August 9
“Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I am doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12)
I cannot fathom a verse in the Bible that is meant to capture our imagination more than this one.
Jesus is speaking, and He is making a promise to “whoever” will listen to Him. We tend to think that this verse applied only to His original disciples… or only to the really gifted… or the superspiritual. But these views only sell the verse short.
Jesus meant what He said. “Truly, truly” is an amplified application of truth. It is not just doubly true… it is exponentially true. It is the truest truth of the divine promise at work. It is the power of the Creator Himself behind these words. And what He says amazes us.
Jesus did some monumental things when He walked among us. He healed the sick, cured the diseased, liberated the tormented, reshaped twisted and useless limbs, and He even raised a few people from death.
But do we ever wonder why?
Sure, it was to demonstrate the fact that God had come to walk among us. And in some capacity, it was to give Him a voice with the masses.
But mostly, I think it was to show His disciples what was available to them. He came to show them a model what life in Him was supposed to be – and then He invited them to share in that kind of life.
He came to show them what the “new you” was capable of doing. And then to tell them that what they would be able to do was because of who they were in Him.
In short, Jesus had disciples because He was training them to BE Him after He left.
And the training involved first-hand knowledge of what was available to “whoever” would truly believe in Him – by believing that they could do the things that He did… and even greater things!
Our belief in Jesus can often be shallow, at best. We accept what He has done for us (gratefully). We embrace what He spoke to us (as truthful and wise). These things are all good, and we are right to be grateful and apply Jesus’ words to our lives. But do we really understand what Jesus came to offer us?
A real chance to BE Him to the world. Without limits. Without reservations. Without human weakness/frailty. To do as Jesus did, because of Who we are in Him.
The Gospel message leads us to the understanding that everything about the “old you” was crucified with Christ…
and a new you emerged with Christ AND is actually (right now) seated with Christ in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6).
There’s only one reason for that. Jesus has the same work to do now that He did way back then. And He chooses to do that work through those who will really believe Him – and take Him at His amazing word.
There’s no other way to put this… we as Christians are called to believe in Jesus and in what He has done. Because what He has done has enabled the impossible to become possible because of what His work has made us to BE.
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