“Most assuredly I say to you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also. And greater works than these he will do because I go to my Father and whatever you ask in my name that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (John 14:12,13).
How do you respond to an incredible statement like this? Most of us, being humble in nature, will look at ourselves and say, “Who am I? How in the world am I going to do more than what Jesus did?” How can we understand this passage properly and come to a right conclusion about what Jesus was trying to tell us?
Anytime we have a difficult passage in the Bible, the starting point to understand it is to look at the context of the passage. Why did Jesus make a statement like this? His disciples did not expect an offer like that from their master.
One must start reading from verse one of chapter 12 to understand why Jesus made this statement. Because in chapter 12 and chapter 13, Jesus made a transition from his public ministry and started talking about his death. John, chapter 11, is the story of the resurrection of Lazarus. It was the highest point of popularity for Lord Jesus. Multiple thousands of people were following him. And when he came back to Bethany, where Lazarus was from, there was no room to contain the public. The entire street was filled with people.
But suddenly, Jesus personally turns the page and started to talk about his death. In chapter 12 and chapter 13, you can see multiple references about this. Jesus said, unless a grain of wheat falls on the ground and die, it will remain by itself, but if it fall and die, it will produce much harvest. And the disciples did not understand that Jesus was talking about his death. Later, Jesus said that just like Moses lifted up the brass serpent, Son of Man must be lifted up. He was talking about his crucifixion, but his disciples did not understand that. It did not fit their theology of Messiah. His disciples were very confused. And they came to Jesus and said, “We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up?’” (John 12:34).
The disciples were completely confused. What was going to happen to their movement if Jesus went back to his Father?? What was going to happen to their lives who left everything to follow Jesus?
That is where chapter 14 begins. Chapter 14 and verse 1 is a favorite verse of every Christian. “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.”
Jesus said that to comfort them. He continued that dialogue till the end of chapter 16.
When we come to verse 12, of chapter 14, Jesus assures that just because he was going, their movement was not going to be over. Rather, it was going to enter into the next phase.
What did the disciples do up to that moment? Just were eyewitnesses to what Jesus did. Who was doing all the miracles? It was Jesus. Who was doing all the healing? It was Jesus. Who was doing all the teaching? It was Jesus. They were just part of the audience.
Jesus told them that once he goes back to his Father, their role was going to change. They were no longer going to be sitting around as part of the audience. They were going to be at the center of the stage to do more than what Jesus did. They would be healing the sick, casting out devils and preaching the kingdom of God.
How was this possible? Jesus pointed out three points. First, Jesus said, it was possible because he was going away. What does that mean? When Jesus was on the face of the earth, the Holy Spirit was upon him in its entirety. When Jesus took baptism, the HolySpirit came upon him like a dove and dwelled on him. The entirety of the HolySpirit was upon Jesus. The only time disciples tasted the power of the Holy Spirit was when Jesus sent them out with authority to heal the sick in Luke 10.
Once Jesus went back to the Father, he was going to send the Holy Spirit to be with his followers. “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, who will never leave you.” (John 14:16). The same power source that worked in Jesus is working in the lives of his followers now enabling to do the same things Jesus of Nazareth did.
Secondly, Jesus gave them the privilege to ask anything in his name. “You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.” (John 14:13). When you read chapters 14 to 16 that covers this dialogue of Jesus, you can see that six times Jesus speaks about asking in his name. In Hebrew thinking, a name was more than a means to address someone. It represented the essence of that person. That is why when their life experiences changed, God changed the name of Sarah, Abraham, Jacob etc. Using the name of Jesus is more than calling upon his name. When the church since the days of the original disciples prayed in the name of Jesus, they were invoking the authority of that name.
Thirdly, the office of Jesus was about to change. He kept telling them, “I will ask of the Father,” which referred to his new office as our High Priest. “So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. ….So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most” (Hebrews 4:14,16). Jesus started interceding for his followers in John 17. He is continuing that on the right hand side of the Father.
How is it possible for us to do more than what Jesus did? In the Greek language, when Jesus said ‘you will do more,’ the word that he used was ‘megas.’ Megas means greater, but it can be used in four different ways in the Greek language. One of the meanings is greater in number. In John, chapter14, when Jesus said, you will do greater things than I did, what Jesus said was, you will do miracles greater in number. He expected his disciples and his church to do miracles greater in number than he did. Did the disciples do more miracles Jesus did? Yes, they did.
We see 37 miracles of Jesus in the four Gospels. And John tells us at the end of his book that it is not all the miracles Jesus did. But 37 miracles are written in the pages of the Gospels. Did the disciples do more than that?
Well they did. The first miracle done by the disciples is in Acts, chapter three, when Peter and John healed the lame man outside the temple. This was also the first time the disciples used the authority of the name of Jesus. Immediately, he got up and started walking. They saw firsthand that the name of Jesus works.
But that was not the only miracle by the hands of the disciples. When we come to Acts, chapter five, verse 12, we read, “many signs and wonders were regularly doneamong the people by the hands of the apostles.” Miracles became a common thing in their ministry!
In Acts, chapter 8, we see the miracles that happened in Samaria. (Acts 8:6,7). In chapter 9, we have miracles being done by the hands of Peter. (Acts 9:32-42). In Chapter 19, we have a list of the miracles done by Paul in Ephesus. (Acts 19:11-20).
We can see miracles in our day also. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.What happened in Acts chapter five, can happen in 2026. What Jesus did in first century, he can do it in 21st century.What he did through the apostles, he can do through us in our generation.
The power of Pentecost is the same in the first century and in the twenty first century. The anointing that is upon the servants of God is the same. “These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. … They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.” (Mark 16:17,18). The question is, can we believe? Can we take Jesus at his word? Do we have the confidence that Jesus can use us just as he used Peter and Paul?
Let us use the power of Pentecost upon us to do greater exploits for the kingdom of God.
