What did Jesus mean when He said, 'I go to prepare a place for you' (John 14:2)?

from the old testament

• In the well-known and beloved Psalm 23, David expresses his hope of dwelling eternally with the Lord: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:6). Old Testament believers believed in paradise after death. The “place of comfort” Jesus tells the disciples that He is preparing for them will be the dwelling place for all who love the Lord.
• Isaiah 25:8 offers a prophetic vision of the eternal dwelling place of believers: “He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.” The abode of believers will be a place without sadness or sin.

from the new testament

• In John 14:2, as Jesus eats the last Passover meal with His disciples, He tells them, “In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” Earlier, Jesus had explained that He would die a criminal's death (John 12:32–33), rise from the dead, see them again, and then depart, leaving them to go to His Father. They were disturbed that they wouldn't be able to be with Him, so He helped them understand He would be working on their behalf by making a place for them in His Father's house.
• In 1 Peter 1:3–4, Peter describes the place he expects to inherit after death: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” Peter believed in Jesus’ promise to prepare a place.
• Revelation 21:2–4 uses some of the language of Isaiah 25:8 to describe the glorious place that awaits believers in heaven: “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” The place the Lord has prepared for His children will be without sin or sadness.

implications for today

Life on earth is temporary. We may feel at home in many ways, yet we know that this earth will not be our eternal dwelling place (Philippians 3:20). But there is a place that awaits all believers in eternity, far better than anything on this earth: our heavenly home prepared by our Lord (John 14:2). When we trust in Jesus, our place there is secure (Ephesians 1:3–14). Knowing this should encourage us to find out whether our friends, neighbors, and loved ones have the same assurance we do. And if they don’t, we need to tell them how they can get it. We have a heavenly hope that nothing and no one can take from us (John 10:28). We know our future—if we believe in Christ, we have eternal life and will spend eternity with Him. Believers today are assured that a heavenly place awaits us.