Greater Works

INTRODUCTION:

The celebration of Christmas is the celebration of the Incarnation. The Incarnation of the eternal Word is the miracle of miracles, the first wonder of a series of wonders. The Incarnation was the foundation, the Crucifixion and Resurrection the capstone and roof, and the Ascension the great steeple. But there is another wonder beyond all this, one that involves us.

THE TEXT:

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also . . .” (John 14:1-18).

OVERVIEW:

Jesus encourages His disciples to believe in Him just as they believe in God, and not to let their hearts be unsettled (v. 1). Jesus is going into the heavens, but He is doing so in order to prepare a place for them among the many mansions of His Father’s house (v. 2). And if He goes, He will come back again (v. 3). You disciples know where I am going (v. 4). But Thomas argues with Him (v. 5). The Lord’s famous response is that He is the way, truth, and life (v. 6). Knowledge of Jesus is knowledge of the Father (v. 7). Philip asked to see the Father directly (v. 8), which Jesus said was unnecessary (v. 9). The one who has seen Jesus has seen the Father; the Lord was the Word Incarnate. The Father and Son indwell one another (v. 10). In addition, the words of Jesus and the works of Jesus are the Father’s words and works (v. 10). The disciples should believe in this mutual indwelling, at least for the works’ sake (v. 11). Jesus then says that the one who believes on Him will do works equal to and greater than the works that Jesus did after Jesus left to go to the Father (v. 12). Whatever we ask for—in line with the Father’s glorification in the Son—will be granted if we ask for it in Jesus’ name (vv. 13-14). Those who love Jesus should keep His commandments (v. 15), and Jesus will pray that the Father send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit to abide with us forever (v. 16). The Spirit cannot be seen or known by the world, but the Spirit will dwell in believers who have received Him (v. 17). In this way, Jesus will come to us (v. 18).

GREATER WORKS:

Jesus says something really strange in v. 12. “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” Not surprisingly, there have been wildly different views on this. Our charismatic brothers think that it refers to miracles. Others believe that it reveals to the work of conversions and evangelism, as on the day of Pentecost. Now these are obviously not unrelated, but there is a bigger point being made here. If it were just the isolated miracle, we can point to certain instances. Christ raised Lazarus from the dead, and Peter raised Dorcas. Christ healed the sick, and the apostles healed the sick. These were certainly some of His works, and the disciples did them too. Jesus taught the multitudes, and multitudes more have heard the words of Jesus because of the teaching of the apostles. These were His words, and the disciples repeated them and amplified them. This is all part of it, but something much larger is going on.

SEEING AND KNOWING:

Jesus says that they knew where He was going (v. 4). Thomas said they did not know (v. 5).

Jesus says that if they had known Him they would have known the Father (v. 7). Now they have known Him and have seen Him (v. 7).  If you have seen Jesus, you have seen the Father (v. 9). The entire discussion pivots on the question of seeing and knowing. Compare this with what Jesus says about the world being unable to receive the Spirit of truth. They cannot because they neither see Him nor know Him (v. 17). But believers have received Him and know Him, and He will dwell with us forever.

THE BODY OF CHRIST:

If you have seen Jesus, you have seen the Father. But does this mean that those of us who were not privileged to see Jesus with our physical eyes cannot know the Father? No, because Christ has poured out His Spirit upon us (v. 16), and He has done this so that He (Jesus) might come to us (v. 18). The Father, Son and Spirit indwell one another, and the Spirit is sent to indwell us (vv. 16-17). Now this indwelling is the basis of the manifestation—because the Father indwelt Jesus, and vice versa, the one who saw Jesus had seen the Father also. This means that the Christian Church is the manifestation of triune life on earth. If you have seen the body of Christ, you have seen Christ. And if you have seen Jesus, you have seen the Father. The Church is the fullness of Him who fills all things (Eph. 1:23). The Church partakes of the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4). The Church is a Temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19), built up out of living stones (1 Pet. 2:5).

The greatest work that Jesus did, including all the words He spoke, was the work of revealing what God is like—so that people could see and know. The miracles and the parables were obviously not excluded from this, and the crucifixion was the zenith of this revelation. But think of it this way—all His works in our midst were works of infinite patience and kindness. The greatest work that Jesus did was listening to His disciples talk about theology without punching them all. No, more than that—without even wanting to punch them all.

This is the great work assigned to the Church, the one that (by the power of the Holy Spirit) will be eventually done. This is the work that Jesus was talking about in v. 12. The Church is called to live as an embodied gospel.

CAN’T GET THE MIND AROUND IT:

The Incarnation, the perfect life of Jesus, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, the Ascension—and the extension of all this at Pentecost—is the embodied kindness of God. Think for a moment. God wants us to collapse under the weight of glory that is resident in us. But as it is written, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Cor. 2:9). “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints” (Eph. 1:18).  “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:17-19).                

What are you going to do to understand this? Get a bigger bucket? How does God fulfill His word in this? By means of worship, preaching, music and faith. He comes to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found.