Title Do you have my room?
Contents
do you have my room
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the day of the slaughter of the Passover lamb, the disciples said to Jesus, "Where do you want us to go to prepare you for the Passover as a teacher?" Jesus sent two of his disciples and said to them, "Go into the city. You will find a man who is carrying him, and follow him wherever he goes, and say to the owner of the house, “Teacher says, ‘Where is my guest room, where I will eat the Passover with my disciples?’” You will see us there, prepare for us.” So the disciples went out and went into the city, and found them according to what Jesus had said, and prepared the Passover (Mark 14:12-16).
The Passover is the greatest biography of the Jewish people. The Passover is the feast that commemorates the liberation from Egypt. Preparations for the Jewish Passover were thorough.
First, the leaven in the house was thoroughly searched and removed.
When they originally came out of Egypt, they made unleavened bread and ate it. To commemorate the Passover, unleavened rice cakes were made, and they went one step further and searched every nook and cranny of the house to find and remove leaven.
Unleavened rice cakes have no taste and no shape. Leaven causes the bread to swell and, in excess, to rot.
The fact that they removed the leaven means that they should lead a pure and holy life as God's people.
It is true that bread made with yeast tastes good and looks good, but it is necessary to prevent spoilage.
Even if the Christian life of faith looks like unleavened bread, tasteless and uninteresting, it must not be corrupted.
Rotting is bad. If food is rotten, you cannot eat it, and if water is rotten, you cannot drink it. When politics decays, it ends. When a dynasty decays, it ends.
Let's get rid of leaven in our lives. Let's turn on the light of the word and search for leaven every corner and destroy it.
Second, I prepared bitter herbs.
They ate bitter herbs to remember the hardships they experienced while living under the tyranny of Egypt.
People hate writing. So, the more bitter the medicine, the more dragee it is made or put in a capsule.
However, if you keep away from it unconditionally and ignore it, you cannot expect the effect of bitter medicine.
As Rogers said, "The more crushed, the richer the fragrance." No matter how luxurious a perfume is, it cannot continue to emit fragrance for 10 or 20 years. It doesn't smell because the scent fades over time.
However, the fragrance of Jesus is still fragrant and fresh even after 2,000 years have passed. The reason is simple.
Because he crushed himself on the cross.
A man bought a rose and planted it in his front yard. They fertilized and watered them, and they did their best. Still, the roses did not bloom, so I went to a florist and asked why. However, the owner of the flower shop said, "You misunderstood, for that variety to flower only when planted in barren soil. Sandy soil is better than fertile soil, and it will not flower if you give it fertilizer. There will be fragrant flowers."
We must not forget the days when we lived on bitter herbs. And we must not forget our neighbors who are still eating bitter herbs.
As they chewed bitter herbs, they humbled themselves and suppressed their pride. And while eating bitter herbs, I thought of God's grace.
Third, a lamb offering was prepared.
According to the records of the historical researcher Josephus, every year at Passover, a crowd of 1 million people flocked to Jerusalem and 250,000 lambs were sacrificed for the Passover.
God sent ten plagues across Egypt to save the Jewish people who had been abused in Egypt. The last plague was the death of the firstborn.
However, the house that killed the lamb and put the blood on the doorpost was able to escape the disaster by passing over the house. After that, the Jews sacrificed the lamb with its blood at the Passover. It was to commemorate the incident where disaster was averted because of the blood of the Lamb. The important thing is that the Passover Lamb means Jesus Christ.
The Jews in Egypt were saved by the blood of animals, but we are saved by the blood of the Lamb Jesus. The Jews escaped calamity by putting blood on the doorposts, but we were spared death through the blood shed on the cross.
Which grace is the greater grace? Should the person who escaped disaster because of the beast feel great? Or should the emotion of those who escaped disaster because of Jesus be greater?
During the Bible reading class, the pastor read the account of Jesus' Passion.
I read the story of the betrayal of Judas, the arrest of Jesus, the being dragged away by Herod and the high priests, mocked and whipped, and finally being crucified up Calvary Hill.
At that time, a seven-year-old girl named Florence who had followed her mother began to whimper and cry. When the people around her looked at her, her mother greeted her with an apologetic expression and then scolded Florence in a low voice.
“Why are you doing this, you want to be quiet?” But Florence did not stop crying and began to weep louder. People looked at the mother and the crying child as if to get them out quickly. When her mother urged her to stop crying, Florence cried in response. “How could they do that to Jesus?”
At this word, the hall became silent. The girl gave a great sermon that day. Later, the girl became Florence Barclay, a literary woman.
Since when did we become insensitivity patients? Excitement and gratitude have departed from us. Even looking at the cross, there is no emotion. There is no emotion in participating in Holy Communion. Let us not forget the unleavened bread, the bitter herb, and the blood of the Lamb.
The text is an article in which Jesus asked his disciples to prepare a house for the Passover meal. When you send your disciples to the town, you will meet a man carrying a bottle of water, and if you ask him, "Where is my guest room?" He said that he would lead you. Jesus had set a place for the Passover supper to be with his disciples in advance, and then sent them out. That was the upper room in Jerusalem.
The phrase “where is my guest room?” is in line with the saying to the owner of the donkey, “The Lord will use it.” The disciples said to the donkey owner. "The Lord said he would use it."
Then the owner gave the donkey away without a word, and the Lord rode on the donkey and left the village of Bethphage and went up to Jerusalem.
The Roman triumphal general enters the castle on a white horse with a long sword in his armor. But the entry of Jesus is the entry of death to carry the cross.
So instead of a white horse, he rode a staggering young donkey.
However, when he comes again, he will descend on clouds and be escorted by heavenly armies of angels.
Then I think of that colt. The donkey staggered up to Jerusalem while carrying the young Jesus, and because of that incident that day, the donkey has become the theme of teaching and sermons until the Lord comes.
The dedication and obedience of the owner of the donkey, which he offered without hesitation when he said, “The Lord will use it,” teaches us a great lesson today.
The same is true for the attic. At that time Jerusalem had a magnificent royal palace and temple. And there were also many great mansions of the rich. But the attic was not a luxury house, nor was it a public building. And that dinner that day wasn't a lavish party. It was the last supper before the cross.
It is a simple attic, an attic without much decoration. Even now, if you go to Jerusalem, there is an attic room, but it's not very shabby.
However, when he said, "Where is my guest room?", the owner left the attic without a second thought.
We should note the word here. It was the owner's upper room, not Jesus' property.
However, since that day, the attic has become a popular destination for Christians around the world. There is no pilgrim who does not visit the attic where the supper was served.
Even a helpless donkey became famous after the Lord rode it, and a cheap attic was also loaned to Jesus and became a world famous place.
There are several ways to use what I have.
The first is when I write by myself.
In this case, I am only happy, useful and content.
Second, you can share the joy with someone you share.
In this case, you can share the joy with the person you write with.
The third is the case of being stolen or stolen.
In this case, it is not only upsetting, unpleasant, and damaging.
The fourth is to give to the Lord. In this case, I, others, and the Lord feel good and overflow with joy. It is the joy of a donkey owner or an attic owner.
Let's conclude with our story.
Do I have any colts for the Lord among my possessions?
Do you have a room for the Lord in our space?
If you were asked, "Is there a room for me?" or "Is there a donkey for me to ride?", what can we answer?
Lord, I am a donkey.
My body is your young donkey.
My soul is your room.
Come and sit down.
My heart is the manger and the room.
Amen