John 14:2 Commentary and Bible Study

The second remedy is that they must grasp that his mission has a heavenly objective. He has not come to set up a better state among the Jewish people on earth. He has come to secure heaven for thousands of needy sinners, millions of needy sinners, possibly even billions of needy sinners. This is all about eternity. The great objective of the Christian faith and the Christian life is the hereafter, the forever, the glorious eternity. Not long prior to these events they had been unworthily debating among themselves who would be the greatest in the courts of the Lord Jesus Christ when he came into his power. They thought it was all earthly, but it is not earthly, he says, it is heavenly: ‘I go to prepare a place for you.’‘In my Father’s house are many mansions.’ It does not make sense. How can you have mansions in a house? And some, though not all, of the modern translations attempt to solve the problem by translating the word ‘In my Father’s house are many rooms.’ Now what the Greek says is in my Father’s house are many dwelling-places. And our King James translators have absolutely got the point when they interpret that a little and translate it ‘mansions’. To translate it ‘rooms’ is to downplay the whole sense sadly.Why does the Lord say ‘house’? Why does he not say in heaven? The spacious, heavenly glory. No, he says ‘house’ because it indicates that in the eternal glory, though there actually will be vast, vast spaces, we are a family: millions upon millions of people saved by the Lord, one day in glorified bodies dwelling in that eternal heavenly glory. And yet ‘house’ brings us together. There will be an extraordinary spiritual unity and kinship, and all will know each other, and best of all know the Lord. So it has got to be a house to give that impression of family, though it is on a vast scale.And in that house, there are many dwelling places. Mansions is good because they will be splendid dwelling places, but we are speaking spiritually of course. In that family household, vast as it will be in space and numbers, each unit, each person will have eternal bliss, and so much knowledge and holiness and glory, and access to the Saviour, and praise and worship. You can only describe that glory and happiness and bliss and fulfilment in terms of a mansion, not in terms of a room. ‘In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you.’ You are being given a complete revelation of the truth about the future. There will be no shocking discovery that after all not all the saved people of God will have room in heaven. That is unthinkable. You are being told everything truly. He is drawing their minds to eternity. Now is not the objective, says the Lord. Now is the time of gathering in the elect of God, then is the fulfilment and the glory.How does he prepare it? By suffering and dying on Calvary. That’s what he’s about to do, by making an atonement for us, by suffering in our place, by rising from the dead to prove that he had done it and fully accomplished our redemption. He is going to make a perfect offering of himself, a perfect offering of righteousness to the Father on our behalf, and to make an atonement for our sin.