rooms

In the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel According to John (NABRE), Jesus uses fairly abstract language to describe his relationship to the Father and the place he’s creating for his followers. Due to that abstraction, there’s one extremely significant parallel that’s easy to miss.

In the Gospel According to John 14:2 (NABRE) Jesus mentions the rooms or mansions in his Father’s house. The Greek word μονή (mone) comes from the verb μένω (meno), which means “to stay,” “to remain,” “to abide.” In the Gospel According to John 14:10 (NABRE), Jesus again explains that the Father dwells in him. The Greek word translated as “dwells” is that same Greek verb, μένω (meno).

When Jesus talks about his followers dwelling in a place he will prepare for them in his Father’s house, this dwelling is categorically similar to the way the Father is in Jesus and Jesus is in the Father. Jesus’ point is not that we’ll have a nice room to stay in up in heaven but rather that we are being invited through Christ into the union and communion of the Holy Trinity.

you also may like our study of the Gospel According to John
The Gospel According to John: An Encounter with Grace & Truth, a 25-lesson Catholic Bible study with an imprimatur, examines the Fourth Gospel’s view of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, with special emphasis on the institution of the sacraments of the Church as the means by which Christians are purified and made holy. This recently revised study includes maps and additional commentary, and takes a closer look at the way in which Jesus relates to individual men and women. Click on the book’s cover to view a sample lesson.

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