Joh 14:1-3 | KingComments | STEP | The contrast between the subject or different subjects of this chapter and the last verses of the previous chapter is considerable. In those last verses the Lord Jesus foretold the denial by Peter. What Peter will do shows the impotence of the flesh to be faithful in any way, no matter how good the intentions. Opposite to this failure of the flesh, the Lord gives seven consolations in this chapter for the weak faith of impotent disciples: 1. When He is no longer with the disciples, they can turn to Him in faith just as they believe in God ( ). 2. He goes to prepare a place for them in the Father’s house ( ). 3. He Himself will come back to pick them up to be where He is ( ). 4. Until then, they will receive the full revelation of the Father in Him ( ). 5. Until then, they will be His representatives in the world, where they may pray with the authority of His Name and therefore be answered ( ). 6. In that time the Holy Spirit will come to be with them as Comforter and Teacher ( ). 7. He gives them His peace ( ). The Lord himself has been troubled several times by seeing sin in its consequences ( ). Now He tells His disciples that their heart needs not be troubled, that is, not moved intensely. He knows what He will do and what the consequences of His work will be and that they will be allowed to share in it. He has said to them that He will depart from them. That will sadden them, but He wants to direct their heart permanently to Himself. Although He will no longer be physically present with them, He will still be there in the same way as God is. They believe in Him, but they will have to believe in Him in a completely new way. Just as God has always been an object of faith without ever having been seen, He will also become an object of faith when they will no longer see Him. He will go away from them, but still He will be present, just as God is present. They will no longer see Him, but will continue to believe in Him and love Him ( ). With His going away, the era of faith will begin ( ; ).

‏ John 14:1-3

The Lord Jesus Object of Faith.

The contrast between the subject or different subjects of this chapter and the last verses of the previous chapter is considerable. In those last verses the Lord Jesus foretold the denial by Peter. What Peter will do shows the impotence of the flesh to be faithful in any way, no matter how good the intentions.

Opposite to this failure of the flesh, the Lord gives seven consolations in this chapter for the weak faith of impotent disciples:

1. When He is no longer with the disciples, they can turn to Him in faith just as they believe in God (Jn 14:1).

2. He goes to prepare a place for them in the Father’s house (Jn 14:2).

3. He Himself will come back to pick them up to be where He is (Jn 14:3).

4. Until then, they will receive the full revelation of the Father in Him (Jn 14:4-12).

5. Until then, they will be His representatives in the world, where they may pray with the authority of His Name and therefore be answered (Jn 14:13-14).

6. In that time the Holy Spirit will come to be with them as Comforter and Teacher (Jn 14:15-26).

7. He gives them His peace (Jn 14:27-31).

The Lord himself has been troubled several times by seeing sin in its consequences (Jn 11:33 ; Jn 12:27 ; Jn 13:21). Now He tells His disciples that their heart needs not be troubled, that is, not moved intensely. He knows what He will do and what the consequences of His work will be and that they will be allowed to share in it. He has said to them that He will depart from them. That will sadden them, but He wants to direct their heart permanently to Himself.

Although He will no longer be physically present with them, He will still be there in the same way as God is. They believe in Him, but they will have to believe in Him in a completely new way. Just as God has always been an object of faith without ever having been seen, He will also become an object of faith when they will no longer see Him. He will go away from them, but still He will be present, just as God is present. They will no longer see Him, but will continue to believe in Him and love Him (1Pet 1:8). With His going away, the era of faith will begin (Gal 2:20; 2Cor 5:7).

The Father’s House

The Lord Jesus tells His disciples that His going to the Father is for a purpose. That purpose is to prepare a place for them where the Father is, in order to be where He is. He tells them that He is going to “My Father’s house”. By this He does not mean the temple, which He also called “My Father’s house” (Jn 2:16). The temple, however, has been defiled by the people. They have turned it into a place of business. That is why God had to reject that house.

The Lord speaks here about the house of the Father in heaven. He says that it is a house with “many dwelling places”. And also the temple had multiple dwelling places. This is where the priests who served there lived (1Kgs 6:5; Eze 41:6 ; Eze 42:1-13). This shows that the temple was not only a place for God, but also for the priests. These were dwelling places for just a small part of the people.

The house of the Father has no limitations. The Lord presents it in its glorious spaciousness. Not only the Father and the Son live there, but there is room for all of His own, without distinction. The fact that the Father’s house has “dwelling places” shows the enduring stay of the believers in it. They do not just come there every now and then, but they are welcome to dwell there.

To underline the certainty of His words to the disciples, the Lord says that He would not have said so if it had not been true. He would not create hope if He were unable to fulfill that hope for His own. In order to provide them with that place He is already going there. It is necessary, because without His preparation they will not be able to get there.

In this Gospel, the Lord speaks about the future for His own in a quite different way than in the other Gospels. There He speaks about the future just before His being surrendered. There it always refers to the earth and His return to earth. He also speaks there about a reward for faithfulness during His absence. Of that we find nothing in this Gospel.

It is about the Father’s house and not about crowns, cities or a place in the kingdom. There is also no distinction between a larger or a nicer room here. There are many dwelling places, there is a dwelling place for every believer. This is the result of the love of the Father and the Son, a love that can never ever disappoint.

The disciples have given up everything to be with the Messiah on earth and to receive everything from Him. Now He will leave them. Will they all lose that when He will leave? No, on the contrary. They will get much more. He will go away and prepare an even more profound relationship and a much more superior dwelling place where death has no access. In order to make that wonderful place accessible to them, He must go to the cross. Through His work on the cross and His resurrection He will open the Father’s house for people who otherwise could never come there because of their sins.

Something else is also needed to prepare a place for people in the Father’s house. No one has ever been in the Father’s house. To open up the possibility for men to come there, it is necessary that He enters the Father’s house as Man. Since His ascension there is a Man in the Father’ s house. The magnificent consequence of His presence there as Man is that this guarantees that men can enter the Father’s house.

Once the Lord has prepared a place for His own, He can then make the promise that He will come back to receive them to Himself, so that they too may be where He is. The tremendous blessing of the Father’s house is not just a beautiful dwelling place, but it is the place of which He says: “Where I am.” It is also the great blessing of paradise where the fallen asleep believers are (Phil 1:23).

It is remarkable that the Lord does not speak of a certain time that would elapse between His going to prepare a place and His coming back to receive His own to Himself. He says it, as it were, in one breath, so without pause: “When I have gone and prepared your place, I will come back.”

In the same sense, Paul also spoke about the coming of the Lord when he says: “We who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord” (1Thes 4:15). The fact that in the meantime almost two thousand years have passed without Him coming back has to do with His “patience toward you, not wishing for any to perish” (2Pet 3:9).

The moment will come when the believers will enter there. This is not when a believer dies. In that case the angels will come and bring him into paradise (Lk 16:22). But here He promises that He will personally come to take up the believers and receive them to Himself (1Thes 4:14-18; 1Cor 15:51-52; Phil 3:20-21), while the living unbelievers remain on earth and the unbelievers who have died will not rise from the dead, but will remain in the tomb.