Greater Things - John 14:12-14

Jesus makes a very interesting statement that I had never caught before, saying, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” It sounds like Jesus is saying that those who believe on Him will have power to perform miracles that are even greater than the miracles that Jesus performed Himself. That statement has a lot of implications. First, it demonstrates Jesus’ modesty. He doesn’t need to have everyone know that He’s the biggest and the best and the most important, he wants other people to feel just as empowered. He knows that people are strengthened when they are able to access God’s power and he wants others to have that spiritually building experience.

Imagine you’re a student or lower level employee, and your teacher/boss comes to you and says, “one day you’ll be able to do everything that I can do.” Maybe our standards are too low, but that’s an encouraging statement, it implies that all the hard work that you put into it will be worth it, you’ll be just as prestigious and capable as your mentor. Then the teacher/boss says, “in fact, if you keep up this hard work, then you’ll be able to do things better than me!” The teacher/boss debases himself to those who are to be considered his “inferiors” which makes it easier to follow this particular leader. We all know of leaders who cannot do anything except tear others down and make everyone around them feel like crap. It is very difficult to work for people like that, and that’s when they are hanging your paycheck over your head. Now imagine that someone treated you terribly and you had absolutely no obligation to follow them or do what they say, getting disciples would be a hard sell. Plus, that’s not who Jesus is anyway, he’s kind and loving, it’s his natural state of being, that will shine through whatever he does.
Another reason I think Jesus made this statement is so that his disciples would not be limited in their beliefs of what they could do with the power of God. Jesus performed mighty miracles, amazing things that are clearly only possible through the grace and power of God, but he didn’t live the entirety of human existence and encounter every possible situation in which the power of God might be demonstrated. For instance, Jesus healed the sick and raised the dead, which has been done both before and since, but he didn’t hold off an angry mob single handedly while cutting off the arms of his attackers. Clearly when Ammon performed that great feat, he did so through the power of God, but Jesus didn’t have a clear example in his lifetime of doing that exact same thing. He wanted his followers to know that God’s power and ability encompassed more than what He personally did during his earthly ministry.
Jesus explains by telling them, “and whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.” Notice there that Jesus doesn’t say “ask to be able to do what you’re seen my do, and I’ll give you the ability.” He says “let your imagination run wild, if you can dream it, we can achieve it.” It must have been incredibly empowering to hear this coming from the Savior, to learn that there is a universe of possibilities out there and that God will help you do anything you decide you want to do.