My father’s house has many rooms

John 14:2-4 - Could there be a more comforting and hopeful thought for those in Christ, knowing that they will be in Heaven and have eternal fellowship with the Creator of All?

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“My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”

‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭2‬-‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 14 is a place of comfort in a troubled world, calming those who are worried and providing hope in Jesus Christ. Enduring Word has this anecdote about this beloved chapter of the Gospel of John:

James Barrie was the man who wrote Peter Pan, among other works. One of his books was about his mother, Margaret Ogilvy, and his growing up in Scotland. His mother endured a lot of misery in life, including the tragic death of one of her sons. According to Morrison¹, Barrie wrote that his mother’s favorite Bible chapter was John 14. She read it so much that when her Bible was opened and set down, the pages naturally fell open to this place. Barrie said that when she was old and could no longer read these words, she would stoop down to her Bible and kiss the page where the words were printed.

Why is John 14 so loved? It contains the reassuring words of Jesus to His disciples, just before His crucifixion and resurrection. Jesus speaks to all believers through the words that John captured for all time.

Jesus begins by letting His disciples know that there is room enough for all of them in Heaven — and for all of us who put our faith in Him. He refers to “My Father’s house”, which the Jewish disciples would immediately recognize as Heaven. In the Old Testament, the temple in Jerusalem as thought of as God’s earthly dwelling. Jesus is expanding this to a heavenly realm, and through His use of “My Father’s house” He emphasizes that God is His father.

Different translations of the original Greek πολύς μονή (polys moné) provide their own meanings to “many rooms”. Some translate it as “mansions”, “dwelling places”, or “abodes”, all of which connote security in a permanent place. By telling His disciples that there are “many rooms” in His Father’s house, Jesus says that there is space and provision for all believers. Each believer has not only the promise of eternal life, but of their own place in Heaven.

In the next part of verse 2 — if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? — Jesus reassures the disciples that His promises are certain and true! He has been telling them that He will die and be resurrected, and they will soon be witnesses to this. Mixed in with the sorrow after Jesus’ death and the joy of His resurrection, each disciple must have felt the absolute certainty of their own eternal life when He appeared to them.

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His sacrificial death and resurrection was the preparation for eternal life for all believers. In the Jewish custom of the time, a bridegroom would prepare a home for his bride. Jesus is saying that He is going to prepare a home for His church, symbolized in the New Testament as the bride of Christ.

In verse 3, Jesus provides even more reassurance to His disciples, saying that he “will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am”. This is a promise of His second coming, reflecting the hope and assurance of His return to fulfill God’s plan of redemption. In telling them that He will “take you to be with me that you also may be where I am,” Jesus reiterates that believers gain eternal communion with Him. Could there be a more comforting and hopeful thought for those in Christ, knowing that they will be in Heaven and have eternal fellowship with the Creator of All?

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Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:

Loving Father, thank You that the Lord Jesus is preparing a place for me in Heaven. I no longer fear death, but face that day with blessed reassurance that I will be with You forever in Your house. I await the return of Jesus with trust in Your Word, and pray for the salvation of all in Jesus’ name, AMEN.

Scripture quotations taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica US, Inc.®. Used by permission.

Commentary quotations from Enduring Word are used with the written permission of the author

1. Morrison, George H. "Morrison on John" Volume 1 and Volume 2 (The Glasgow Pulpit Series) (Chattanooga, Tennessee: AMG Publishers, 1977)