For a long time, many have read John 14 and imagined Jesus is up in heaven, constructing literal mansions for us to move into someday. But what if Jesus was talking about something far greater? What if He was describing His death, resurrection, and the incredible reality of God dwelling in us?

John 14 isn’t about a far-off rapture or heavenly real estate—it’s about the new life we receive through Christ’s resurrection and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

What Did Jesus Mean by ‘Many Mansions’?

Jesus starts John 14 by comforting 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.” (John 14:2, KJV)
“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?” (John 14:2, ESV)

The key phrase here is “many mansions” (KJV) or “many rooms” (ESV). The Greek word monē actually means “dwelling place” or “abode.” This same word is used later in John 14:23:

“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home (monē) with him.” (John 14:23, ESV)

Jesus isn’t talking about physical buildings—He’s talking about a place of intimate connection where God dwells with us!

‘I Go to Prepare a Place’—What Was Jesus Preparing?

Many assume Jesus is in heaven preparing our eternal homes, but He was actually talking about His mission: His death, resurrection, and what that would accomplish for us. He was making a way for us to be reconciled to God and become His dwelling place.

Paul explains it like this:

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:4-6, ESV)

Jesus wasn’t preparing houses—He was preparing us to be made alive in Him, to be seated with Him in heavenly places!

Did Jesus Say He Would Return? Yes—But Not Like You Think

Many believe John 14:3 is about a future second coming:

“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:3, ESV)

But Jesus immediately clarifies what He means just a few verses later:

“Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.” (John 14:19, ESV)

This is a reference to His resurrection! When Jesus said the world wouldn’t see Him, He was speaking of His return to the Father in Heaven. We, however, see Him because He now lives in us. Just as Jesus was the image of the Father, we are now the image of Jesus, revealing Him to the world through our lives.

The True Dwelling Place of God

Jesus’ promise of preparing a place finds its fulfillment in the Holy Spirit dwelling within us:

“Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16, ESV)

“For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, ‘I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.’” (2 Corinthians 6:16, ESV)

We, as believers, are the “many dwelling places” of the Father. The true temple isn’t in heaven—it’s within us!

This aligns with Jesus’ words in Luke:

“Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, ‘The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, “Look, here it is!” or “There!” for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.’” (Luke 17:20-21, ESV)

Jesus was emphasizing that God’s Kingdom isn’t about a distant place—it is present within and among His people.

Paul reinforces this truth in Colossians:

“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.” (Colossians 1:13, ESV)

We aren’t waiting to enter the Kingdom in some future event—we are already in it, because we are in Christ!

Living in the Reality of Christ’s Promise

John 14 isn’t about waiting for a mansion in the sky. It’s about realizing that, through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we have already been brought into His presence. We are seated with Him, filled with His Spirit, and living in the reality of God dwelling within us.

Instead of looking forward to a physical house in heaven, we should embrace the incredible truth that we are now the very dwelling place of God. This is what Jesus promised—and this is the life we get to live today!

Be Blessed!

Barry.