In Upper Room conversations, we can find hope for our every day

By Dean Collins

Much in scripture we simply won’t understand on this side of eternity. There have been and always will be many smart and spiritual people to offer explanations. Some teachers and pastors will offer their words with authority as if they have figured it all out. And others will speak with humility that suggests they don’t know but their hints may be plausible. One part of discipleship is trusting that Jesus knows the outcomes even when we have questions, doubts, suffering, and even failures.

One thing I have figured out during my faith journey is there is a lot more going on than I can see, and significantly more I don’t understand than what I do. What is critical is to trust that God has all authority, knowledge, and a plan. He has revealed enough to us for us to have confidence in him. Since he is the author and finisher of the story, we live by faith now and will see and understand fully later.

Before honor, trials

In Luke’s description of the Upper Room dialog, as I wrote yesterday, the Twelve argue about who is the greatest and Jesus corrects them by explaining that greatness comes through servanthood. Today I’m writing about what we learn next in this account. Jesus elaborates on the position of the Twelve in eternity and their trials and failures on the immediate horizon. It is interesting to consider the order of events Jesus described.

First Jesus commends them for having stayed with him through his trials. They had seen the way Jesus was treated by some. They had watched how he dealt with opposition, anger, and threats. They had not yet witnessed his greatest suffering, but Jesus knew they would, even though as he spoke in that moment they could not really imagine what was ahead of them in the next few hours and days.

Jesus continued with the amazing news that they would eat and drink at the table with Jesus and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. What honor they would receive by the grace of Jesus! Just moments earlier they had been set straight by Jesus after arguing about who was most important. Now Jesus looked beyond their struggle, their misunderstanding, and their pride to affirm their position in eternity. Only grace and mercy bring about such a turnaround!

Before tomorrow, denial

Then Jesus spoke shocking news. He addressed Simon by name, yet the plural of the word you suggests he was speaking to all of them: “Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.” Imagine what the disciples were hearing, thinking, and feeling in that moment! They had been corrected, elevated, and suddenly shocked into the reality of what would have been hard to process. Satan was making demands on Jesus? They would be run through a sieve by the enemy of God? Jesus was praying that their faith would not fail?

Much of this sounds strange. Yet we have moments of sudden shock as well. There are the moments of unexpected death. Moments of job loss for you or a family member. Moments when a marriage is in crisis or when a child wanders away. The uncertainty of these difficulties creates opportunity for the enemy to distract and discourage, even going so far as to suggest that God surely is not with us and does not really love us as he claims. These are times when we must lean in on the promises of God. And these are the times when if we falter, we can discover the richness and beauty of repentance and restoration.

Peter responded to Jesus. “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.” But he did not fully understand the reality of what was ahead of him. Jesus told Peter what Peter simply did not want to accept. He would deny that he knew Jesus, not once but three times, before the night was over.

But we must not miss two things Jesus said in the exchange with the Twelve. Jesus had prayed for them and specifically that their faith would not fail. He also said this: “And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” The prayer of Jesus was for all of them. John 17 records events of this same evening and we learn there that Jesus prayed for all of us as well. Ahead of his crucifixion Jesus prayed for you, for me, and for all of his followers! And he prayed knowing that we as humans would have seasons of temptation, seasons of failure, and seasons of restoration. Jesus never gives up on us!

After anything, Jesus

Two passages of scripture help me process this Upper Room conversation. The first is Hebrews 4:12-16, which tells us the Word of God is living and active and does a variety of things in us and for us. In the Upper Room the living Word, Jesus, was doing with the Twelve the same thing the living Word does for us now. He knows our hearts and our frailty. He sees in us and beyond us. He corrects us, restores us, and is able to sympathize with our weaknesses, of which there are many.

In either our failure or our faithfulness we can come to Jesus with boldness because he has gone before us and knows what is in us and what we need. And ultimately what we need are his grace and mercy.

After suffering, restoration

The second passage that helps us understand Peter and the others that evening— and us as well—is found in 1 Peter 5: 7-11. Peter, the very one who would be sifted by the enemy and would be fully restored after his failures, gives us clear warning about how the enemy works now. He cautions us to watch for him and to prepare ourselves for the temptations and struggles that are sure to come. And Peter also reminds us of what he had finally learned: Humility before God is our greatest weapon. When we humble ourselves, God rises up to shield us from attacks and restore us when we fail.

Peter closes his letter with encouragement and hope for today. We will have suffering, but we can know “that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”

As I said to begin today, there is a lot I do not understand. But I have confidence in the promises of God. They continue to prove reliable in any and every season and situation. We serve a king whose reign is eternal. We can rest in him even when we do not fully see or understand ourselves and everything going on around us. He is faithful!

Your time with God’s Word
Luke‬ ‭22:28-34; Hebrews‬ ‭4:12-16‬; 1 Peter‬ ‭5:7-11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Photo by Jan Tinneberg at unsplash.com

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