John 14:1 - Meaning and Application

In these verses, Christ gives his disciples a general warning against a troubled heart (John 14:1). He says, “Do not let your heart be troubled.” They were already beginning to feel distressed and were entering a time of testing.

Notice how Christ took account of their distress. It may have shown in their faces, for it was said earlier that they looked at one another with concern (John 13:22). Christ saw them all and understood what was going on. Even more, the Lord Jesus knows every hidden sorrow, even the pain that stays buried inside. He knows not only what troubles us, but also how we respond to trouble and how deeply it reaches our hearts.

Several things were weighing on the disciples. Christ had just spoken of the wrong Peter, Simon Peter, one of the Twelve, would do, and this saddened them all. Peter was no doubt grieved by what Jesus said to him, and the others were sad for him and for themselves too. They did not know whose turn it would be next to hear about some failure of their own. Christ comforts them here. A holy fear of ourselves is useful, because it keeps us humble and watchful, but it should not rob us of peace or joy.

He had also just told them that he was going away, and that he would go through suffering. Very soon they would hear him surrounded by insults, and that would cut them deeply. They would see him treated cruelly and put to death, which would pierce their own hearts as well. They had loved him, chosen him, and left everything to follow him. When we now look on Christ pierced for our sins, we cannot help but grieve, even though we know the glorious result. For them, the sight would have been even harder, since they could not yet see beyond the suffering.

If Christ were to leave them, they would feel painfully disappointed. They had hoped he was the one who would deliver Israel and set up his kingdom in outward power and glory. They had given up much to follow him, so if he left the world still in poverty and lowliness, and even worse, they might think they had been fooled. They would also feel abandoned and exposed. They already knew how little courage they had in hard moments, and they could expect to be crushed if they lost their Master.

In view of all this, he says, “Do not let your heart be troubled.” There is weight in each word. The word troubled means being thrown into confusion, like a rough sea that cannot rest. He is not saying they should feel no sorrow at all, but that they should not be shaken, upset, or inwardly thrown into disorder (Psalm 42:5). The word heart matters too. Even if the nation is troubled, or the city is troubled, or even their little group is troubled, their own hearts should not be. Keep hold of your own soul when you cannot keep hold of anything else. The heart is the main stronghold, and whatever happens, trouble must not be allowed to take it over. Since the spirit must bear weakness, see that the heart is not wounded.

The word your also matters. You are my disciples and followers, my redeemed and chosen ones. Whatever others may feel under the sorrows of this life, you should not be overwhelmed the same way, because you know better. Let the sinners in Zion tremble, but let the sons of Zion rejoice in their king. Christ’s disciples should be different from others in this way, keeping calm minds when everything around them is unsettled.

Christ then gives the cure for this trouble of mind. In general, it is faith, believe. Some take both parts as commands: “Believe in God, and believe also in me.” That would mean resting confidently on the basic truths of natural religion, that there is a God, and that he is holy, wise, powerful, good, and sovereign over all events. It would also mean resting on the special truths Christ has taught them.

We may also read the first part as a reminder that they already believed in God, which Christ commends. But if they wanted a strong defense against a stormy day, they must also believe in him. Through Christ, we are brought into covenant, that is, into a binding relationship of grace and promise, with God. Without Christ, as sinners, we could only expect judgment, and even thinking of God would bring fear. But believing in Christ as the Mediator, the one who brings God and people together, makes belief in God comforting. God’s will is that all people honor the Son as they honor the Father, by trusting the Son as they trust the Father. Anyone who truly believes in God will also believe in Jesus Christ, whom God has made known. Believing in God through Jesus Christ is a strong way to keep trouble out of the heart. The joy that comes from faith is the best cure for the griefs we feel in this world. It has a promise attached: “The righteous will live by faith.” It also has clear proof from experience: “I would have fainted unless I had believed.”

Then Christ gives a more specific direction, telling them to put faith in the promise of eternal life (John 14:2, 3). He has told them to trust God and trust him. Now he tells them what for: to trust them for a happiness that will come after this body and this world are gone, and for a joy that will last as long as the immortal soul and the eternal world last. This is set before them as a deep comfort in present troubles, because heaven has exactly the kind of goodness that fits every sorrow of this life. God’s people have often encouraged themselves with this in their hardest moments, that heaven will make up for all they have lost.

He begins by saying that such a happiness truly exists: “In my Father’s house are many rooms” (John 14:2). Heaven is pictured as a house, not a tent or temporary shelter. It is a house not made by human hands, eternal in the heavens. It is also the Father’s house. Since his Father is now the one to whom he is going, believers will be welcome there through their elder Brother, Jesus Christ, as to their own home. It is the house of the King of kings and Lord of lords, the One who lives in unapproachable light and inhabits eternity.

There are mansions there, that is, distinct dwellings, a place for each person. This may allude to the chambers of the priests around the temple. In heaven, there is room for each of God’s people, and yet their identity will not be lost there. Every Israelite had a share in Canaan, and every elder had a seat (Revelation 4:4).

These are lasting dwellings. The word means abiding places. The house itself is permanent, and our place in it is not for a fixed term, but forever. Here we are like guests in an inn, but in heaven we will have a settled home. The disciples had given up their own homes to follow Christ, who had no place to lay his head, but heaven will more than make up for that loss.

There are many mansions because many sons must be brought to glory, and Christ knows exactly how many there are. He will not run out of room if more come than expected. He had already told Peter that he would follow him (John 13:36), but the rest should not be discouraged. There are mansions there for them all, like Rehoboth, the spacious place named in Genesis 26:22.

We should also see how sure we can be that this happiness is real, and that Christ honestly offers it to us. “If it were not so, I would have told you.” If the disciples had been deceived when they left their work and risked their lives for him, hoping for a future, unseen joy, he would have set them straight. This confidence rests first on his truthfulness, because if such a happiness did not exist, he would not have told them it did. It also rests on his love, because he would not let them be misled.

If there were no such mansions, or if none were meant for them after they had left all to follow him, he would have warned them in time. Then they could have turned back to the world and made the best of it. Christ’s goodwill toward us is a strong support for our hope in him. He loves us too much, and means too much good for us, to let us end up among the most miserable after calling us to follow him.

We should also believe that Christ’s going away was meant to prepare a place in heaven for his disciples. They were troubled by his departure, but he was going ahead of them as the forerunner. He was going to enter for them. He went to prepare a place for us by taking possession of it for us, like our advocate or representative, so that our right to it would be secure. He also went to make provision for us as a friend and father.

Heaven was prepared before the world began, yet it still had to be fitted for people in their fallen condition. Since the joy of heaven includes Christ’s presence there, he had to go first into that glory which his disciples would share. Heaven would not be ready for a Christian if Christ were not there. He went ahead to prepare a table for them and thrones for them (Luke 22:30). In this way, Christ shows how fully heaven’s joy is suited to the saints for whom it is prepared.

We should also believe that he will surely come again at the right time to bring them to that blessed place where he has gone to be with the Father and to prepare for them (John 14:3). If he goes to prepare a place for you, then you can be sure he will come back when everything is ready and receive you to himself, so that you will follow him later and be with him where he is. These are truly comforting words.

Jesus Christ will come again, and his words show both certainty and nearness, as if he is already on the way. We often say we are coming when we are busy getting ready, and he is doing that now. Everything he does points toward his second coming. The belief that Christ will return, which he has promised, is a strong help against trouble of heart (Philippians 4:5; James 5:8).

He will come again to gather all his faithful followers to himself. He sends for some privately at death, one by one, but at the last day they will all come together in public and in glory. Then Christ himself will come to receive them, lead them by the riches of his grace, and welcome them by the fullness of his love. His coming will show the highest honor and affection. Christ comes so that we may be gathered together to him (2 Thessalonians 2:1).

He also says that where he is, there his people will be too. This shows, as many other passages do, that the heart of heaven is being with Christ there (John 17:24; Philippians 1:23; 1 Thessalonians 4:17). He speaks of it as already present, where I am, where I soon will be, where I will be forever. They will be there soon, and there forever, not only in the same place, but in the same blessed condition. They will not be only viewers of his glory, like the three disciples on the mountain, but sharers in it.

This follows from his going to prepare a place for us, because his work will not fail. He will not build and furnish rooms only to leave them empty. He will finish what he began. If he has prepared the place for us, he will also prepare us for it, and in due time bring us into it. Just as Christ’s resurrection assures our resurrection, so his ascension, victory, and glory assure ours.