INTRODUCTION

This oft-quoted group of verses has a number of pieces in it that seem to need some

careful analysis. And, while we may not yet solve all of its mysteries, it will be helpful

to question its various parts.

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THE CONNECTION TO CHAPTER 13

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The very first words of 14:1 will make no sense unless they are connected to what went

before them. All of Chapter 13 is about Jesus' pending departure. In verse 33 Jesus is

very explicit that he is going where his disciples could not follow (then). The chapter

ends with the demoralizing statement to Peter that Peter would deny Jesus. Things

couldn't get much more discouraging! It is with this in mind that Chapter 14's message

begins.

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"LET NOT YOUR HEART BE TROUBLED"

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It is in response to the discouraging tone of Chapter 13 that Jesus begins this new

message. It is, in fact, NOT a new message. It is a continuation of the subject of his

going away -- to a place where in 13:33 Jesus said the disciples could not come (then).

He now will tell them WHY they cannot come -- but that, indeed, they COULD come

later! THAT is the primary purpose of 14:1-4.

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To paraphrase this first sentence of Chapter 14:

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"As bad as everything seems from what I have just told you, I want to

explain WHY you should not have any deep-seated trouble in your souls."

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"YOU BELIEVE IN GOD; BELIEVE ALSO IN ME."

 

This sentence was probably uttered because of the pending circumstances. The

disciples DID believe in God. And they had a great faith in Jesus up to this point. But

NOW things were going to "go wrong" -- at least in the sight of the non-spirit-begotten

Apostles. By this sentence, Jesus is encouraging them to look beyond their natural

eyesight as men and beyond their own reasoning abilities. They were going to see their

hopes dashed. Jesus was encouraging that they don't. He was saying, "Regardless of

what is about to happen, do not lose faith in me." As they would later say on the road

to Emmaus, "We believed it was he who would deliver Israel." (Luke 24:21) Notice the

past tense of that verb -- "believed." It shows that their belief had failed them. It was

this failure that Jesus was attempting to avoid with this sentence in 14:1. It didn't work

-- at least not until Jesus again appeared to them before his ascension (as he would do in

Luke 24:31, 32).

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A HOUSE OF MANSIONS

 

As verse 2 begins, Jesus begins to explain WHY the disciples could not NOW go where

he was going. He needed, among other things, to deal with the unseen with disciples

who mostly knew only about what they could see. Jesus surely knew that his words

could not possibly have the meaning for his disciples that those words would later have.

But Jesus' words here are for them LATER (after Pentecost) and for us -- all of whom

need the information he here presents.

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It seems that "house" is a word which represents a covenant. (See Hebrews 3:5, 6 as

an example.) When intelligent beings are at harmony with God, they dwell in covenant

relationship with Him. Thus 14:2 seems to be saying, "In covenant relationship with

God, there is more than one kind of existence." There is more than one kind of Creator-

Creature relationship -- due, mainly, to the many varieties of natures.

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"Mansions" is not a good translation! But the translators probably had both

ignorance and tradition to overcome. The Strong's entry for "mansions" is G. 3438.

It means "a staying" (noun). It comes from the Greek (3306) verb which means "to

stay." Where we "stay" is where we ought to be. It is a permanence. It is where we

"rest" because all circumstances have been planned to make us comfortable there.

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(Interestingly, in Jude 6, where the angels are said to have not kept their

"first estate," there IS NO GREEK WORD for "estate." In other words, the

angels kept not where they should have stayed. "They kept not their first."

"First" is the the Greek "arche." It is the same word as in John 1:1 -- "In the

beginning." ALL of God's creatures were created for a condition, space, home

-- or "STAYING PLACE" -- where they BEGAN (arche) -- specifically designed

for them. It is their "first" or PRIMARY condition or "staying place.")

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Thus Jesus is beginning his explanation for his disciples by saying, "My father's

covenanted creations all enjoy conditions designed for them to STAY in for eternity."

And there are MANY such conditions. But there was NOT YET any such condition for

the Church beyond the veil. It had to be prepared. Thus, Jesus would say, "I go to

prepare a place FOR YOU."

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"IF NOT, I WOULD HAVE TOLD YOU"

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This is, indeed, a mysterious sentence! THE MESSAGE translation has an interesting

solution for it. It reads, "If that weren't so, would I have told you that I'm on my way

to get a room ready for YOU?" This remedy seems appealing because it affirms that

the disciples ALSO would need a condition -- a "staying," or permanent kind of place

for what THEY WOULD BE. The fact is, THAT KIND of staying-permanence for the

eventual natures of the disciples DID NOT YET EXIST! Jesus, himself, did not even

yet have it yet! THAT "staying" condition is "immortality" -- the Divine Nature -- what

the glorified "body of Christ" as an office of "kings and priests" was to possess. Jesus

seems to be saying that THAT kind of existence ("staying") was not yet among the

MANY "staying" ("mansion") conditions that DID exist. And, apparently, it must have

preparations made for it.

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"I GO TO PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU."

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THE MESSAGE, while helpful and colorful, is not close enough to the Greek text to

satisfy many. Perhaps closer would be: "If it were otherwise, I would have told you so

because I go to prepare a place for YOU." In other words, Jesus seems to be saying

that WE would have to have, just like all other specialized creations, a KIND OF PLACE

designed just with US in mind. Thus, "If it were not true that each covenanted creation

needs its own 'staying place' -- its own unique eternal condition ('mansion') -- it would

not make sense to you that I must go to PREPARE such a place for you exclusively."

Jesus has thus explained both WHY he must go away, and WHY the disciples cannot yet

follow him (yet).

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"AND IF I GO AND PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU..."

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The "if" is not about whether or not he would go! The "if" is for what follows. In other

words, "If (or since) I'm preparing such a place, you may BE ASSURED that I'm not

doing so in vain! I WILL come again and receive you unto myself once again! THAT's

why I'm going: in order to prepare your special place. I, too, will be in that 'staying

place,' and where I am, YOU also will be. [But you CANNOT come with me NOW

because that place is not yet prepared.]"

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VERSE 4

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This is also mysterious! -- "And you know the way I am going." Well! Clearly (in the

next verse) Thomas didn't think so!

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But if we look carefully, Jesus is going to point out that HE, personally, will BE the

"way" that THEY will have to go in order to be a part of the "place" Jesus was preparing

for them. In essence, Jesus is making a pun! In verse 4, he says that they know theReturn to 2024 Index

"way" Jesus is going. They HAD SEEN (for 3-1/2 years) the "way" he travelled. What

he is ACTUALLY saying is that they know HOW JESUS GOT WHERE HE IS GOING.

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Therefore, when Thomas doesn't get the point, Jesus says (verse 6), "I am the 'way.'"

In essence: "If you want to get to the place I am preparing, FOLLOW THE EXAMPLE

WHICH I GAVE TO YOU. I AM the 'way.' THAT (my example) is the road to where we

are all going -- to the 'place' I am preparing for you so that you CAN later COME where I

am going."

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Jesus expands the thought: He is the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE. Accepting

him is the way (the JUSTIFICATION) for an acceptance with God. Once that

JUSTIFICATION has been attained, Jesus becomes the truth. The truth is the tool

for SANCTIFICATION -- the consecrated walk. (John 17: SANCTIFY them by thy

Thy truth; Thy Word is truth.) Finally, if we are faithful, Jesus has brought us all the

way to the Divine life -- the first resurrection, or the place he is preparing for us --

GLORIFICATION. Dear Thomas probably soon realized where he was going and

how to get there!

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