Where is the Real Upper Room?
The Upper and Lower Rooms of the House of David
You must add to your bucket list a visit the Upper Room in Jerusalem! Why? This is where Jesus shared the “last supper” with His disciples the night before He was crucified. This is also where the disciples met and prayed as they waited for Holy Spirit to come. The Upper Room is a very important place to Christians because of the fundamental events of Christianity that took place there.
But which Upper Room should you visit? Several places have been claimed as the Upper Room. How do we know which one is the correct place? It is important to have the correct place because the details of the archaeology help us understand the Bible accurately.
The most commonly accepted location of the Upper Room is a place outside the Zion gate called the Cenacle. It is clearly not the original first century structure where the disciples met. The building that is currently there is a14th century structure. It sits above a place that is traditionally held as David’s tomb. However, there are very few indicators that this is the correct site.
Rather than follow tradition or our logic I prefer to follow the Bible and ancient inscriptions that locate the real site. Some of our English translations say the disciples and Christ met in “an upper room.” Some people who try to locate the original site look for a room that is above another in elevation. The problem with this method of discovery is that many rooms in Jerusalem are above another because they are terraced into the sides of the hills.
The upper room where Christ sent His disciples was not just an upper room but it was a specific place Christ was referring to. The upper room is a room that is opposite of a lower room. What is a lower room? It is a place of death. In the first century the Jews in Jerusalem employed the practice of ossuaries. They would lay a body in a grave for two years, then take the bones out, dry them and put them in a box called an ossuary. There was not enough room in Jerusalem to bury everyone who ever died there so they implemented the practice of ossuaries around the third century B.C. The lower room is where the bones were dried and placed in an ossuary.
The upper room was a synagogue that was used for teaching the Bible and as a guesthouse for travelers. Jesus had the “last supper” in the Upper Room with His disciples. The meal Christ observed with His disciples was the traditional Seder meal that Jews observe the eve of Passover (Mark 14:12). The command for God’s people to keep this meal is found in Exodus 12.
Mark 14:13 records that Jesus sent two of His disciples into Jerusalem from Bethany (which is a short distance up the Kidron Valley). He said they would find a young man carrying a pitcher of water. They should follow him to the Upper Room. This young man was the keeper of the guest chamber (or the synagogue) of the Upper Room. Why follow the man carrying a pitcher of water? Jesus knew the law that required those eating the Seder meal to wash their hands in fresh water from a spring before they ate. The only fresh running spring in Jerusalem at that time was the Gihon Spring. The young man was walking down the Kidron Valley from the Gihon Spring carrying the pot of fresh water for any guests to use to wash their hands so they could keep the Seder meal in the synagogue of the Upper Room. I realize this account is far different than the traditional Christian version of the last supper we normally hear but this account is taken from the Bible.
I like what I heard my friend Archaeologist Eli Shukrun say about finding ancient sites. He said, “When you find a site that fits the Bible and history, 80% chance you have the right site. But, when you find an inscription you’re finished because you know exactly what you have.” I love the ancient inscriptions because they leave little question to the accuracy of the ancient sites.
In 1913 Raimond Weill found an inscription in Ancient Greek that identifies a synagogue and guesthouse. Very near where this inscription was found Eli Shukrun found the remains of an ancient lower room and upper room. This structure is close to the Gihon Spring. This inscription even gives us the name of the keeper of the Upper Room! His name was Theodotos. Thus the inscription is known as the Theodotos inscription.
Why is this important to us? Not only does the archaeology verify the Bible, it helps us understand the Bible accurately. Jesus followed the Old Testament Laws. The meal He observed with His disciples was the Seder meal of Exodus 12. This is the background for the very important words Jesus spoke to His disciples in Luke 22:19: “This do in remembrance of Me.” The yearly Passover meal teaches God’s people about Jesus. His is the fulfillment of the Passover sacrifice. He gave His life so we can live.
The Upper Room is above the lower room, a place of death. Jesus has overcome death and gives eternal life to His followers. The actual site of the Upper Room teaches us about the significance of the last supper Jesus observed with His disciples.
© Dr. Steven L Smith 2016
But which Upper Room should you visit? Several places have been claimed as the Upper Room. How do we know which one is the correct place? It is important to have the correct place because the details of the archaeology help us understand the Bible accurately.
The most commonly accepted location of the Upper Room is a place outside the Zion gate called the Cenacle. It is clearly not the original first century structure where the disciples met. The building that is currently there is a14th century structure. It sits above a place that is traditionally held as David’s tomb. However, there are very few indicators that this is the correct site.
Rather than follow tradition or our logic I prefer to follow the Bible and ancient inscriptions that locate the real site. Some of our English translations say the disciples and Christ met in “an upper room.” Some people who try to locate the original site look for a room that is above another in elevation. The problem with this method of discovery is that many rooms in Jerusalem are above another because they are terraced into the sides of the hills.
The upper room where Christ sent His disciples was not just an upper room but it was a specific place Christ was referring to. The upper room is a room that is opposite of a lower room. What is a lower room? It is a place of death. In the first century the Jews in Jerusalem employed the practice of ossuaries. They would lay a body in a grave for two years, then take the bones out, dry them and put them in a box called an ossuary. There was not enough room in Jerusalem to bury everyone who ever died there so they implemented the practice of ossuaries around the third century B.C. The lower room is where the bones were dried and placed in an ossuary.
The upper room was a synagogue that was used for teaching the Bible and as a guesthouse for travelers. Jesus had the “last supper” in the Upper Room with His disciples. The meal Christ observed with His disciples was the traditional Seder meal that Jews observe the eve of Passover (Mark 14:12). The command for God’s people to keep this meal is found in Exodus 12.
Mark 14:13 records that Jesus sent two of His disciples into Jerusalem from Bethany (which is a short distance up the Kidron Valley). He said they would find a young man carrying a pitcher of water. They should follow him to the Upper Room. This young man was the keeper of the guest chamber (or the synagogue) of the Upper Room. Why follow the man carrying a pitcher of water? Jesus knew the law that required those eating the Seder meal to wash their hands in fresh water from a spring before they ate. The only fresh running spring in Jerusalem at that time was the Gihon Spring. The young man was walking down the Kidron Valley from the Gihon Spring carrying the pot of fresh water for any guests to use to wash their hands so they could keep the Seder meal in the synagogue of the Upper Room. I realize this account is far different than the traditional Christian version of the last supper we normally hear but this account is taken from the Bible.
I like what I heard my friend Archaeologist Eli Shukrun say about finding ancient sites. He said, “When you find a site that fits the Bible and history, 80% chance you have the right site. But, when you find an inscription you’re finished because you know exactly what you have.” I love the ancient inscriptions because they leave little question to the accuracy of the ancient sites.
In 1913 Raimond Weill found an inscription in Ancient Greek that identifies a synagogue and guesthouse. Very near where this inscription was found Eli Shukrun found the remains of an ancient lower room and upper room. This structure is close to the Gihon Spring. This inscription even gives us the name of the keeper of the Upper Room! His name was Theodotos. Thus the inscription is known as the Theodotos inscription.
Why is this important to us? Not only does the archaeology verify the Bible, it helps us understand the Bible accurately. Jesus followed the Old Testament Laws. The meal He observed with His disciples was the Seder meal of Exodus 12. This is the background for the very important words Jesus spoke to His disciples in Luke 22:19: “This do in remembrance of Me.” The yearly Passover meal teaches God’s people about Jesus. His is the fulfillment of the Passover sacrifice. He gave His life so we can live.
The Upper Room is above the lower room, a place of death. Jesus has overcome death and gives eternal life to His followers. The actual site of the Upper Room teaches us about the significance of the last supper Jesus observed with His disciples.
© Dr. Steven L Smith 2016