What is the Upper Room Discourse?

Response

The Upper Room Discourse refers to a series of teachings by Jesus that are exclusively found in the Gospel of John. This discourse consists of the instructions Jesus gave to His disciples on the evening before His crucifixion while they were participating in the Passover (the Last Supper) in the “upper room.”

An upper room would typically be located on the roof of a standard house and could be either open-air or covered by a canopy. It would have had external access, allowing Jesus and His disciples to come and go without disturbing the homeowners. Although the term “upper room” is not mentioned in John, both Mark and Luke describe the location of their final meal together as an upper room (KJV) provided by a homeowner.

“On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples inquired, ‘Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?’

“So He sent two of His disciples, instructing them, ‘Go into the city, and you will meet a man carrying a jar of water. Follow him. Say to the owner of the house he enters, “The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?” He will show you a large upstairs room, furnished and ready. Make the necessary preparations there'” (Mark 14:12-15; emphasis added).

While John does not provide the background information about the upper room as Mark and Luke do, John 13 begins with the meal already underway. In this chapter, Jesus washes His disciples’ feet, foretells Judas’ betrayal (without naming him), and predicts Peter’s denial. Although these events occur in the upper room, they are not typically considered part of the “Upper Room Discourse,” which officially commences in chapter 14. (Please note that the title “Upper R

“Upper Room Discourse” is a term that Bible scholars use to refer to a portion of Scripture. It is not present in the text of Scripture itself, similar to how chapter and verse divisions were added later and are not inspired.)

John 14 is the only block of teaching that occurs in the upper room. Most include the content in chapters 15—17 as part of the “Upper Room Discourse” because it all takes place on the same occasion—just before Jesus’ arrest. The theme is Jesus’ final words to His disciples, meant to comfort and prepare them. In chapter 14, Jesus tells His disciples not to be troubled because He will be leaving them. He is going to prepare a place for them and will return. They do not yet understand what He means by this and are still struggling with the idea that He will be betrayed and crucified. Jesus tells them that He is the only way to the Father, that if they have seen Him, they have seen the Father, and that He will send the Holy Spirit to them after He is gone to comfort them.

The last words of John 14 are “come, let us leave,” indicating that Jesus and the disciples are departing the upper room. They are walking to the Garden of Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives (cf. Mark 14:26), and the ensuing teaching happens while they are walking there and perhaps stopping along the way.

In John 15, Jesus gives the famous illustration of the vine and the branches. Jesus is the vine, and the disciples are the branches. They cannot bear fruit unless they remain connected to Him. He commands them to love each other and warns them that the world will hate them as it hates Him. Once again, He promises the Holy Spirit will come to them.

In John 16, Jesus warns them not to fall away from Him due to the grief they will soon experience. He tells them to be encouraged because He has overcome the world.

John 17 records Jesus’ prayer for His disciplYes, sometimes referred to as Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer. He prays for their unity and their protection and for that of believers yet to come: “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message” «Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; », (John 17:20). He also looks forward to the glory that He will once again possess after He completes the Father’s will in the crucifixion and resurrection.

John 18 begins, “When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it” (verse 1). What happened there in the Garden of Gethsemane is recorded in the other gospels. (See Matthew 26:36-46 or Mark 14:32-42).

Some of Jesus’ most beloved and comforting words are from the Upper Room Discourse:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.” « Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. », (John 14:1)

“I am going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:2-3)

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” «Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. », (John 14:6)

“Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” «Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and

Yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? », (John 14:9)

“If you love me, keep my commands.” « If ye love me, keep my commandments. », (John 14:15)

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” «I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. », (John 15:5)

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.” «As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. », (John 15:9)

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” «Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. », (John 15:13)

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” «If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. », (John 15:18)

“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.” «Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. », (John 16:13)

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you

will face challenges. However, be encouraged! I have conquered the world.” «I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.», (John 16:33)