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11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. ~ John 14:11-14
The Lord Jesus was not only having to convince the religious leaders of His identity, He also is having to still convince His disciples. This opens a can of reality we know to exist in our souls. We, at varying times, struggle with believing in the Lord Jesus. This life of faith in the Lord Jesus is hard.
Part of the reason living by faith in the God of the Bible is so difficult is this: doubt is involved. We think doubt is our enemy, yet it is the shadow cast by faith. Where there is certainty there is no room for faith. The flip side of this is: uncertainty welcomes faith. I have discovered even failure has been known to be an important ingredient in the growth of our faith in Him.
As we jump back into John 14, the disciples are now struggling with their faith and their future. On the heals of this, in v.12 we have the greatest promise the Lord Jesus ever made. "Whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." Literally, the Lord Jesus says, "Whoever is believing in me." To a group of men who had left everything to follow Him, He says these words.
"Whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." In the book of Acts these words were literally fulfilled: Peter and John healed a man who was lame from birth: Peter raised Dorcas from the dead; Paul delivered people from demonic oppression and healed the sick. Even the very shadow of Peter walking through the streets healed people.
But he goes on to a second promise, "Whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." No one can perform greater miracles than the miracles the Lord Jesus performed. What could be greater than raising a man who had been dead four days, healing someone who had been ill for 38 years, or restoring instant sight to blind eyes? So, when the Lord Jesus speaks of "greater things" He meant "greater" in a spiritual dimension.
Through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, our works of love and our message of life will aid people in believing in the risen Son of God. The impact of eternity is much greater than the impact of the temporal. This will be greater than the Lord Jesus’ earthly miracles because this is what He came to accomplish by His death, burial and resurrection.
On the day of Pentecost, forty days after the Lord Jesus said the words, Peter preached and 3,000 became followers of the Lord Jesus, in one day. That never happened during Jesus' ministry. This was the "greater things" that the Lord Jesus promised in today's text.
At the end of v.12, the Lord Jesus says, "because I am going to the Father. " After He ascended to heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to indwell His followers. You and I are benefactors of this great phenomena, and it is the indwelling Holy Spirit who works these greater things.
In v.13 the Lord Jesus connects all of this to prayer. When we pray in His name, when we ask in concert with God's will, what the Father wants, the Lord Jesus says, "I will do it." Twice He says this. Whatever you ask. "If you ask anything in my name, I will do it."
Some time ago, I was having breakfast with a guy who considered himself an Atheist. As the conversation moved along, I felt more and more like a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. We came to a point when my friend made an excellent point, and I quickly asked the Lord to give me an answer. Just then an answer came to my mind and I shared it with my friend. Months later, my friend told me the answer I gave him was the turning point in his life of faith.
By the way, you're probably wondering what the answer from the Lord that I gave my friend. The answer was, "what is love?" My friend answered, "it's a chemical reaction in the brain." I said, "seriously, it's a chemical reaction in the brain?" I then told him, "there must be an ultimate source for love, and I believe that the ultimate source for love is God."
The promise in v.13-14 is to all believers. There is no exclusion here if you are a Christian. It is not only for pastors, mature Christians, or highly spiritual Christians, or missionaries, or elders, or evangelists, or highly gifted Christians. No, “whoever believes in me.” Will you enter into the realm that matters for eternity in the lives of people who are not yet ready to spend eternity in heaven?
