Upper Room: Hope for Troubled Hearts

Travel back in time more than two thousand years ago. The Passover celebration is happening in Jerusalem. Imagine you are at a private dinner with Jesus in an undisclosed place located somewhere in the City of David. If, like Jesus, you had less than twenty-four hours to live, what would you say to your family and friends? “Let not your hearts be troubled” is a good place to start (John 14:1).

When Jesus sensed His disciples were anxious about His imminent departure, He immediately turned their thoughts to heaven by saying, “In my Father’s house are many rooms.” What our Lord continued to say about His Father’s big house drew upon traditions from an Eastern wedding. “I go to prepare a place for you … I will come again and receive you unto myself” (v. 

During the betrothal period (which lasts for up to one year), the groom goes home and expands his father’s house by building extra rooms. He does this because that’s where he and his bride will live after the wedding. In time, the groom returns to marry his bride. However, neither the bride nor her bridesmaids know the day or the hour of the groom’s return. Does any of this sound familiar? Jesus is our heavenly groom and we, the bride of Christ, wait in faith for His return. 

On the night before He was crucified, Jesus comforted his disciples with the promise of heaven and the hope of his Second Coming. He promised to come again “that where I am you may be also.” Earthly troubles truly fade in the presence of heavenly bliss. Hope rises. That is why Paul writes, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:18).