What do you think Jesus meant?

[Csb1985]

On 8/27/2017 at 9:39 AM, George said:

Shalom everyone,

I'm curious on everyone's take on what Jesus meant when He said, 

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.

Your brother in the Lord with much agape love,

George

I'm not sure haha. Jesus did mention moving mountains, maybe that's a hint of things to come.

[Paul James]

My take on this is that miracles, healing and casting out of demons were the works that Jesus did to the max while He was in His earthly ministry.  John says that his account just scratched the surface so that people would believe on Him;  and if he recorded every miracle, healing, casting out of demons that Jesus did, the world wouldn't contain all the books that would be filled.   So, in the light of that, nothing that we could do in terms of the miraculous could ever surpass that.

I know that those who believe in miracles, healing and casting out of demons (as I do), would believe that these are the greater works, but I have my doubts - not that the works that Jesus did, which were promised that we can do, no doubt - but the greater works were things that Jesus did not do:

1. Millions converted to Christ and baptised with the Spirit through the subsequent centuries.

2. The formation of the visible church (in all it denominations) to provide a tangible testimony to Christ.

3. The gospel being taken all over the world, with the Scriptures being translated into all the different languages such as what Wycliffe Bible Translators are doing.

The works that Jesus did while on earth were basically limited to the Jews (the lost sheep of Israel), with a few exceptions.  He taught God's universal moral law to them to show them their sinfulness and their need for a greater righteousness than the Pharisees - which actually came after Pentecost when people got born again of the Holy Spirit.

But the greater works have been those accomplished by the world-wide work of the Holy Spirit in faithful believers who have been led of the Spirit to seek and save the lost, plant churches, and get the written word of God to all the different peoples of the world.