The Upper Room (1)

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In this episode, Jesus connects a simple, humble act—washing Little James’ feet—to something much bigger: being a carrier of good news. He refers to a verse from the prophet Isaiah: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, publishes peace and proclaims salvation” [04:11-05:54 min].

How do you feel when you see Jesus do this—especially for Little James, who struggles with walking?
What is the best news you have ever heard? Do you remember who brought it to you?

In his letter to the church in Ephesus, Paul also speaks about feet. He encourages believers to stay strong in the Lord and to put on the full armour of God. Feet are an important part of this armour.

In both Isaiah and Ephesians, feet are connected to purpose—bringing good news and standing firm.

Let’s read Isaiah 52:7 and Ephesians 6:10-20.

Isaiah 52:7

Ephesians 6:10-20

What is the purpose of the armour of God?
What does it mean to put on the armour of God?
What does it mean to have your feet fitted with readiness?
How are bringing good news and being prepared connected?

Jesus shows that something small—like feet—can carry great purpose. Paul reminds us that those same feet need to be grounded and ready. Deepening your faith means not only knowing the good news but living from it and being ready to carry it into the world.

Do you have “beautiful feet”? How are you a bringer of good news, a publisher of peace and a proclaimer of salvation today?
What does it look like for you to wear the armour of God daily? How do you protect yourself spiritually?
How can you support each other in staying strong in faith?
Where are your feet taking you this week? What is your purpose there?

In this episode, simple moments—things the disciples see, hear, smell or feel while on their way to the Upper Room—trigger memories from their past.

What kinds of things trigger memories for you?
What reminds you of something beautiful?
What reminds you of something difficult?

When Little James hears the Temple choir, he remembers how he once felt called to be a part of it but was rejected because of his limp. On his journey, he meets Jesus. The first thing Jesus does is light a fire to warm him. Then he sits beside Little James and says, “I would love to hear your story” [49:31-56:48 min].

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus meets people where they are—Nicodemus, with all his questions (John 3); the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4), and many more.

Paul does something similar in Athens. He is deeply troubled by the idolatry he sees, but let’s see how he chooses to respond to the Athenians.

Let’s read Acts 17:16-32.

Acts 17:16-32

16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.

17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.

18 A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.

19 Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?”

20 You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.

21 All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.

22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.”

23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

24 The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.

25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.

26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.

27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.

28 “For in him we live and move and have our being.” As some of your own poets have said, “We are his offspring.”

29 Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill.

30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.

31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.

32 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.”

What do you notice about Paul’s reaction to the city?
How does he meet the people where they are and start the conversation?
What does Paul not do? What tone does he avoid?
What can we learn from Paul’s example about sharing the good news with others?

Jesus and Paul show us that living out our faith with others begins with connection—seeing people, listening to their story and meeting them where they are. Only then can truth truly be heard.

As William Booth (founder of the Salvation Army) once said, “An empty stomach has no ears.” Sometimes people need to be cared for and understood before they are ready to listen.

Has anyone ever truly listened to your story? What impact did that have on you?
Whose story would you like to hear?
Who might need to hear you say, “I would love to hear your story”?
How can you meet someone where they are? What does it look like to truly listen before speaking?
How can your past become something God uses to shape you, rather than hold you back?

Jesus sends his disciples out with specific instructions to find the place where they will celebrate Passover. As they go, things unfold in a way that is too precise to be coincidental.

Have you ever experienced something that felt “too coincidental”—something you couldn’t fully explain?
How did you respond—did you ignore it, question it or act on it?

The disciples follow Jesus’ instructions and discover that everything happens just as he said it would. Different elements come together in a remarkable way.

Let’s read Mark 14:12-16.

Mark 14:12-16

What does this passage tell us about Jesus? What does it mean that he knows and directs these details in advance?
What do we learn from the disciples’ response? What does it show about their trust?
When is it easy to take action without full clarity? When is it difficult? Why?
How do trust and understanding relate—do you need to understand first, or can trust lead to deeper understanding?

Sometimes we are called to take steps without having the full picture. Following Jesus isn’t only about understanding—it’s about trusting him in the moments when we don’t understand.

The Chosen imagines one possible way the preparation of the Passover meal could have happened. Mark prepares the upper room in their home after having a dream. His father thinks it’s all very strange—until everything happens just as Mark has told him.

Are you willing to act on a sense of direction, even when it’s not fully clear?
Are you more cautious or bold in those situations? Why?
How do you discern when to act—and when not to? What boundaries help guide your decision?
Have you experienced something that seemed coincidental but later felt meaningful? How did you interpret it?

Jesus knows his time has come. As he gathers with his disciples for the Passover meal, he does something that shocks his followers. Their Teacher and Master kneels down and washes their feet.

Has anyone ever served you in a way that felt uncomfortable or surprising? How did you respond?
Why do you think this moment would have been so shocking for the disciples?

The disciples were used to thinking in terms of status—who is greater and who belongs where. Jesus’ action completely reverses that way of thinking. He takes the position of a servant and connects it to something deeper than just the act itself.

Let’s read John 13.

John 13

1 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.

3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;

4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.

5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.”

11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them.

13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.”

14 “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.”

15 “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”

16 “Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.”

17 “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

18 “I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill this passage of Scripture: ‘He who shared my bread has turned against me.’”

19 “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am.”

20 “Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.”

21 After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.”

22 His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant.

23 One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him.

24 Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.”

25 Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?”

26 Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.

27 As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. So Jesus told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.”

28 But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him.

29 Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor.

30 As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.

31 “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him.”

32 “If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.”

33 “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.”

34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

35 “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

36 Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”

37 Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”

38 Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!”

What does this passage show us about Jesus?
What does this teach us about leadership? What example is Jesus giving us?
Jesus says Peter does not need to be completely washed because the disciple is already clean. What does that mean?
Just like Peter, we pick up “dust” as we walk through life. In what ways do we “get dirty” in our daily lives? How do you make sure your heart remains clean?

Jesus shows that faith is not just something internal or theoretical. It becomes visible in humble, practical acts of love and service. Jesus calls us not only to understand this, but to follow his example.

Would you be willing to serve others in a humble way like this? Why or why not?
Who would be difficult for you to serve? Why?
How do you respond to receiving help or care from others?
How might “washing feet” look in your daily life?
Who is God inviting you to serve this week?

SEASON 5 - EPISODE 7

The Upper Room (1)

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Initial Reflections

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Isaiah 52:7

Ephesians 6:10-20

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Acts 17:16-32

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Mark 14:12-16

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John 13

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