Scripture Introduction
On the night Jesus washed his disciples’ feet, he also told them some tough things. As a result, they are discouraged and anxious. Then (as we heard in last week’s sermon), the great physician applied his healing balm: “Let not your hearts be troubled. Your circumstances are (admittedly) difficult, but they should not drive you to despair because I go to prepare a place for you in my Father’s house. And I will come back and take you there to be with me forever. I am the way to God; I am the truth about religion; I am the source of life eternal. You know God because I reveal the Father to you. Think deeply – Christianity is a thinking religion – think and believe; but if not, believe the works I have done, for they testify to my divinity.”
Then, having mentioned his own astounding works, Jesus adds comfort by pointing to the works that his followers will do. This is the topic the Lord addresses in John 14.12-14. So that you see the connection to the previous point, we will start reading in verse 11.
[Read John 14.11-14. Pray.]
Introduction
These verses cause me to turn my head and say, “Did I read that right? Greater works than Messiah? Whatever we ask in his name he will do?” Is this sensationalism or a stunning promise?
Dr. James Boice (longtime pastor at Tenth Presbyterian church of Philadelphia) opened his sermon on this passage by saying, “It is unlikely that any of us has ever been offered a million dollars. But if we can imagine how breathlessly overwhelmed we would be by such an offer, we can begin to appreciate what our reaction should be to the promise…. But when we think of it the promise seems unrealistic, if not totally incredible.”
I believe Jesus promises us incredible ministry, when we serve in his name, through believing prayer, for the glory of God. To see that, first note:
1. The Scope of the Works We Get To Do (John 14.11-12b)
In verse 11, Jesus asks the disciples to believe in him “on account of the works” that he has been doing. Then he adds: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believe in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do….”
A quick moment of reflection will tell you how important and encouraging this promise must have been. Over the past 3 years, Jesus has demonstrated the presence of the kingdom with marvelous signs. He healed the sick, fed the multitudes, preached good news to the poor, calmed the storms, and even raised the dead. But now he has told his men, “I am going away and where I am going you cannot now follow.”
Surely the disciples thought something like: “Our Master, the Lord, the very Hand and Grace of God, when he leaves, his proofs will end, and we will be left with only dim memories. Like a gorgeous sunset whose flames die into night, we will are losing the glory of God. All is over.” But Jesus will have none of that despair: “You will carry on my ministry by doing my works and greater!”
I’m sure you can imagine that there has been dispute and disagreement over what these words mean. Some claim this promise as proof that godly Christians can still heal the sick, raise the dead, and perform a varieties of miracles, if only they believe sufficiently. While I do not deny the possibility of occasional miracles in the life of the church, I do not think that “greater” works necessarily mean more fantastic miracles or more frequent signs. Jesus himself said to his disciples after they had returned from an awesome display of power over demons: “Do not rejoice…that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10.20). If their own salvation is to thrill them more than commanding demons to flee, the greater works must not be more flagrant displays of the miraculous.
Nor do I agree with those who limit Jesus’ promise to the eleven men in the room, saying they did greater works which do not apply to us. Certainly is true that while Christ healed with the hem of his garment, Peter did so with only his shadow (Acts 5.15) and Paul by a handkerchief that had touched him (Acts 19.12). These may be called “greater” in their display of power. Those who hold this view also point out that while Jesus performed miracles for two or three years in one country, his apostles did so for many ages in various places. So we might also think these miracles “greater” in their spread. But the text says “whoever,” and I can find no reason to limit that word to the 11 men in the room. Additionally, were the Apostle miracles really greater? After all, Acts records no apostle walking on water or raising one who had been dead 4 days.
The vast majority of pastors and scholars believe the “greater works” are the spiritual extension of the kingdom of God to people from every language and culture and nation of the world.
The text does not require one solution, but there is a clue. Notice that Jesus refers to “works.” In the book of John, the miracles are referred to almost exclusively as “signs.” “Works” is a much broader category, only occasionally and tangentially related to the supernatural.
Leon Morris (Theology Professor): “What Jesus means we may see in the narratives of the Acts. There are a few miracles of healing, but the emphasis is on the mighty works of conversion.”
Harry Ironside (evangelical pastor in the early 1900s): “He was not speaking of miracles. His chief work was not performing miracles, but revealing the Father…. When Jesus left this scene, committing his gospel to a little group of eleven men in order that they might carry it to the ends of the earth, at that time the whole world, with the exception of a few in Israel, was lost in the darkness of heathenism. But in three hundred years Christianity closed nearly all the temples of the Roman Empire, and numbered its converts by millions. These were the greater works, and down through the centuries he still carries on this ministry.”
Charles Ross (Scottish pastor, late 1800s): “ ‘Greater works’ refer to works of a more spiritual and exalted nature – such as are effected through the instrumentality of any ordinary preacher of the Word, when a soul is truly converted to God. Yes, brethren, the conversion of sinners to God is a greater work, in the reckoning of the Lord of Glory, than mere bodily cures. It may not be of such a strange and startling character outwardly, but it is more wonderful in its intrinsic nature; it has a closer connection with the glory of God and the salvation of men.”
John Calvin: “The power by which he proves himself to be the Son of God is so far from being confined to his bodily presence that it will certainly be clearly demonstrated by many striking proofs when he is absent. Christ’s ascension was soon followed by the wonderful conversion of the world, in which Christ’s divinity was more powerfully displayed than while he was living among men. Thus we see that the proof of his divinity was not confined to his person, but was spread through the whole body of the church.”
So why might conversion be a “greater” work. Because at conversion, a soul — which is an enemy of God, which is a foreigner to the family, which is dead in its sin, which is blind and deaf to the voice of God – this soul is made alive together with Christ: for it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. You, God’s people, do a greater work than changing water to wine when you lead a person to Christ. What a awesome privilege!
2. The Reason for the Works We Get To Do (John 14.12b-13)
John 14.12b-13: “greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
Note please, that Jesus is not really contrasting the works that he did with those we will do; more precisely, the contrast is between the works Jesus himself did before the resurrection, and the works he performs through his followers after the resurrection. As a result, the greater works we do are not our new works, but Christ’s continuing work through us.
John Calvin: “The reason why the disciples will do greater things than Christ himself is because when he has taken possession of his kingdom he will demonstrate his power more fully from heaven. Hence it is clear that his glory is in no way diminished, because after his departure the apostles, who were only his instruments, performed more excellent works. Moreover, it became clear in this way that he is sitting at the Father’s right hand, ‘that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow’ (Philippians 2:10).”
Without the exaltation of Jesus to the Father, no promise can fulfilled; with the ascension of Christ, no promise can be denied! He is at the right hand of God; all authority and power and might are his! Who could resist him? If you are a true Christian, then you have the king’s ear!
I was thinking just the other day how sorry I feel for Mr. Obama. The expectations laid on his shoulders are bizarrely unrealistic. Even if hears your request, he has not the power to provide. But Jesus has gone to the Father. He hears your prayers and he has all power.
The Father is glorified in the humility we show when we ask for his help. The Father is glorified in the compassion of the Son who hears the prayers of his people. The Father is glorified in the power of his Messiah to answer from heaven every request offered in his name and according to his will. Jesus hears, and does, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Please do not doubt that God can revitalize our church right here in this community and bring people to conversion and commitment to Christ.
3. The Condition for the Works We Get To Do (John 14.14)
When I lived in Omaha, some evangelical pastors gathered monthly for prayer at the Mayor’s office. Due to business, the Mayor could not always join us, but sometimes he did. One particular time stands out in my mind. The Mayor was there, along with me, Pastor Phil (also a PCA pastor), and a charismatic brother. Now this was a good brother, full of the Holy Spirit and genuine desire to see the world changed for Jesus. But as he began to pray, he started binding everything in the name of Jesus. He got to shouting and claiming Omaha in the name of Jesus. But afterwards nothing was that different and Pastor Phil and I were mostly nervous.
Asking in Jesus’ name is not a magic formula we add to our request to open the genie’s lamp. This verse is not a blanket authorization for our personal benefit and enrichment.
Leon Morris is correct: “It means that prayer is to be in accordance with all that the name [of Jesus] stands for. It is prayer proceeding from faith in Christ, prayer that gives expression to a unity with all that Christ stands for, prayer which seeks to set forward Christ himself.”
Prayer in Jesus’ name is prayer according to his will. It is prayer made by a true believer who seeks the glory of the Father by the expansion of the Kingdom of Christ. It is prayer offered with the humility that recognizes that apart from Jesus I can do no good thing. It is asking Jesus to do that which pleases him, for his own sake, not for mine. When it is necessary for the sake of Christ’s kingdom and the glory of God the Father, you will say to a mountain, “Be taken up and thrown into the sea,” and it will be done.
The qualifications are necessary and Biblical. However, is it not possible that some of us have, in practice, made prayer a powerless, almost futile exercise? Might some of us in our theological tradition be called, “prayer-paralyzed” to the point that we are afraid to ask for anything unless we are sure that our request will be realized anyway? Do we sometimes over-qualify our prayers and fail to approach the throne of grace with the boldness demanded of a true believer? While it is accurate to remind ourselves that Jesus is not offering carte blanche approval of our desires, surely he is challenging us to pray and work for the conversion of our community.
4. Conclusion
Shortly after Dallas Seminary was founded in 1924, it came to the point of bankruptcy. The creditors had filed the papers to foreclose at noon on a particular day. That morning, the founders of the school met in the president’s office to pray that God would provide. Harry Ironside was there and prayed, “Lord, we know that the cattle on a thousand hills are thine. Please sell some of them and send us the money.”
While they prayed, a rancher walked into the seminary office and said, “I just sold two carloads of cattle in Fort Worth. I’ve been trying to make a business deal go through and it won’t work, and I feel that God is compelling me to give this money to the Seminary. I don’t know if you need it or not, but here’s the check.”
The secretary took the check, and knowing the financial seriousness of the hour, tapped on the president’s door. When Dr. Lewis Chafer came to the door and looked at the check, it was for the exact amount of the debt and he recognized the name of the rancher. Turning to Dr. Ironside, he said, “Harry, God sold the cattle.”
Will we pray, believing, for God to do great things for his name’s sake?
