John 14:12 - Greater works than these

 14:12

These next three verses can be difficult to interpret or to understand properly. They can even be a discouragement! This can happen because we misinterpret them and are then disappointed that we don’t experience what we think should be their fulfilment. So let’s take a look at them, starting with we will do “greater works”. In charismatic type circles this can often be taken as meaning we will do more or bigger miracles. Let us first look at the Biblical evidence. In Acts we read of the apostles and others doing miracles. In fact, there are some incidents involving Peter and John which would fit very well in the gospels with Jesus doing them. There are also various places in the letters where it is clear that healings and signs happened. However, the miracles are not greater than those Jesus did, and not as frequent. So I draw two conclusions from this. The first is that the number or “quality” of miracles is not what Jesus is talking about. The second is that this does not mean that miracles never happen. They do sometimes happen, and God is perfectly at liberty to bless a church or nation with a large number of miracles if He so chooses.

So how do we get to the real meaning? We look at the context. The focus is on God, and on His work. Jesus came to do the work of the Father, and that work on earth was not about to stop because Jesus was going away. Quite the opposite. Precisely because He was going away that work would increase, and God would do that work through the church. Too often we look at these verse from a man-centred perspective, we need to look at them from a God-centred perspective. They then make much more sense, and are a source of great encouragement. Sometimes people think how wonderful it would be to have been around when Jesus was here. Obviously there is something in this, but the deeper truth is that today is the day for God working in and through us.