GREATER WORKS THAN THESE (PART I)

“Questions About Doing Greater Works”

By Akin Ojumu

Just before the Lord Jesus Christ was to be arrested by the Jews, He was in the Upper Room with His disciples having the Last Supper. Earlier in the evening, He had laid aside his outer garments, taken a towel, and washed the disciples’ feet. 

John 13:1-5

“Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”

By this time, Judas, who had been identified as the one who would betray Him, had gone on his way to set in motion his final acts of betrayal.

John 13:26-30

“…So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”…So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.”

Now that the Passover dinner had been completed, the Lord Jesus Christ began to give the disciples His valedictory address. He told them about his impending arrest, rigged trial, torture, ridicule, crucifixion, and death. It was during this time that He told Peter he would deny Him three times before the rooster crowed that night.

Matthew 26:33-35

“Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same.”

As you can imagine, the disciples were distraught and shaken to their core. Their world was about to collapse. In a few hours, they’ll be thrown into bewilderment, confusion, and great apprehension because of the events that would soon transpire.

Rather than being comforted by His disciples in the hour of trial that was about to unfold, though, we find that it was the Lord Jesus who was comforting them. Anticipating the anguish and distress that was coming their way, He strengthened their hearts spiritually and succored them emotionally. He told them not to be heartbroken, and He reassured them that He was going to prepare a place for them in His Father’s house.

John 14:1

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.”

As the night progressed, Philip, one of the Lord’s disciples, asked Him to show them the Father. The Lord Jesus reminded him and the rest of the disciples that once they’ve seen Him, they’ve seen the Father, that He is in the Father and the Father is Him, and that He speaks by and on the authority of the Father. 

It was this stage that Lord Jesus made the following remarks, which is the topic of this commentary.

John 14:12

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.”

As it turns out, this statement by the Lord Jesus Christ is one of the most abused and misused Bible texts you’d ever find. In fact, a whole cottage industry of false teachings and heretical beliefs has been spun out of the gross distortion of John 14:12. All sorts of religious sects, such as the Pentecostal, Charismatic, and Word of Faith Movements hijack this text, devoid of its proper context, as a pretext for a proof text supporting their erroneous doctrines. Charlatans, impostors, shysters, Gospel hucksters of all shapes and sizes point to John 14:12 as the Biblical basis for their charlatanry.

In this commentary, we will exegete John 14:12 within its proper context in order to accurately interpret and correctly understand what the Lord Jesus Christ had in mind when He told His disciples that day in the Upper Room that they were going to do greater works than these. 

With the help of the Holy Spirit, we will attempt to answer the following questions.

1) What works is the Lord Jesus Christ talking about here?

2) Exactly what does doing greater works mean?

3) Is the Lord Jesus Christ, in John 14:12, saying Christians are going to be as powerful as, or even more powerful than, He is? 

4) Does this mean all Christians are supposed to be able perform greater supernatural deeds than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself did while He was here on earth?

5) Is this passage saying Christians can walk on water, raise the dead, turn five loaves of bread and two fishes into hundreds of baskets of loaves of bread and buckets of fishes? 

6) Does it mean believers in Christ can make the blind see, cause the deaf to hear, and make the dumb speak?

7) Is this passage even applicable to Christians today or it is solely for the purposes of the disciples to whom it was addressed?

Before we dive into all these, it’s important that we once again remind ourselves of the dangers of misinterpreting Bible passages. If we care at all about the eternal destiny of our soul, we will endeavor to remember the grave consequences of twisting and distorting the Word of God. 

Reminding to remember is exactly what we are going to do next time.