“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.  And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the son.” (John 14:12-13) 

I have never ceased to be enthralled with the magnitude of this scripture. Greater works than Jesus did are possible. There must have been, to some degree, a lessening of the power of God as a result of the weakness of His humanity (ll Corinthians 13:4), (Philippians 2:7-8).  The words “because I go unto my Father” make it clear that because of His ascension to the Father and His being seated at God’s right hand in power, His limitation is gone, and now we are enabled not only to sit at the right hand of God in power, through Christ, we will do greater works.

Connybeare and Howson in their book, The Epistles of Paul, quote Jesus as follows: “For although He died upon the cross through the weakness of the flesh, yet now He lives through the power of God.  And so I, too, share the weakness of His body; yet, I shall also share the power of God, whereby He lives.” (ll Corinthians 13:4) Jesus realized that the union that He had with the Father would be so intensely perfect that He could say as a literal truth – Greater works shall you do.

The ascension of Jesus to the Father and His being seated at God’s right hand, His limitation is gone, and now we are empowered to do greater works. Jesus’ promise of greater works was contingent upon two qualifications.  First, believe on Jesus, and believe that He is the Son of God, our Redeemer who died for our sins. Believe that Jesus ascended to the Father with power over death, hell, and the grave.  The second qualification is – ask in His Name:  “Whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that will I do.” (John 14:13) Does “whatsoever you shall ask in my name” sound too good to be true?  Jesus said it, and He never lied but spoke the truth in love.  Believing and asking in His Name are the two vital elements for doing greater works.                                  

What are the greater works? I do not know all that I would like to know about greater works,  I do know that He invites you and me to go in His Name to heal the sick, cast out devils, and share the Good News. I know that by the laying on of hands, believers speak with new tongues.  I do know that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to those who will dare to believe in Him. (Eph. 1:19-20)

Jesus is the Head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.  (Ephesians l: 22-23) I like this translation:  “Who fills all things everywhere with Himself.”  He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think. May I ask you – what are the greater works? 

Pastor Danny