

only in that I've never thought about it. It was so practical.

You said, well, maybe it was just a person that he knew,

or he had healed before, or maybe it was just somebody who knew him,

you know. And when they had heard the Master is, you know,

needing a donkey, they're like, well, absolutely anything for Jesus,

right, And so it could be something as simple as that, right,

sure, But my brain doesn't go there at all. My brain goes to

it's a miracle, you know, like the ominous music starts and Jesus is

like, you will run into a man with a picture, you know,

and then he will magically say I have a room prepared already upstairs for you.

Yeah. Yeah, So that's that's what it does. Seem like if

if they knew the guy, they would say, hey, you're going to

run into Simon. Yeah, right. It seemed like that's what he said.

He didn't he said a man with a picture, right, right.

So there is a little bit of mystery to this one. But the guy

clearly knew who Jesus was because the teacher asks, what, teacher, you

know all of Jusalem was full of rabbis today because it's past over week,

right. So but if he was overtaken with Jesus powers to that point,

he wouldn't. He would he would know exactly where the teacher was, sure,

or you know, the whole city had just turned out a couple of

days ago to say Hosannah, right right. So I think I think,

I think he probably I think the guy with the picture knew who Jesus was.

Yeah, Because because again the disciples didn't know who this guy was,

it's not up to these authors to, uh, you know, unveil the

dynamics of that conversation. What teacher, what who do you think? Right?

The teacher right like like like I'm sure, that probably even happened,

right, right, But but but that's not up to the author to lay

that out for us, right, So yeah, so I would think that

that conversation probably took place. Yeah. One of the benefits of doing these

parallel things, even when you're reading some simple passages like this, is you

see how they're all telling the same story and they tell it in a different

way, but it all meshes. For instance, Matthew chapter twenty six says,

on the first day of the festival, the disciples came to Jesus and

asked, where do you want us to go to prepare the passover meal for

you? And then he says, as you go in a city. So

it's the disciples, which disciples? How many disciples? I think it's all

the disciples, right then? If you read Luke chapter twenty two, it

says the festival all of love and bread arrived when the pass over lambs,

Jesus sent Peter and John ahead. So it turns out Peter and John are

the two who get sent. All the disciples come and ask he sends Peter

and John. The way you know that is on Mark fourteen, it says,

on the first day of the festival all eleve and bread. When the

passo over Lamb of Sacrist, Jesus disciples asked him. So the disciples ask

him, where do you want to ago? Jesus sent two of them.

Isn't that interesting? Yeah, So Matthew says, the disciples just ask.

Luke says, he sends Peter, and John Mark says, the disciples asked,

and he sends two. Isn't that neat? And so that's it's a

simple thing. It means nothing but that whole fact. But what I'm saying

is when the stories differ, they still always mesh. Yeah, right,

there's a way to mesh them together. And that's the thing. I'll even

push back on one thing that you said. When it says the disciples,

it doesn't necessarily mean all two of them, right right right? It could

be five. Yeah, it was likely more than the two, right right,

It could mean five. So again, unless there's another piece of insight

that tells us which five disciples came, or which six or twelve or whatever,

but more than the two he sent, yes, because if he wanted

to talk about the two, he said two disciples, but it said it

said the disciples, and then he sent two, So it differentiates between the

disciples and two. Right, and then we know that those two are Peter

and John. Yeah, which, by the way, is cool, it's

cool to know, right, Well, so it's just useful in knowing.

You know, sometimes if you watch History Channel, they will want to try

to disassemble the authority of the Gospels by showing what appears to be controversial conferences.

Yeah, conflicts, yeah, yeah, and they're not. They're differences,

but they're not conflicting ever, Like there's none there's a reasonable response for

every single difference between the gospels. And so in my mind again and we've

already asserted this several times, in my mind, the differences give me more

confidence that we're talking about real witnesses as opposed to collusion, to make sure

we all get our story straight before we write it, right, right,

right, Yeah, that's really good. Yeah. And notice also that he

chose Peter and John again, so again, right, So Peter and John

are the ones who are chosen by Jesus to witness really cool things that the

other disciples may not have been chosen for at least evidence in the scripture.

And so and I believe, and I've always said it. It's because of

their inquisitive heart. They're the ones that pursued Jesus and pull him aside,

and they're the ones that say, tell us more, we want to know

more, and let's ask you a question more than the others. And so,

you know, you know, Peter and John get to experience this cool

little thing where you know, imagine them, okay walking into a town and

at this point, is there still a piece of them that wonders, Gee,

you know, I wonder if this is going to happen. There's got

to be some anticipation, right, he said, We're going to see this

mysterious man with a picture. Oh that's a while. I wonder it's going

to happen, right? Or are they just so unbelievably confident, which I

imagine they would be by this time. They're accustomed to this. They're accustomed

to this, right, So then it's gonna walk in, They're gonna be

well, he's got to be here, Jesus said he would be right,

and so, which is pretty cool. And then did you when you were

in Jerusalem, did you go to one of the traditional upper rooms. We

did not, You didn't. So it's kind of funny like you have mentioned

before, in Israel, when you go on tours, they'll rank the tour

guides will rank things one, two, three, One. Jesus was definitely

here. Two, Jesus was probably in this area. Three is it's traditional

and nobody knows right, right, And so it used to be that the

upper room was like a two maybe a one, except the government made some

changes and turned a space into a national park kind of a space, and

so then the Catholic Church just moved where the upper room was. Oh my

word. Yeah. So so it's interesting when you're in the old city because

you're in this They probably came through one of the lower gates in the lower

part of the city. So if you if you can envision, Jerusalem sits

on a hill, and then it's hills all around, and the valleys are

really steep. They're like there are valleys made from runoff and little brooks that

just cut through this softer dirt and rock, right, and so the valleys

are steep, and so while it might take a long time to walk,

it's only just a few miles away, like Bethany is only just a few

miles from Jerusalem. So in this then Jerusalem has the lower part of the

city, on the lower part of the hill, and then it comes up

to the high part of the city they called the upper part of the city.

There's multiple walls, and so they would have come through and into the

upper part of the city, which also happened to be there were a lot

of rich stuff there, a lot of rich people there. This is where

Herod's lower palace was, It's where the Hasminian Palace was, It's where Herod's

royal palace was. Caiaphas's house, we believe, was right there. All

these things, and so Jesus goes up into kind of the swanky neighborhood and

that's where he decides, I'm having my last meal in class. Ye,

there's a first class place. And so it mentions here, welly, anybody

who has a guest room that's on a large upper room, a large upper

room, and it's big enough for a traditional table to house, not house,

but feed twelve people or thirteen, oh yeah, thirteen plus plus you

know the disciples. It could have included all the women too, he could

have that's right, It could have been fifteen twenty people. Yeah, yeah,

yeah, And so that is that's a pretty big house, especially by

the standards of those days. Of those days, yeah, yeah, because

today you're like, well, that's a moderate house, right, but back

in those days, that's a rich mans So we're not talking about a mud

hut here, no. And so sometimes you know, people want to talk

about the poverty of Jesus. The fact that Jesus didn't own a home is

where we always get the idea that Jesus was I said, the sun of

man has no place to lay his head, right. But we we have

mentioned this in the past. Jesus friends tended to have some significant resources,

and in this case, this person has a large home and is happy to

let Jesus use this for the Passover meal. No, think about that for

a minute. This is the day before the Passover. Really, the Jerusalem

goes from somewhere around fifty thousand people to two hundred and fifty thousand people and

a giant upper room, and this mansion is still available, right, right.

This guy didn't have his own plan. You know, people who build

big houses usually planned to fill them on holidays, right, That is not

why it is. So you know, the people who have nice, big

homes that are listening on our podcast, you got that house because you were

envisioning how great it be to have all the kids over and the grand kids

over for Christmas, right, and how great this dining room is going to

be for Thanksgiving. That's why we buy bigger houses, you know. Otherwise

most of us would just buy something much more manageable. So this guy has

a big house, big room, probably with the intent of filling it on

big days, and it's not or he chooses to change his plans for Jesus.

Something happened where in this very wealthy area, this guy makes accommodation for

Jesus and his big group of people, And that is really quite astounding that

this happened. It may have been the sacrificial decision of this guy to let

Jesus use it instead of him backing his family into or Jesus trans them with

his Jesus power. Yeah, yeah, maybe I doubt it. But anyways,

the two places where they have identified saying hey, this may be an

upper room, they're upper room, you know, for this meal. Both

of them are in very ancient areas of the city, and the downstairs is

very big, and the extended buildings and the little courtyard, all that stuff

is very large. So this person probably was pretty wealthy. So this would

be we're at Thursday, now, is that right in the week? Yes,

I believe so, I believe so. Yeah. So again it's unclear.

It doesn't say it's likely. Yeah, it's likely. Yeah, because

preparing the meal, you're going to sacrifice the lamb. You're going to cook

for a long time in order to get good lamb. It takes a while,

you know. Yeah, And then we and then we know he we

know that he has the passover meal in the upper room, and then he

then he's to us. They go through the garden. Actually he goes to

the vineyard first, then he goes through the garden. Then he gets arrested,

then he gets tried, and then he gets crucified, and and and

so that would bring us to Friday. He goes to the olive grove.

The amount of olives that no, no, no, no, Actually,

I think I'm pretty sure I learned this, and I think it's I think

this is true. No, it's John fifteen. Remember I'm the vineye of

the branch where he leaves the upper room, and before he goes to the

garden, get seventy. I think he stops and teaches John fifteen. See

that. Yeah, So all right, well that is our time, so

we will see you next time on the Bible, guys,