Make Room
… to whom He presented Himself alive … seen by them during forty days. … while they watched He was taken up. Then they returned … a Sabbath day’s journey. And when they entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying… These continued with one accord in prayer and supplication.
Some of the lines we read in Acts 1. Take note the upper room was the place of the last supper. Jesus had disciples secure the room with a request that the Master had need of it. The disciples had been commanded to return to Galilee where Jesus would appear to them. Following multiple appearances by Jesus they returned to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Pentecost. Pentecost would occur seven Sabbaths plus one day beyond Passover. Jesus at the ascension on Mt. Olivet, the fortieth day of His appearing, told the disciples to stay in Jerusalem until they received the promise of the Father. On the Day of Pentecost, in the upper room, the presence and power of the Holy Spirit filled the disciples.
While in Jerusalem, at least those last 10 days the disciples stayed together in the upper room in one accord. I do not mention this for us to rally the troops to a retreat or camp though this certainly depicts benefits of such gathering. It is not to promote unity of focus though that is a biblical principle emphasized here as well as in other Scriptures. I point out the dedication of one to offer his property to continued use by the Master. I do not believe we are made aware of the owner of the upper room or his position. What we do see is a continued openness to the use of his room to be used for God encounters.
