Great Events in Four Rooms

Text: Luke 22:7–12
Series: Sermons 2001 Rewritten
Date:
Speaker: Ed Rangel
Location: Waupaca Church of Christ
Bible Version: NASB 1995
Sermon Type: Expository

Learning Objectives

1. Explain how the upper room of Luke 22 connects the Passover to the death of Christ.
2. Show how Luke 24 teaches that Christ must be understood through the Scriptures.
3. Identify the obedience, prayer, unity, and biblical authority seen in Acts 1.
4. Recognize what God authorizes the church to do when it assembles.
5. Respond to the gospel by hearing, believing, repenting, confessing Christ, being baptized for the remission of sins, and living faithfully.

Thesis

God used ordinary rooms to reveal extraordinary truth, and He still uses the gathered assembly as a place where Christ is remembered, Scripture is opened, worship is offered, and sinners are called to obey the gospel.

Introduction.

1. Great events in Scripture often happened in ordinary places. a. Jerusalem saw prophets rejected and the Christ crucified. b. Caesarea saw the gospel openly preached to the Gentiles in the house of Cornelius. c. Antioch became a center of teaching, and the disciples were first called Christians there.
2. Luke 22 turns our attention to a room that looked ordinary but carried eternal weight. a. Jesus sent Peter and John to prepare the Passover. b. The room was furnished, ready, and chosen for a purpose. c. In that room, Jesus pointed His disciples from the Passover lamb to His own body and blood.
3. This sermon follows four rooms. a. The upper room where Christ instituted the Lord’s Supper. b. The room at Emmaus where Christ opened eyes through the Scriptures. c. The upper room in Acts 1 where the apostles waited, prayed, and submitted to Scripture. d. This room, where the gospel is preached, worship is offered, and sinners are called to obey Christ.
4. The issue is not sentimental attachment to a building. a. The walls do not save. b. The room itself is not holy. c. The question is whether Christ is honored by what His people do under His authority.

I. In the Upper Room, Christ Took the Passover and Pointed His Disciples to His Death.

A. Luke places this room under the shadow of the Passover.

1. Luke 22:7 says the day of Unleavened Bread came, “on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.” a. Jesus was not arranging a casual meal. b. Peter and John were sent to prepare what God had commanded Israel to remember. c. The scene is controlled by redemption, sacrifice, blood, and deliverance.
2. Exodus 12 gives the Old Testament background. a. Israel was in bondage in Egypt. b. God commanded the Passover lamb to be slain. c. Blood marked the houses of those who obeyed God.
3. The Passover was never Israel’s invention. a. God gave the command. b. God defined the sacrifice. c. God provided deliverance through blood.

B. Jesus uses that Passover setting to point to His own sacrifice.

1. Luke 22:14–20 shows Jesus taking the bread and cup. a. He said, “This is My body which is given for you.” b. He said, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.” c. The Lord’s Supper was born under the shadow of the cross.
2. John 1:29 identifies Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” a. The Passover lamb pointed backward to deliverance from Egypt. b. Christ points us to greater deliverance from sin. c. The blood of animals could never do what the blood of Christ accomplished.
3. First Corinthians 5:7 says, “For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.” a. Paul does not treat Passover as empty history. b. He sees Christ as the fulfillment of what Passover anticipated. c. The church must remember Christ with reverence, not routine.

C. The Lord’s Supper must not become common in our minds.

1. First Corinthians 11:26 says Christians proclaim the Lord’s death when they eat the bread and drink the cup. a. The Supper preaches the cross. b. The Supper keeps the Lord’s death before the church. c. The Supper looks forward until He comes.
2. A congregation can lose reverence without noticing. a. We can hold the bread and cup while our minds wander. b. We can train children to sit quietly without teaching them what the Supper means. c. We can treat the memorial of Christ’s death as if it were a small part of worship.
3. The upper room rebukes careless worship. a. Jesus gave this memorial on the night of betrayal. b. He gave it with His suffering in view. c. We have no right to treat casually what He gave solemnly.

II. In the Room at Emmaus, Christ Opened Eyes by Opening the Scriptures.

A. The disciples on the road had facts, but they lacked understanding.

1. Luke 24:13–24 shows two disciples walking to Emmaus. a. They knew Jesus had been crucified. b. They had heard reports of the empty tomb. c. They were still confused because they had not understood the Scriptures rightly.
2. Jesus rebuked their slow hearts. a. Luke 24:25 says, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!” b. Their problem was not lack of information only. c. Their problem was failure to believe what Scripture had already said.
3. Luke 24:27 says Jesus explained the things concerning Himself in Moses and all the prophets. a. Faith was not built on emotional excitement. b. Faith was not built on private imagination. c. Faith was built by the Scriptures opened and explained.

B. The Old Testament had already pointed to the suffering and glory of Christ.

1. Genesis 3:15 promised conflict between the seed of woman and the serpent. a. The promise began the long expectation of victory over evil. b. The seed would be wounded. c. The serpent would be crushed.
2. Isaiah 53 speaks of the suffering servant. a. He would be pierced through for our transgressions. b. He would bear the sins of many. c. His suffering was not weakness but God’s saving purpose.
3. Psalm 22 gives language and imagery connected with the suffering righteous one. a. The suffering is real. b. The rejection is bitter. c. Yet God’s purpose is not defeated.

C. Their eyes were opened when Christ made Scripture clear.

1. Luke 24:29–32 records the moment in the room. a. They urged Jesus to stay. b. He took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them. c. Their eyes were opened and they recognized Him.
2. They said their hearts burned while He explained the Scriptures. a. The fire came from truth, not religious entertainment. b. The power came from Scripture, not human cleverness. c. The risen Christ used the written word to correct unbelief.
3. The church must learn from that room. a. Preaching must open Scripture, not merely stir emotion. b. Bible classes must do more than collect opinions. c. Families must teach children why Christ suffered, rose, reigns, and must be obeyed.

III. In the Upper Room of Acts 1, the Apostles Waited, Prayed, and Submitted to Scripture.

A. The apostles obeyed the command of Christ.

1. Acts 1:4 says Jesus commanded them not to leave Jerusalem. a. They were not free to choose their own starting place. b. They were not free to run ahead of the Lord. c. They waited because Christ told them to wait.
2. Acts 1:12–14 shows them gathered in the upper room. a. They returned to Jerusalem. b. They were with one mind. c. They were continually devoted to prayer.
3. This room was marked by dependence. a. They did not confuse zeal with authority. b. They did not confuse activity with obedience. c. They waited, prayed, and trusted God’s timing.

B. The apostles handled the matter of Judas by Scripture.

1. Peter appealed to the Psalms. a. Acts 1:20 cites, “Let his homestead be made desolate.” b. Acts 1:20 also says, “Let another man take his office.” c. Scripture governed the decision.
2. Psalm 69 and Psalm 109 stand behind Peter’s words. a. Those psalms speak of the righteous sufferer and the judgment of the wicked. b. Peter applies them to Judas and the apostolic office. c. The decision was not made by preference or popularity.
3. The replacement had to meet God-given qualifications. a. He had to have accompanied the apostles during the Lord’s ministry. b. He had to be a witness of the resurrection. c. Matthias was added to the eleven apostles.

C. Acts 1 corrects careless religion.

1. The early disciples did not act first and search for verses later. a. They waited for Christ’s promise. b. They prayed in unity. c. They submitted to Scripture.
2. The church today needs the same spirit. a. Elders need Scripture to rule decisions. b. Preachers need Scripture to rule sermons. c. Families need Scripture to rule homes.
3. A congregation not ruled by Scripture will be ruled by something else. a. Personality will rule. b. Tradition will rule. c. Fear, money, or public pressure will rule.

IV. In This Room, Christ Is Honored When the Church Worships by His Authority and Sinners Obey the Gospel.

A. This room matters only when Christ’s authority governs what is done.

1. Matthew 18:20 says, “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” a. To gather in His name means to gather under His authority. b. The room itself does not make worship acceptable. c. Christ must govern the assembly.
2. Romans 1:16 says the gospel is God’s power for salvation. a. Gospel preaching is not religious noise. b. The death, burial, and resurrection of Christ are proclaimed. c. Sinners are called to obey Christ.
3. Acts 2:38 gives the response to the gospel. a. Sinners were told to repent. b. Sinners were told to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. c. Baptism is for the forgiveness of sins.

B. This room is where Christians worship according to Scripture.

1. The church prays. a. Hebrews 4:16 teaches that God’s people draw near to the throne of grace. b. Private prayer is good, but congregational prayer is not small. c. Brethren pray with shared faith, shared needs, and shared dependence.
2. The church sings. a. Colossians 3:16 says singing teaches and admonishes. b. Ephesians 5:19 says melody is made with the heart to the Lord. c. Singing is congregational worship, not performance religion.
3. The church gives. a. First Corinthians 16:2 gives the first-day-of-the-week pattern. b. Christians give as they prosper. c. Giving is ordered, willing service under Christ.
4. The church observes the Lord’s Supper. a. Acts 20:7 shows disciples gathered on the first day of the week to break bread. b. First Corinthians 11:26 says the Supper proclaims the Lord’s death. c. The Supper must be observed with reverence and remembrance.

C. The Old Testament teaches us to respect God’s authority.

1. Leviticus 10:1–2 records Nadab and Abihu offering unauthorized fire. a. They offered what God had not commanded. b. God judged them. c. Sincerity did not make unauthorized worship acceptable.
2. Genesis 6:14 records God specifying gopher wood for the ark. a. Noah was not free to choose any wood he preferred. b. God’s specification mattered. c. Faith obeys what God says.
3. The same principle applies to worship. a. The question is not, “Did God say we could not?” b. The faithful question is, “What has God authorized?” c. Worship must be ruled by Scripture, not preference.

D. This room is where souls may be saved and saints may be restored.

1. Acts 2:47 says the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. a. The saved were added by the Lord. b. They were not joining a denomination. c. They were added to the people of Christ.
2. Galatians 3:27 says those baptized into Christ have clothed themselves with Christ. a. Baptism is not a decorative symbol after salvation. b. Baptism is entrance into Christ. c. The new identity belongs to those who obey the gospel.
3. Luke 15:10 says there is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. a. Heaven is not indifferent to obedience. b. Repentance matters before God. c. When a sinner obeys Christ, the greatest event in that person’s life has taken place.

Application.

1. For the sinner, this room may be the place where resistance ends. a. You do not need a better mood. b. You do not need a more convenient season. c. You need to obey Christ.
2. For the Christian, this room must never become common. a. Prayer is not filler. b. Singing is not performance. c. The Lord’s Supper is not routine.
3. For the church, this room must be ruled by Scripture. a. We must not invent worship. b. We must not soften the gospel. c. We must not hide baptism or excuse false doctrine.
4. For parents, grandparents, and teachers, the next generation must know why we do what we do. a. They need to know why we sing without instruments. b. They need to know why we take the Supper every first day of the week. c. They need to know why baptism is for the forgiveness of sins.

Conclusion.

1. Four rooms stand before us. a. In the upper room, Jesus gave the memorial of His body and blood. b. In the Emmaus room, Jesus opened eyes through the Scriptures. c. In the upper room of Acts 1, the apostles waited, prayed, and submitted to Scripture.
2. This room now stands before us. a. The gospel is preached here. b. Worship is offered here. c. Sinners are invited here.
3. The room itself does not save. a. The walls do not sanctify. b. The building is not the church. c. But when the word of Christ rules the people of Christ, serious things happen here.
4. Do not leave unchanged. a. If the gospel has exposed your sin, do not ignore it. b. If Christ has offered mercy, do not delay. c. If the Lord calls, obey Him today.

Invitation.

1. Hear the word. a. Romans 10:17 says, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”
2. Believe Christ. a. John 8:24 teaches that unless one believes Jesus is who He claimed to be, he will die in his sins.
3. Repent. a. Acts 17:30 says God commands all people everywhere to repent.
4. Confess Christ. a. Romans 10:9–10 connects confession with faith and salvation.
5. Be baptized for the remission of sins. a. Acts 2:38 commands repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.
6. Live faithfully. a. Revelation 2:10 calls the people of Christ to be faithful until death.

Word Study.

Scripture Interlock Table.