ASSURANCE OF HEAVEN

Jesus gives heavenly assurance when He speaks of "My Father's house" - a familiar expression for heaven (John 14:2).  Philo, the Jewish philosopher, wrote of a soul returning "into the father's house," meaning heaven (Bernard, John, III:531). Jesus assures us that He is going (futuristic present) to prepare a place for us in His Father's house. Sandwiched between the opening phrase, "in My Father's house," and the closing assurance, "to prepare a place," is a clause that requires some attention.

The clause - "if it were not so, I would have have told you" - can be translated as either a question or a statement. As a question, it reads, "If it were not so would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?" (ESV, NIV)  As a statement, it reads, "If it were not so I would have told you, for I go to prepare a place for you." (NASB, KJV) There were no punctuation marks in the original manuscripts so either translation is possible. The interpretation hinges on the little word, οτι, which can be translated either as "that" or "for/because." If we translate οτι as "that," we will read the clause as a question. If we translate οτι as "because," we will read the clause as a statement.

I don't think we should understand the clause as a question because Jesus never told them before that He was going to prepare a place for them so the question would be meaningless. I think it is best to understand οτι as "because" making the preceding clause parenthetical.  I connect the final clause - "because I go to prepare a place for you" - with the first clause - "in My Father's house are many dwelling places" - making the middle clause a parenthesis. There are many rooms in heaven because He is going to prepare them for us.

"In My Father's house there are many rooms (but if not, I would have told you) because I am going to prepare a place for you."

Jesus reassures us that there is room in heaven for us or He would have warned us not to expect a room in heaven. He left earth to prepare a place for us in heaven.  The word "place" (τοπον) meant a room to live, stay or sit (BAGD, Lexicon). The word "to prepare" (ετοιμασαι) was commonly used for preparations made for someone coming to visit (Moulton & Milligan, Vocabulary, p.258). Jesus is preparing our rooms for our homecoming much like a parent prepares the room of  a child coming home from college. Our assurance is that Jesus would have warned us not to expect a homecoming if this was not true.

Praise God for the promise of our homecoming!