Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. John 14v1-2
It was the night before Jesus’ crucifixion, and the disciples gathered in the upper room with Him were troubled. He had just washed their feet – a visible enactment of the ultimate act of service that He was about to undertake, namely the laying down of His very life for their cleansing and forgiveness. He’d then proceeded to talk about the fact that He was going to be betrayed, that He would soon leave them, and that where He was going they could not follow (John 13v21, 33). This left them confused, bewildered and troubled in heart. There was still so much they didn’t understand.
Against this background, Jesus moves to reassure them, and to reassure us. He explains that it is for their good that He is leaving them, for He is going to His Father’s House to prepare a place for us. What did He mean? Perhaps we envisage Jesus vacuuming the room, putting out clean linen and ensuring that everything is spotless before we move in! But the context suggests something different: it is in the very act of going to the cross that Jesus prepares our place in heaven. It’s through His saving death and resurrection that the salvation of those who follow Him is purchased and guaranteed: His perfect sacrifice means that our reservation in God’s eternal dwelling is 100% secure. Therefore we should take heart, knowing that whatever lies ahead of us there is absolutely nothing – in life or in death – that can rob us of our eternal inheritance, or God’s love for us in Christ Jesus.
Bryan Marx
Grahamstown Baptist Church
