In John 14:1-4 Jesus gave his disciples, and us, a tremendous promise of current and future security.
The Intro
Hi, I'm Brent, and this is the Bible Unplugged podcast. In this episode, we'll answer the question, did Jesus really promise us a mansion in heaven? In John 14, 1-4, Jesus gave us a tremendous promise, but we've lost the real meaning of this passage. In the Bible Unplugged, we chip away at the dogma and doctrine that have clouded our understanding of Scripture and look for the unvarnished truth of what the Bible actually says. We will look at what these things mean and some practical ways we can apply these biblical truths to our everyday lives. Be warned though, I might challenge some of your theories and beliefs, but hang in there with me because I think you'll like what you hear.
The Question
Now to the question, did Jesus really say we'd have a mansion in heaven? The answer might surprise you.
The Story
This story comes from John chapter 14 verses 1 through 4.
Jesus said, Don't let your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me. In my Father's house are many dwelling places. If it weren't so, I would have told you. I'm going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will receive you to myself, that where I am, you may be there also.
The Quandry
The quandary here is that the true meaning of this passage has been clouded by centuries of misconceptions and mistranslations of the Bible. We have this belief that we're going to have this huge mansion in heaven. In fact, we even have songs about it: Mansion over the hilltop, Mansion in Heaven. And it's been glamorized by the more materialistic preachers who focus more on what we can get from God rather than how we can relate to God.
Now, a blinding flash of the obvious here for you. The Bible was not written in our language or by anyone in our culture. What was said then may be different than what we translate now.
The Context
Let's look at the context of this so we can kind of get an idea of where this is going. This passage falls between the Last Supper and when Jesus was betrayed. It's part of Jesus' final sermon to his disciples found in John chapters 14 through 17.
This is the last opportunity Jesus had to tell his disciples what they needed to know to get through the following days and years ahead. If you were there, you would find Jesus in emotional turmoil. He knew what was coming, but he still focused on his followers.
Now this may have happened while they walked between the Lord's Supper location and the Garden of Gethsemane. So when Jesus says, in my Father's house, he could have been pointing to a house as they walked down the street. Later on, he'll say, “I am the true vine,” and they could well have passed a vineyard.
If you imagine yourself walking along with Jesus, this story will come to life in ways you've never really seen before. We'll take a look at Jesus' final sermon in John chapters 14 through 17 in a lot more detail in later episodes.
The Deep Background
We'll take a minute to do a deep dive into the background of the story.
The disciples were already nervous about what was going to happen. Jesus had warned them, and they knew the religious leaders wanted Jesus dead. Hearing Jesus say they had a dwelling place in heaven assured them that they had a secure place in God's heavenly home. But there's a lot more to the story.
When the disciples who were married heard Jesus say this, they immediately thought of what they experienced during their own engagement period. Between engagement and the wedding, the groom and his father built a room on the side of the house where the new couple would live.
And I can just imagine the bride-to-be might often take a detour to see the construction and think, that will be my new home, that's my family, and that's my security.
The Mis-translation
But if they called it a dwelling place, how did we get the word mansion? Well, this comes from the King James translators who were translating the Latin into
English and came across the Latin word mancio. And they just added an N to it and you get mansion. But the problem is that's not even close to what Jesus said. The words Jesus used we find in the Greek manuscripts is pronounced mone. The best translation is dwelling place.
And it's used only two times in the entire New Testament. And both of them are in this chapter. In this instance, Jesus is assuring his disciples they'll be together again as a family in God's house, not away in some distant mansion. Personally, I'd rather have a cozy room in God's house in our Father's presence than to be away from him in another place.
There's a second usage of this passage in John chapter 14. In verse 23, Jesus says, “If a man loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” In the same way that God provides a dwelling for us in his presence, we do the same by following the words and actions of Jesus. We make a dwelling place for God the Father and Jesus our Savior within us.
But there is a bonus usage to this too. When Jesus spoke to his disciples, he was speaking in Aramaic, not Greek. Aramaic evolved from the Hebrew, the language of the Old Testament. We're not exactly sure the word Jesus used, but the best candidate is the Hebrew word Mishkan. In the Old Testament, this is usually translated as the word tabernacle. The people of the Old Testament understood that God lived in the tabernacle, and that's the portable tent the priest went to for prayers and sacrifices. Mishkan is also translated in other places in the Old Testament, you guessed it, “dwelling place.”
The tabernacle of God isn't somewhere off in a heavenly dimension, but is in you. The challenge is to find where in your heart and mind God is most present. We may not feel God's presence at difficult times in our lives, but you're always in the presence of God, and God dwells within you.
The Application
Now that we have a better understanding of what Jesus said in John 14, let's look at some ways we can apply this in the way we live. The dwelling place gave a young, engaged woman a sense of security and peace even before she moved in.
• In the days ahead, spend some time making an inventory of ways you might feel insecure or afraid. Which of these insecurities has a spiritual component? I believe if you think hard enough, you might say all of them.
• The young woman would go about her chores with a lighter and happier feeling knowing her soon-to-be husband was actively building her new home. In the same way, whenever you feel fear or insecurity, take a minute to ask the Holy Spirit to help you feel the joy of your guaranteed future as a believer.
• In your prayer time, ask for insights into what that heavenly dwelling place will be and how you can start living there now.
• If God the Father and Jesus his Son live in you, then they are a part of everything you think and do, all day, every day. This might be uncomfortable in some instances. Whenever you catch yourself feeling angry at someone or disappointed in an outcome, remember, God is there listening already. Just carry on the conversation with God and see what happens.
• Countless times, someone has talked to me about their resentment towards someone in their lives. Since we learned today that God is already in on that internal dialogue, why not include God in the deliberation and see how your feelings change?
The Conclusion
Well, the music in the background means I've talked long enough. I hope this has been helpful. If so, give us a good rating and tell others about this show. If you like the show notes, go to powerloveandmiracles.com and click on the podcast tab.
Join me in future episodes when we find out why God accepted Abel's sacrifice but not Cain's. We'll look at what a biblical miracle really is. And coming soon, we're starting a series called Advent Unplugged, the stories behind the Christmas story.
My prayer for you is that you would feel God's presence in you and see the result of that presence in all you do. Have a blessed week.
The Disclaimers
Oh, yeah. Just to let you know, all opinions are my own. If you agree, keep listening. If you don't, keep listening. You might learn something. All Bible quotations come from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain.
Our theme song is Awesome Call by Kevin MacLeod and is available under Creative Commons license. The content of this show is copyrighted 2024 by J. Brent Eaton. And this has been a Power, Love, and Miracles production.
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