Whoever believes in Jesus will do greater works than Jesus

Sermon Transcript

Whoever believes in Jesus will do the works that Jesus did. And even greater works! “Truly, truly I say to you,” says Jesus, “whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do.” That’s the big idea of our passage this morning: Whoever believes in Jesus will do greater works than Jesus. Huh.

When I was five years old, my parents enrolled me in gymnastics. I loved it and totally dedicated myself to it. As a young child, maybe seven years old, I practiced six days for three hours a day. I continued competing until I graduated from Penn State. From time-to-time when I was a young gymnast, I had the opportunity to meet a great gymnast, even some Olympians. Since they were nice people, they’d often try to say something inspiring to me because they could tell how much I loved gymnastics. Sometimes they’d say something like, “If you work really hard and truly dedicate yourself to the sport, you can be an Olympian too. With hard work you’ll accomplish even greater things than I have.” As I got older I learned that what they were saying wasn’t really true. They didn’t mean to lie or anything, it’s just something Olympians say to kids. It’s well-meaning, inspiring and it’s not really true. I worked incredibly hard, I dedicated myself to the sport, but when I retired from gymnastics I was something like the 40th best male gymnast in America. Only five go to the Olympics. They told me I could be an Olympian. It was an inspiring thing to say, but we all know it’s not really true.

I think that if we’re honest with ourselves, and one another, we’d have to admit that we’re tempted to read Jesus’ promise in our passage – that whoever believes in him will do greater works than him – and conclude that Jesus was being like those Olympians; inspirational, but, ultimately, untruthful. Be honest, how many of you heard Caroline read that passage and in your heart said, “oh come on”? And yet we know that this is the Lord Jesus Christ talking. We know that this is the only begotten Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. So, we wonder “how?” We think, “Yes, Lord, I will take you at your word because I revere you, but how will we do greater works than you? Our passage provides two answers to that question. The first is a promise and the second is a command. Whoever believes in Jesus will do greater works than he did. How? 1. Jesus went to the Father 2. By praying in Jesus’ name.

JESUS WENT TO THE FATHER

Notice that the opening verse of our passage is a promise to whoever believes in Jesus; receives and rests in Him alone for forgiveness of sins and eternal life. 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… That’s a stunning promise. Our Lord’s promise raises two questions.

The first question is: What works did Jesus do? Well, in John 5 and 9, Jesus miraculously healed people from disability and blindness, and called these miracles his works. So, Jesus’ works include more than his miracles, but not less. In John 6 Jesus says that the works of God are to believe in Him, God’s only begotten Son. So Jesus’ “works” include bringing people to genuine faith in Jesus as the only begotten Son of God and Savior for the world, through our verbal witness about Christ. So, Jesus’ works include both his miracles and his preaching, which drew a small number of men and women to genuine faith in him while he was on earth. But there is even more to it than that.

We gain greater clarity about what Jesus’ works are when we read the last little phrase in the opening verse of our passage. 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. The basis for doing the works that Jesus did and even greater works is that the Lord Jesus went to the Father. What’s the significance of Jesus going to the Father? Jesus promised that if he went to the Father, he would send the Holy Spirit to empower us to do the works that Jesus did. The conversation that Jesus began with his disciples in John 14 continued through John 16. Listen to what Jesus said about going to the Father and sending the Holy Spirit in John 16:6-8, 13 – But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. [7] Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. [8] And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment…When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. Because Jesus was raised from the grave on the third day and ascended to the Father, He sent the Holy Spirit to convict the world of sin and righteousness through our witness. In the new covenant age of the Spirit, there is a greater clarity and power in our witness than even when Jesus was on earth. Greater works!

Think of it! While Jesus was on earth, before his death, His words and deeds were relatively unclear to and misunderstood by the crowds, and even his closest disciples. After his resurrection, Jesus had barely more than 100 disciples and they were quite weak in faith. But everything changed when Jesus ascended into heaven, went to the Father, and sent the Holy Spirit to indwell his disciples. By the power of the Spirit, Jesus’ once weak disciples preached the gospel with power and clarity. 3,000 people were brought from death to new life in Christ in one day. The disciples healed the sick and gave their lives for Christ courageously. Within three hundred years, nearly every pagan temple in Rome shuddered its doors because the gospel of Jesus Christ spread far and wide through the witness of those who believed in Jesus. The Lord Jesus Christ is today alive and well, he is still working from heaven. The Lord Jesus Christ has ascended to the Father and is right now reigning, ruling, and doing greater works than he did on earth by the power of the Spirit through us! And we are doing it, Citylight. In just the dozen years that Citylight has existed, we have participated in the greater works as people have come from death to new life in Christ, as people have given away their lives for the glory of Christ, and the sick have been prayed for. It’s all because Jesus went to the Father and empowers us by his Spirit.

If you notice the context of our Lord’s promise that whoever believes in him will do his works, and greater works, you’ll notice that the promise is meant to comfort us. It’s troubling that Jesus isn’t here with us as he was during his incarnation. But his promise here in John 14 is our comfort. I love the way that the late James Boice describes the comfort in his commentary on the Gospel of John:

Do you hear Jesus speaking? Do you hear Him calling you? He is saying, “I know that you are often discouraged in the midst of your difficulties. I know that the world seems harsh and unresponsive to the gospel. I know that it seems entrenched in its sin. But remember this: I have ascended to the right hand of My Father in heaven, from which place I now rule. All authority in heaven and earth has been given to Me; and it is on this basis, the basis of My authority, and in My own strength that I send you forth to be My disciples. I am Lord over sin, death, hell, and the devil. You shall be lords over these forces also.
“When I was here on earth I was in weakness. I performed only a few and very small works: I healed the sick, fed the hungry, raised the dead. Finally I let myself be crucified and put to death. Now I am the risen Lord, and it is My pleasure to do greater works than those I have mentioned. I want to do them through you. I have promised to draw all men and women to Myself as the gospel is preached. Now I call you to preach it. I commission you to go into all the world and teach men and women all that I have commanded you. I promise to go with you, to bless the message, and overthrow strongholds of wickedness through your proclamation. You, Peter; you, James; John (George, Mary, Susan, Robert—whoever you may be), I promise to bless your witness to the extent that those who hear will either have to accept it or else, by rejecting it, complete their own spiritual destruction.”
What do you say to that great commission? Do not say, “Well, that is nice; but, of course, the Lord doesn’t really mean it. There is nothing ! can do.” Rather say, “Then so be it; I am nothing, but by the grace of God I will do all things, through the strength of my Lord.”

Whoever believes in Jesus will do greater works than Jesus. It’s a promise. But how exactly do we do those greater works? That brings us to the second half of our passage…

WE PRAY IN JESUS’ NAME

John 14:12-14 – “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. [13] Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. [14] If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. Jesus promises that through his ascension to the Father and sending the Holy Spirit, we will do his works and greater works. Now he tells us how we’ll actually accomplish these greater works: we pray in his name. Our prayer puts Jesus’ promise into motion. Asking in Jesus’ name really is the primary work of the people of God.

While I believe that it’s good and wonderful to begin or conclude our prayers “in Jesus name,” praying in Jesus’ name is more than this simple addition to our prayers. What does it mean to pray in Jesus’ name? As we draw our passage to a conclusion, let’s consider four ways to pray in Jesus’ name. Praying in Jesus’ name means…

Asking as a Christian

Praying in Jesus’ name means that we have taken on his name by faith; we have received and rested in Christ alone for the forgiveness of sins. Praying in Jesus’ name means that we are approaching Jesus in prayer only on the basis of his grace. Instead of approaching Jesus in prayer as though he owes us something or anything, we are asking because he is loving, merciful, and welcomes us to himself by grace. Most of us have approached Jesus as though he owes answers because we are good people. But the Christian knows that we deserve nothing and we come only in his name, by his grace.

At our church-wide night of prayer this Wednesday evening, I will share with you five big, bold, believing prayers that we are going to ask in Jesus’ name together this year. One prayer is for forty new believers this year through Citylight MNYK and one new believer this year through Citylight NYC. Asking in Jesus’ name means that we don’t presume on Christ. We don’t assume he owes us an outpouring of new converts to Christ just because we pray a lot, preach a lot, and strategize well. No, asking in Jesus’ name means asking like Christians who deserve nothing and have access to Christ only by his grace through the cross.

Asking boldly

Praying in Jesus’ name means that we take Jesus at his word and ask for him to do his works and greater works through us. Asking for 41 converts this year is bold. Why can we ask for something so bold? Because Jesus said that we will do his works through prayer in his name and at the heart of his work is saving people from darkness and bringing them into His eternal light. Since Jesus is working powerfully, we are asking boldly. Asking in Jesus’ name means taking him at his word and asking boldly. If you took Jesus at his word in this passage, what would you be asking boldly for?

Surrendering completely

Praying in Jesus’ name means surrendering completely. In our passage Jesus explicitly says that the purpose of our asking is so that the Father will be glorified through the Son answering us. That means that prayer in Jesus’ name is prayer that shares Jesus’ priorities because Jesus always lives to glorify His Father. Asking in Jesus’ name means surrendering our prayers to Jesus’ priorities. Perhaps the best way to surrender our prayers completely to Christ is to pray Scripture. In fact, just a chapter later, the Lord Jesus said, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7). When we pray Scripture, we are surrendering our prayers to the name and priorities of Jesus. So, remember the 3 R’s method: Rejoice, repent, request. Read any passage and then pray it in Jesus’ name by rejoicing over what it reveals about God, repent of the sin it reveals in you, and make bold requests according to its words. When it comes to praying for 41 new believers, that request reflects surrender. We’ve read that Jesus has lost sheep that he wants found, so we surrender to that by making it our prayer priority.

Asking confidently

Asking in Jesus’ name means asking confidently because we know His Spirit transforms our prayers into God’s will. As Paul Miller says, praying in Jesus’ name doesn’t only guarantee that our prayer has access, it transforms the prayer. Romans 8:26-27, we read, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. [27] And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” The confidence that we can have in prayer is truly amazing! We will receive what we ask for or what we would have asked for if we knew everything that the Holy Spirit knows.

Whoever believes in Jesus will do greater works than Jesus because Jesus died for our sins, ascended to the Father, and he is now working to extend his kingdom through our prayers in his name. Ask boldly and surrender completely.