Intro to the Upper Room
WELCOME TO THE UPPER ROOM!
Imagine that you knew the last day you would be here on earth. What would you do? For most of us, we would spend time with our family and friends. We would express all the things that we wanted to say before we were gone. Well, that’s exactly what happened in the upper room in John 13-17. Jesus knew that He would soon be arrested, put on trial and sent to Calvary. He sat in the upper room with His disciples and He took that moment to pour out every thought, every piece of advice, every lesson and every prayer He could - so they did not miss one thing.
These were the final teachings of Christ before His death, which helps us realize that they were also pretty important. By writing this gospel, John opens the door to the upper room allowing us to see how Jesus prepared His disciples for his death, and how all His followers can prepare their hearts to celebrate His resurrection each Easter.
Throughout the study, we’ll be using the CHARA Bible Study Method to show how to get the most out of this Bible study. We do this by using the acronym CHARA: Context, History, Author, Read, Apply.
This first week, we’ll use the CHARA Bible Study Method to explore our author of John and the background of John 13-17 - consider it our Intro to John. The remaining 5 weeks of our study, we’ll unpack each chapter of John 13-17, and when we address something that speaks to one of the essentials we’ll make sure they stand out as such: CONTEXT, HISTORY, ETC.
Grab your own copy of the CHARA Bible Study Method on our website and follow along!
DAY 1 - CONTEXT
How does John fit in the Bible?
John wrote the “good news” about Jesus and the Kingdom of God. The gospel of John is one of four gospels found in the first four books of the New Testament. Open your Bible to find out who wrote the other three gospels.
How does John fit in with the other gospels?
John was likely the closest disciple to Jesus. We can tell in his writings, not only because he was given a vision by Jesus (Revelation 1:1), which became the book Revelation, but because John took a different view of how he captured Jesus’ ministry, compared to the other three gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke).
The other gospels were detailed in capturing the specific events around Jesus’ life. But it was John that took it a step further and detailed the meaning or how it should be interpreted. He focused specifically on Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God. Looking up the following verses, what was John trying to communicate about Jesus being the Son of God?
John 3:17
John 5:24-27
John 8:23
John 10:27-30
DAY 2 - HISTORY
When was it written?
Based on references John made to landmarks and historical events, he likely wrote this gospel between the period of 70 and 100 A.D. Don’t worry, we’re not history buff’s over here. We just learned that in our study Bibles. Using a study Bible or other resources, what details do you learn about the timeframe and history of the book of John? When was John written compared to the other gospels?
Who was it written to?
It’s likely that John was writing this gospel to primarily Jews, but also Gentiles (non-Jews; aka everyone else). We come to this conclusion because he explained Jewish culture to his audience throughout the book of John. Read John 1:38, 41-42, as an example. What details does John give his audience in these verses that can help us see that he’s explaining the Jewish world to Gentiles?
What cultural factors of their world do I need to understand?
We learn in the other gospels* that Jesus asked Peter and John to prepare the Passover by finding a large furnished upper room that they could use (Jesus knew exactly the one!). The gospels are pretty specific and let us know that this all happened on the first day of Unleavened Bread, which was part of Passover, when the Jews sacrificed the Passover lamb. The significance of the Passover leading up to Christ’s death is a huge thing to realize here! The Passover was a time when the Jewish people remembered God rescuing them from Egypt (for the full story read Exodus 12). As part of the Passover, the Jews would sacrifice an unblemished lamb or goat to cover their sins. As the Passover was being prepared in that upper room, Jesus knew that He would be the final lamb to be sacrificed. Even John the Baptist realized it when he said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!,” (John 1:29, NKJV). Read Hebrews 9:9-15. What significance is it that Jesus is the once and for all sacrifice for our sins?
*Found in Matthew 26:17, Mark 14:12 and Luke 22:7. These three books are often called the Synoptic gospels, because they describe the life of Jesus in a similar way.
DAY 3 - AUTHOR
Who was the author?
It’s widely accepted that the apostle John, son of Zebedee, one of the twelve disciples, wrote the gospel of John. While he often referenced the “disciple whom Jesus loved,” most believe it is an attribution John used to describe himself in his writings.
John met Jesus, early in His ministry as John was in his father’s boat mending fishing nets off the Sea of Galilee. Read Matthew 4:18-22. Given that being a fisherman was a family business tied to income and livelihood, what do these verses tell you about what John gave up in order to follow Jesus? What does that tell you about his devotion and commitment to Christ?
Why was it written?
We are fortunate that John put the purpose for writing this gospel right into the book. Read John 20:30-31. Why did John write this gospel?
What literary style was it written in?
The Bible uses a variety of distinct literary styles to communicate to people in a way they would understand. The book of John is considered to be written in a gospel literary genre. Gospels are biographies about Jesus, which include His teachings and bear witness to Jesus’ life. John’s gospel stands out given that a large portion of it is a unique perspective compared to the other three gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke). Want to learn more about literary styles? Check out this article in our Content Library.
DAY 4 - READ & APPLY
READ
Each week the very first thing we’ll ask you to do is read the chapter all the way through. That’s it. Just read. We believe this is such an important first step that we’ve designated an entire day just for you to familiarize yourself with the chapter before we dive in and study it together. If time allows, we encourage you to read it again — preferably in a different Bible translation to get a clearer perspective of what the passage is saying. Get in the habit of asking good questions and taking notes!
DIGGING DEEPER (optional): Want to take your reading one step further this week? Read the Passover meal in the other three gospels: Matthew 26:17-35, Mark 14:12-31, Luke 22:7-38. Take note of how unique John’s upper room account is compared to these three gospels.
APPLY
Throughout his gospel, John emphasized the true identity of Jesus Christ. He also was confident in his identity as a “disciple whom Jesus loved.” Our true identity in Christ can never be separated from the truth of who Jesus is. True identity is based on truth. As you APPLY today’s study passage, have you ever found your identity was based off of a lie the enemy wants you to believe about yourself? Have you witnessed a family member or someone close to you do this?
How would you help them change how they saw themselves? What should you do to rightly see yourself as Christ sees you?
Now that we understand the author John, his audience and the purpose behind his writings, we are ready to dive in next week to John 13 as we start to uncover the final teachings of Christ.
Written by: Heather Erickson
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