Aliens and Strangers
"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 to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you with me that you also may be where I am." John 14:1-4
Some translate the words of Jesus here in verse 2 as "dwelling places" instead of rooms and some may say "mansion", but basically it seems to mean that Jesus was telling his disciples that they would one day once again dwell with him. This place that Jesus would create for them was especially made for them. Jesus was telling them after telling Peter that he could not follow him at this time (John 13:36). In fact, he told Peter that he would deny he even knew him (John 13:38).
A commentary from Dr.Lightfoot, suggests that Numbers 10:33 was symbolic of this period of time when the ark of God went before the people for three days to seek out a resting place for them. I think that is an interesting interpretation since much of the Old Testament foreshadows the New, but I am not sure if I agree or not. Jesus did not seek out a resting place, but rather prepared. This resting place we will all know just as the disciples did. It is interesting to think about what it will look like? What will Jesus look like? What will it feel like to finally be free from the presence of sin and death and pain? What will it be like to know that fullness of fellowship with God that we cannot experience here on earth? Will we wonder at our surroundings at all or be caught up solely on the presence of God?
Early believers and even early American believers understood the idea that as christians were are foreigners on this earth. I had an experience where I did not even leave the U.S. once and felt like a foreigner. I was to meet our youth at a swim park in downtown Houston. As I was driving up near the park, I noticed for several blocks all the signs changed to Korean. All the people in the community were Korean or at least Asian. I thought to myself that I had driven so far I literally drove out of the country! It is a little disorienting being in a foreign land where all the signs and customs are not ones you are use to. Likewise, the Bible states that this is not our home as believers. We are not to love the things of this world (1 John 2:15-17)because they are passing away. But, rather our hope and home is in heaven, reserved for you. This may be why at times some believers feel "homesick" for a time when God will wipe away every tear and death will no longer exist.
This reminds me of the passage in Hebrews 11 about the heros of faith. "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised, they only saws them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country-a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." Hebrews 11:13-16, NIV
Some translate the words of Jesus here in verse 2 as "dwelling places" instead of rooms and some may say "mansion", but basically it seems to mean that Jesus was telling his disciples that they would one day once again dwell with him. This place that Jesus would create for them was especially made for them. Jesus was telling them after telling Peter that he could not follow him at this time (John 13:36). In fact, he told Peter that he would deny he even knew him (John 13:38).
A commentary from Dr.Lightfoot, suggests that Numbers 10:33 was symbolic of this period of time when the ark of God went before the people for three days to seek out a resting place for them. I think that is an interesting interpretation since much of the Old Testament foreshadows the New, but I am not sure if I agree or not. Jesus did not seek out a resting place, but rather prepared. This resting place we will all know just as the disciples did. It is interesting to think about what it will look like? What will Jesus look like? What will it feel like to finally be free from the presence of sin and death and pain? What will it be like to know that fullness of fellowship with God that we cannot experience here on earth? Will we wonder at our surroundings at all or be caught up solely on the presence of God?
Early believers and even early American believers understood the idea that as christians were are foreigners on this earth. I had an experience where I did not even leave the U.S. once and felt like a foreigner. I was to meet our youth at a swim park in downtown Houston. As I was driving up near the park, I noticed for several blocks all the signs changed to Korean. All the people in the community were Korean or at least Asian. I thought to myself that I had driven so far I literally drove out of the country! It is a little disorienting being in a foreign land where all the signs and customs are not ones you are use to. Likewise, the Bible states that this is not our home as believers. We are not to love the things of this world (1 John 2:15-17)because they are passing away. But, rather our hope and home is in heaven, reserved for you. This may be why at times some believers feel "homesick" for a time when God will wipe away every tear and death will no longer exist.
This reminds me of the passage in Hebrews 11 about the heros of faith. "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised, they only saws them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country-a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." Hebrews 11:13-16, NIV
