I was listening to a song recently that mentioned the Christian’s mansion in heaven. I thought it was probably referring to Jesus’ words recorded in John 14:2. In the King James version of John 14:2 Jesus says to his disciples: “In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” The English Standard version is: “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” The New American Standard Bible version is: “In my Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.”
This idea of mansions in heaven is one of those things I have heard referenced here and there over the span of my life and just accepted it on the surface to mean generally we will be very happy in heaven, but to be honest the idea of each disciple having a mansion in heaven has always felt a little strange to me. I guess it’s partly because Jesus’ time on earth was spent in open relational faithfulness and nearly constant sacrificial service to others in joy. We can see this in an encounter Jesus had with a person who wanted to follow him. “As they were going along the road, someone said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” (Luke 9:57-58)
In contrast, when I think of mansions I think of enormous buildings of comfort where one goes in to chill by themselves or only with those closest to them as extensions of themselves. Well, maybe once in a while a mansion dweller would throw a party and invite others in. Still it just didn’t seem to fit. I wondered if the idea of having a mansion to ourselves in heaven was one of those places where something may have been translated to English clumsily or have a film of culture coating the original meaning. The Bible tells us not to seek earthly riches but to seek the kingdom of God. It’s not like we are told to avoid seeking earthly riches even though they are really the best stuff to have. We are to seek God himself, his word, and out of the overflow of that love seek the connection, enjoyment, and service to others because that’s the best stuff to have. We are not to seek earthly riches because they are temporal and empty. We are to seek relational riches because they are eternal and robust. So why when speaking to his disciples would Jesus refer to our dwelling place in heaven specifically as being a mansion? Why would the capstone to our life living one way be eternal life living another way? I began to study it deeper and found that Jesus wasn’t speaking about heaven at all.
John 14:1-3 is not about heaven. Nowhere in the Scriptures is heaven referred to as ”My Father’s house,” though in John 2:16 Jesus called the temple in Jerusalem “My Father’s house.” Jesus speaks from the context of the Old Testament which repeatedly named the Lord’s house or dwelling place as the place God chose to make his presence manifest. In the Psalms God’s house or dwelling is often the temple in Jerusalem. Some Scriptures refer to God’s house as the entirety of creation or the whole of the universe. In Isaiah 66:1 God himself asks: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest?'“ Psalm 90:1, and 91:9 depict God himself as our dwelling place.
The King James version’s use of the English word mansion is misleading. “Mansions” translates to English from the Greek word: μοναὶ (monai) which means lodging, dwelling-place, room, abode, or mansion. It is derived from the Greek word (meno) which means a staying, i.e. residence. However, in medieval times a mansion was a room and was not an enormous and posh house. Most translations use the English words many rooms, or many dwelling places instead of many mansions. Jesus is not saying that in heaven we will each live in large mansions or in rooms or cubbyholes. In Hebrew culture, a Father’s house was where extended family lived and rooms were added on as the family grew. This would have been a familiar illustration for the disciples.
Another familiar reference would have been the many rooms along the outer wall of the temple in Jerusalem where the priests ministered to people privately. So, Jesus was not saying that he would take his disciples to heaven (although that is true as well). He said I will take you to myself. He was going to the cross to atone for sin, conquer the power of death, and to resurrect in order to prepare a place for us. The temple would no longer be built by human hands. Jesus would send the Holy Spirit and the disciples would be the many rooms filled with the Spirit. Jesus was saying to his disciples that our dwelling place both now and forever is in him. He was also saying that like the temple priests who ministered to people in the rooms built into the outer temple wall in Jerusalem, his followers would have a place or position of purpose to minister in his name. This purpose he has given to all of his disciples, not just vocational ministers. I hope this is an encouragement to you. If you ever feel like you don’t have a place in this crazy world you can abide in Jesus. If you belong to Jesus now your only real place is in him and him in you. No power can alter or take that away. There is no better place.