John 14:2 – “There are many dwelling places in my Father’s house.”

AV: ‘Many mansions’; NRSV: ‘Many dwelling places’; RSV, NIV, ESV, GNB: ‘Many rooms’.

Bruner paraphrases: ‘On my Father’s estate there are many homes.’

1. Not ‘many stopping places along the way’…

The meaning of this underlying word (monē) is disputed.  It was translated as ‘mansiones‘ in the Vulgate, (and then into ‘mansions’ in the AV).

The traditional translation of ‘mansions’ is misleading.  The sense is not of palatial luxury, but of homes that provide ample and enduring accommodation.  Cf. the ‘eternal dwellings’ of Lk 16:9.

Moreover, because the word ‘mansiones‘ can carry the idea of temporary lodgings, or places along the way, a theology of post-mortem progress and development has been built on it (from Origen onwards).

Tertullion (fl. c. 197–222):

‘How will there be many mansions in our Father’s house, if not to match the diversity of what each deserves? How will one star also differ from another star in glory, unless in virtue of disparity in their rays?’ (ACCS)

But there is nothing in the original word, or in the present context, to support this idea.

Barrett writes:

‘This interpretation is almost certainly wrong; as v. 23 shows, μονή is the noun corresponding to the common and important Johannine verb μένειν, and hence it will mean a permanent, not a temporary, abiding-place (or, perhaps, mode of abiding).’

Ryle notes that

‘Chrysostom, Augustine, and several other ancient writers think the “many mansions” mean the degrees of glory. But the argument in favor of the idea does not appear to me satisfactory. Bishop Bull, Wordsworth, and some few modern writers take the same view. That there are degrees of glory in heaven is undoubtedly true, but I do not think it is the truth of this text.’

Ryle adds:

‘The modern idea, that our Lord meant that heaven was a place for all sorts of creeds and religions, seems utterly unwarranted by the text. From the whole context He is evidently speaking for the special comfort of Christians.’

2. …or degrees of glory…

According to Bruner, early Christian teachers such as Irenaeus, Tertullian and Augustine thought that the ‘many mansions’ pointed to degrees of merit and reward in the life to come.

Calvin responds to this idea:

‘This passage has been erroneously interpreted in another sense, as if Christ taught that’ there are various degrees of honor in the heavenly kingdom; for he says, that the mansions are many, not that they are different or unlike, but that there are enough of them for a great number of persons; as if he had said, that there is room not only for himself, but also for all his disciples.’

3. …but ‘many permanent residences’

Barclay (DSB) inclines to this view.

Leon Morris comments:

‘It seems better understood as “permanent residences” than as “steps along the way of development.” The idea of continuing development in the next world, though attractive and possibly true, is not taught in Scripture. The bliss and permanence of heaven, however, are taught, and it seems that it is this to which Jesus is now referring.’

Michaels writes that

‘The emphasis here is not on separate or individual rooms or compartments, but simply on the fact that there are “many” such dwellings in heaven, more than enough for the disciples around the table, and all of the “many” who were said to have “believed” in Jesus in the course of the narrative (Jn 4:39, 41; 10:42; 11:45)—even those who will never go there (see Jn 2:23; 8:30; 12:42)—and for all future believers (see Jn 17:20, 24).’

Gundry insists:

‘To translate this noun with “mansions,” “rooms,” “apartments,” “dwelling places,” or the like rather than with “abodes” at least obscures, and probably misses completely, the relation between Jesus as the Father’s home containing many abodes and the abiding of believers in Jesus as their home. Because the abodes are “many,” each believer has “a place” in Jesus where he or she can abide, just as according to 14:23 Jesus and his Father “will come to him [each believer] and make an abode alongside him”.’

The only other place in the NT where the same word is used is Jn 14:23, where the believer, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, becomes the dwelling place of the Triune God.

It may be helpful to recall that Jesus’ listeners would be used to houses with few rooms, which would then be added to as the extended family grows larger.

The rooms spoken of are abiding-places, in contrast to our temporary earthly habitations.  Heb 11 tells us that by faith Abraham ‘was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.’  This speaks of permanence, in contrast to the tents in which Abraham dwelt.  This city is referred to as ‘the heavenly Jerusalem’, Heb 12:22; ‘the city that is to come’, Heb 13:14, and ‘the new Jerusalem’, Rev 21.  Paul speaks of the permanence of our heavenly home in 2 Cor 5:1.

In summary:

‘Most scholars agree that what is intended is that the Father will provide room and to spare in the eternal abode.’ (NBD)

Ryle comments:

‘We need not doubt that there is an intentional contrast between the unchanging, unvarying house in heaven, and the changing, uncertain, dwellings of this world. Here we are ever moving: there we shall no more go out. (See also Heb. 13:14.)’

Klink cautions:

‘Jesus depicts how every Christian—man or woman, slave or king in this world—will have a place to dwell with God. The focus of this text is wrongly applied to the “rooms” because of the frequent translation, “mansions.” The focus of this text is not merely the place but the person; as Jesus said, each Christian will dwell in “my Father’s house.” The good news is not fully manifest at Christmas, when God came to us and dwells with us, but at the new creation when we are taken to God and dwell with him.’

Kruse takes a slightly different slant:

‘In 14:23 Jesus says, ‘Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home [monēn] with them.’ The text speaks of the Father and the Son making their ‘home’ with believers—that is, making themselves present with them. When we unpack the metaphor of 14:2, then, we should think not so much of ‘rooms’ in God’s house (much less ‘mansions’, as the KJV has it), but of the privilege of abiding in God’s presence.’

Burge stresses the permanance of these ‘dwelling places’:

‘The KJV “mansions” (for Gk. monai, “rooms”) was a seventeenth-century expression for modest dwellings; thus, 14:2 should not build a picture for us of heavenly palatial residences. This is not Jesus’ point. God’s “house” refers not to the church but to the heavenly dwelling where he lives (cf. Heb. 12:22; Rev. 21:9–22:5), and a mone is a place of residence there with him. This word is related to the common Johannine verb meno, to remain or abide. To “remain” with Jesus is the highest virtue in John’s Gospel (15:4–10), and he is promising that death will not interrupt intimacy enjoyed with him.’