John 14:12-14 - Greater Works Than These

Invocation

Holy Father, you have called us to appear before you and we can, because Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Not to offer himself repeatedly, but once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And by that single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. Therefore we have great confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. So as we draw near to you Father, through merit and mediation of your son, be pleased to reveal your glory to us, through Jesus our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end, and amen.

Confession of Sin

Galatians 5:19–21 ESV

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

A tree is known by its fruit, and you will be too. The works we do manifest either, the spirit or the flesh. Sadly, this side of glory it is often a dangerous mix of both. Paul as such “vice” lists in his letters so that when we hear such works we may examine our lives to see if such things are evident in us. It’s one thing to have an impure thought, or a moment of envy, or an outburst of anger, but its quite another to be known by such things. That man is divisive, everything he does is calculated to sow discord. Or she is the jealous type, always looking with envy on others situations. What marks your life, what fruit are you producing? Perhaps you are not known for such works, and that’s good, but let me warn you, a fit of anger, if not repented of, soon becomes an angry disposition. Sin always grows, it never stays static. The reason we come often to confess our sins, is not because we believe our efforts to be holy will save us. No, Christ is sufficient to save the worst of sinners. We come often to confess our sin, because that is the means Christ has ordained to conform us, by His Spirit, to His perfect image. Like a sculptor work with a solid piece of granite, the Spirit, taking the image of Christ as His model, chips off all that excess rock, until the image is complete, perfect like the model. That chipping is confession. The Spirit open your eyes to see what needs to be changed and you say have your perfect way. So as we come to confess our sins, first silently, and then corporately as the body of Christ consider again these words of the Apostle Paul and search your life so that you may put to death the works of the flesh in you:

Galatians 5:19–21 ESV

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Let us prayer together.

New Testament Lesson

James 2:14–26 ESV

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

Pastoral Prayer

Let us now attend to the Lord with undivided devotion, and let not our hearts be far from him when we draw near to him with our mouths and honor him with our lips. O God, you are our God, earnestly we seek you; our God, and we will praise you, our fathers’ God, and we will exalt you. Who can utter the mighty deeds of the LORD, or declare all his praise? Oh, the depth of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! You have directed us to ask and seek and knock, and have promised that we will receive, we will find, and it will be opened to us. We are not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servants; Lord, we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but let your Spirit help us in our weakness and intercede for us.

So we lift up to you this congregation, asking especially that you would equip our leaders, those you have called to serve and rule over us, that they would be worthy of a double honor. Give them wisdom and grace to go out and come in before us, discerning good from evil and setting an example for us to follow. Use the various ministries of this church to equip your saints to be faithful to their callings, so that in everything they may glorify you. Thank you for allowing us to partner with so many who labor to bring in the harvest. During this holiday season, we pray for all our missionaries who labor far from home. Keep them from loneliness, from doubts over their calling; surround them with the family of the body of Christ. For truly water is thicker than blood. We ask especially for John and Sandy Supplee who labor in a closed country. Thank you for the time they were able to spend here in the states, and with their children this summer. May you continue to sustain them as they work to bring the gospel to the Muslim world. The scourge of Islam has been such a blight on that region of the world. Stop the spread of that false religion, and continue to draw Muslims out of the bondage of that idolatry. Equip those who are rescued from Islam to bear witness to Christ, and His glorious gospel. Enable them to endure persecution without compromise, even if it should cost them their lives. As we hear of their faith, embolden us to follow their example, we who have it so well here in the west. Keep us from complacency, and from pridefully turning away from our dependence on you. We are often quick to run to the medical establishment to heal us, or the government to feed us and protect us, instead of first coming to you. So teach us to run to Christ, to find in Him healing and protection. For those who suffer here this morning, grant relief from pain and sickness, and an increasing reliance on you to persevere. We ask for this for Jamie, Cheryl’s daughter and her severe hip pain, and also for Cheryl’s neighbor, who fell and shattered her previous knee replacement. Grant wisdom to the doctors as they care for her. Thank you for releasing Dan’s mother from the hospital, continue to heal her and help her to recover.

Father, we lift up to you our city Scranton, and the various Boroughs we all live in. Help us to be faithful in our witness to our neighbors and communities. Raise up Godly men to rule over us in local and state government. We pray for our mayor Paige, while government is not the place for women, we trust that you have placed her and other women over us as judgement on the men who have long abdicated their responsibility to lead in family, church, and state. Forgive us, and raise up godly men to step up to these vital roles and exercise godly leadership in local, state, and federal government. We also pray for our state representatives and our senators, draw them to you, and teach them to rule as those under your authority and by your word. Be with out governor Josh Shapiro, forgive His sins, chasten him when he departs from the truth, and teach him to punish evil and promote good according too your word. Be also with our president Joseph Biden, guard and keep him as he prepares to leave office. Keep him from making anymore foolish judgments on his way out. Prepare our president-elect Donald Trump to take office next month. Give him good health, keep him from pride and arrogance which cripple all leaders. Help him to govern his tongue, and surround him with godly influences so that he may enact justice according to your word.

As we hear everyday of some new conflict starting in another part of the world we ask for peace, not as the world would give, but the peace of Christ. We pray for those saints in Syria, in Israel and Palestine, in the Ukraine, and in other war-torn countries. Preserve and protect your people, save them from their enemies, and keep them from denying the faith. We trust Father in your sovereignty, knowing that you are working all things for good for your church, and that nothing can separate us from your love. And while we celebrate the birth of your son this week, let us always remember that His birth was attended by Herod’s soldiers, and the death of all those little ones. Remind us Lord that the peace of Christ does not necessarily mean the cessation of war, but it means being reconciled to you. So teach us not to fear him who can destroy the body, but to fear the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell. Teach us to fear you, to cling tightly to your promises, and bear witness to a world shoot through with sin and death the good news of Jesus Christ. We pray these things, just as our Lord taught us to pray: Our father...

Tithe

2 Corinthians 9:6–11 ESV

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.

Prior to saying this Paul had used the example of Christ: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” You are rich in Christ Jesus, and out of your abundance God calls you to give, cheerfully. For it’s not just your money that belongs to God, but your very life. As your confession of faith, and a reasonable act of worship let us give our tithes and offerings unto the Lord. Let’s pray:

Father, thank you for the gift of your Son, whose precious life is infinitely more worthy than anything we can offer to you. Yet, as a reminder to us that we belong to you, and from thankful hearts who you have made glad in Christ, we give this morning, offering to you such as we have, and asking to bless it and use it for your glory. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen.

Greater Works Than These

John 14:12-14

Lets pray: Holy Father, we ask in the name of your Son, that we who believe in Christ, may do the works he did, and the greater works he promised, so that you may be glorified in your Son, in His name we pray, amen.

Intro

We are, by now, used to Jesus saying things that startle us. Mostly to those who are hostile to him, like many of the Jews of His day were. He says things like, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” (Jn 6:53). Or, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires.” (Jn 8:44). Needless to say, Jesus' words and works have had a divisive effect on the people. Even some of His disciples took offense at His statements and stopped following Him (Jn. 6:66).

But now we are in that intimate setting of His farewell discourse, but even here the puzzling statements keep coming. Beginning in Ch. 13 with Jesus cryptic warning that he was leaving them, and where he was going they could not follow. Much of what follows from that was meant to encourage and comfort His disciples in His absence. Lest they should be overcome by fear and doubt, he furnishes them with all they will need to soldier on while he is away.

Last week he reassured them that they did know the way to where He was going, because He is the way. Since he and the Father are one, they need not seek an encounter with the Father, for if they have seen (known) Christ, they have seen (known) the Father. But Jesus continues, this morning with a promise that all those who believe in Him will do the works that he has done, and in fact even greater works. For whatever they ask in His name he will do. While the words are simple, there is much in these few verses that continues to puzzle His disciples. What are the works Jesus did, believers will do also? And how will we also do greater works than these? It's these questions we will answer as we consider this text together this morning. Beginning first, by considering the works Jesus did.

The Works Jesus Did

When Jesus begins any discussion with truly, truly, we are cued to paid attention closely. While addressing His disciples the whoever believes includes all those since then, who have believed in Christ. That is those who believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and by trusting in Him you will have eternal life. So the promise that follows is for all those who by faith trust in Christ. Lest we think Jesus is promising this only to the Apostles, to those elite followers of Christ, and not to us.

The promise for these, is that they will also do the works he has done. Our minds are drawn back to Jesus turning water into wine, or walking on water, healing the man born blind, raising Lazarus from the dead. When we consider the nature of such works, and then try to reconcile that with Jesus' promise here that all who believe will do works Jesus did, we grow puzzled. Will we all (be able) to raise someone from the dead, or heal someone just by making mud of our spit and rubbing it in their eyes? The answer has obviously been no, for not all who follow Christ can claim to do such miracles. In fact, with the death of the last of the apostolic band, we have ample evidence that these sign-gifts ceased. But for the sake of argument, let say they didn't. What then, how do we reconcile this with our experience and with other text in the NT that suggest not all will be able to do miracles, as Paul does in 1 Cor. 12.

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.” (1 Co 12:4–11).

What is Jesus talking about then? For a clue we need to back up one verse to verse 11 and consider the nature of these works Jesus did. “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.” (Jn 14:11). What do you notice there. Jesus is encouraging faith in Him, specifically that He and the Father are one, and commends His works as fitting instruments to lead them to faith. In fact we could paraphrase John's thesis statement in Jn 20:30 this way: “Now Jesus did many other [works] signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (Jn 20:30–31).

So the works Jesus did were all done with one goal in mind to lead people to faith. They are works that bear witness to who Jesus is, and what he came to accomplish. There is one other place in John where Jesus speaks the same way. He says, “the works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me,” (Jn 10:25). We get lost thinking about the specific works Jesus did, but we miss the nature of those works. And if the works Jesus did were designed to bear witness, then it is not at all unreasonable for us to participate in such works since we have been called to bear witness in our own works to the life of Christ.

The Works Jesus Does (through Spirit-empowered believers)

So it turns out if you look closely you can see the work Jesus did that we also will do are works that point back to Him. But as reasonable as that sounds, Jesus ups the ante, which is all the more puzzling. But again, if we read closely with the context, I aim to show this is not as puzzling as it may first seem.

Jesus continues by saying, "and greater works than these will he do." Dealing again with the same person, qualified by their faith in Him. They will do even greater works than those Jesus did. That seems to throw all our evidence for those works not being about the specific miraculous signs, but of a character of works designed to lead to faith in Him. The key is found in Jesus next phrase: "because I am going to the Father."

That event will trigger something to change in the work that His disciples will soon participate in, so let's ask the question what chain of events must take place for Jesus to go back to His Father? And how might that totally transform the work His disciples will do?

Well, its a mystery to the disciples at this point, but we (as well as the Author John) know how the story goes. We know that very soon, Judas is going to betray Jesus where he will be taken under the cover of darkness to a trial, a very rigged trial. The religious leaders will find Him guilty on trumped up charges, and then early in the morning convince the Roman Authorities of His guilt. By early afternoon He would be tortured and beaten, paraded through town, and taken to the place of execution. There having been stripped naked, he would have been hoisted on to a cross, where he would hang to death. As gruesome as the physical spectacle was, that paled when compared to the agony Jesus faced when he faced the penalty of God's wrath, while for three days he continued under the power of death. Only after suffering, dying, and with His perfect life paying the penalty for your sins, did God raise him from the dead, vindicating His righteous sacrifice. After presenting Himself to many witnesses for forty days he ascended up to heaven, returning to His Father.

I don't need to tell you that those events are the greatest events that have every happened, greater I would argue even than the creation of the world out of nothing. So because I am going back to the Father means because I have completed the great work of salvation that the Father sent me to accomplish. Up until then, all the "works" Jesus has done, were in anticipation of that event. Now, it was accomplished. Therefore the greater works must be read in light of that truth. Greater not in more miraculous then healing the blind or raising the dead, but greater because they bear witness not to a life that will come, but one that has come. These greater works point to a full and finished salvation; they point to completion, the reconciling of God with man and the full forgiveness of sins.

Jesus gives us one other clue about these greater works in John's version of the great commission in John 20.

“Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”” (Jn 20:21–23).

Here, Jesus commissions His disciples, filling them with His Spirit, and charging them to forgive sins. How? How can they forgive sins? Only the basis of Jesus having completed His work by ascending to the Father. They forgive sins by the proclamation of the word. In Short the "greater works" those who believe in Jesus will accomplish is the spirit-wrought application of the redemption purchased by Christ in His death and resurrection by their bearing witness to Him.

Paul made this clear in 2 Corinthians 3-5 as he defends his apostolic ministry, not as a peddler of the Gospel, proclaiming himself, "but Jesus Christ as Lord" (4:5). For Paul is "always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested" (4:10) since he is "always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in" his mortal flesh (4:11). All for the sake of others, "so that as grace extends to more and more people, it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God" (4:15). Paul is attentive to this ministry of reconciliation because he knows everyone will "appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others" (5:10-11) since the Lord had entrusted to them "the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (5:18-21). Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain (6:1).

Application

So the works we will do that Christ did are those which lead to faith in Him, and the greater works we will do since Jesus has gone to the father apply His redemption as agents called to bear witness to all He has accomplished. Now, what will become clear in the coming weeks is this will take place because Jesus will send us His Spirit. These greater works are Spirit-wrought works, that is essential to understand, even if Jesus has yet to fully explain how that all works. But before we turn to consider how we can accomplish these greater works, let's look at some very practical things we can do to work the works of God.

One thing which becomes clear as the gospel's close and the book of Acts begins is the work of Christ was not yet finished. Sure, there was a finality to His accomplishments in His death, resurrection, and ascension. Christ's mission on earth was complete, but the Spirit's mission was just beginning. The flow of biblical History can be summarized this way. The old covenant until the coming of Christ was the Father's mission of preparing the world for the coming of His Son to redeem the world from sin. Then the Son came and accomplished that redemption and ascended back to Heaven. Then the Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and Son, was sent to apply the redemption that Christ accomplished.

The Spirit accomplishes His mission by calling all those Christ died to save out of darkness, and apply the work of Christ to them in regeneration, justification, adoption, and sanctification, so that in the end they may be glorified. Then, when Christ returns when the Spirit's work is finished, he will take us to be with Him forever. The context of Christ's redemption is all of creation, and since the consequence of sin was far-reaching, so is the redemption Christ has accomplished–far as the curse is found.

The staggering truth that is revealed throughout the rest of the NT is Christ calls His people to participate in His redemption, by giving them His Spirit so that they will be His agents, applying His accomplished work of redemption by bearing witness. Witness is the umbrella term that is used to describe the Christian's calling. We often reduce witnessing to that thing Christians do when they try to invite someone to church, or tell them about Jesus, maybe by going door to door, or handing them a tract. But bearing witness is much much bigger than that. It is living, speaking, defending, increasing, and suffering as Christians, i.e. someone who has been born again, has received the Spirit of Christ and whose goal in life is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

Obviously Christian witness is a broad topic, with wide application to every area of life. I just want to highlight two things. If doing the work Jesus did means bearing witness to His person, and doing the greater works entails bearing witness to His redemptive work to reconcile God and sinners, then first and foremost you must be a reconciled sinner to bear witness to Jesus' finished work. That might seem obvious, but it’s important for engaging in the work. You cannot get the cart before the horse, until you understand the indicatives of the Gospel—what God has done for you in Christ, you will never get the imperatives of the Gospel—what you are to do in response, right. Including the "greater work" of bearing witness. First, know who you are, then you can invite others in. Because essentially we are offering people Jesus, how can you offer something you have never had?

Have you ever encountered someone who just underwent a radical transformation? Maybe they lost a lot of weight. When you talk to them, they will be the best apologist you can find for whatever diet or exercise routine led to their sudden weight loss. They will go on and on extol the life-changing virtues of the Carnivore diet, or KETO, or OMAD, or whatever it is, that when you walk away, you are just about convinced you should do what they did too. And you know the ones that are not convincing. That person who recommends this or that diet or workout routine, who are clearly not benefiting from it. You think, no thanks, whatever you’re selling, I'm not buying, since it clearly doesn't work.

If you are going to offer people Jesus, you have to have come to Him and found in Him "the way, the truth, and the life." Only then will you be able to live with a holy boldness, emanating an aroma of life to those who are being saved. Only then will you be able to speak the truth in love, sounding the depths of God's grace to undeserving sinners as you proclaim and defend the Gospel of Christ. Only then will you be able to suffer well, displaying God's power in your weakness as you share in the sufferings of Christ.

Bearing witness is much more than speaking to people about Jesus, it’s not less than that, but it is much more. It's seen when your words are adorned with acts of love. I often say this but there is hardly a more compelling argument for Jesus, then a husband who loves his wife and a wife that submits to her husband; there is nothing more attractive to a watching world than a rightly ordered family, with a whole passel of children being nurtured in the faith. Why? Because the world has failed so drastically in this area. Families are a wreck. Children are absent. Marriages fail more than succeed as spouses pursue themselves rather than the good of the other. Divorce. Abortion. Abuse. Adultery. Child custody battles and support and alimony drain the family economy and waste untold resources in our society. Beneath most criminal activity is a broken family. You want to display Jesus to that, then love your wife. You want to offer the world a compelling reason to believe in Jesus, submit to your husband. You want to display the increase of the Gospel, have children and nurture them in the faith.

Now maybe you don't have a spouse, or the Lord hasn't blessed you with children yet. My point is not that this is the only way. Rather, my point is don't make all your witness-bearing plans so big you can never accomplish them. You may want to bear witness by going to some foreign land and reaching that unreached people group. Or selling all you have and giving it to the poor. Or becoming that Christian prince that helps return this nation to its Christian roots. Those are all great things, but we often miss the things we can do every day that are right in front of you. So maybe you don't have a family yet, but you have a neighbor—love them. Be so joyful in disposition and brimming with hope, that they ask you why, so that you can offer them Jesus. Learn to bear witness in your suffering, unique as it is to each one of us. It’s not the individual or family that pretends to have it altogether that is compelling, but one that embraces the suffering that comes with joy and continues to persevere in their faith. When the Lord hasn't blessed you with children, and those around you know how much you want that, and in your suffering, you point others to Christ, showing contentment while you wait. And in the meantime you scoop up the kids running around here, and you love on them, and as they grow, you seek to build a relationship with them so that you can assist their parents in their covenant nurture.

If you want to do the greater works Christ promised those who believe in Him will do, then you must bear witness to Him in what you say and what you do. And that must flow from who you are, grateful recipient of Christ and all His benefits. Make no mistake, this is a tall order. People are hard to love, and their resistant to the various ways you offer Christ to them. So you will need power to participate in the work Christ calls you to. You will need daily, hourly, minute-by-minute dependence on Christ. One question remains, how?

The Effective means to accomplish such works

The only way to accomplish such work effectually is through prayer. Notice where Jesus goes next: “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” (Jn 14:13–14).

That the Father is glorified in the Son, at least in this context here, means that the "greater works" Jesus’ disciples will do in the name of Jesus glorify the Father. You want to know what glorifies the father? Glorying in the Son. Primarily by bearing witness to Him, to His person and His work. We do that when we engage in the work in humble reliance upon the Holy Spirit in prayer.

The first thing we draw from this is you can't do this kind of work on your own. You must first seek the Lord in prayer, and learn to do them out of your dependence on Him. As J. C. Ryle puts it: "He that does much for Christ, and leaves his mark in the world, will always prove to be one who prays much." (J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on John, vol. 3 (New York: Robert Carter & Brothers, 1880), 68)." Prayer is the fuel that the Lord uses to accomplish His purposes. And this is really because Christ is not separate from His body, but actively working through it. The greater works believers do are done in the name of Jesus, in and through the Spirit of Christ, who has made His dwelling place with us.

Whatever seems quite broad. Is it really whatever we ask of Christ he will do, anything? Surely this must be qualified. As exceedingly broad as this is, it is qualified by in my name. That simple truth provides the guardrails that keep us from treating God like a genie, or a divine butler, there only at our beck and call. "Prayer is to be in accordance with all that that name stands for." (Morris, John, 574). The whatever and anything you ask are all those things consistent with who Christ is, both His character and His will. You have no guarantee when you ask for things that are not lawful, or contrary to the word of God, that Jesus will grant your request. Given the context, it's clear we are to ask that we be enabled by His Spirit to do "the greater works" that glorify the Son.

Partly this is an encouragement to the disciples who would have thought it impossible to do greater works in Jesus' absence than when he was present. But His absence is not one of absence of power, or even of presence, which will be mediated to them (in greater ways) through the giving of the Spirit. Spirit-wrought works, done in union with Christ in His name in prayer, are the effectual means God has made to accomplish His great purposes in redemption and the restoration of all things.

It's quite staggering to consider the Lord chooses prayer to accomplish His purposes. When the Lord brings judgement upon the world for the killing of her holy Martyrs, it will be because of the prayers of His people. These he has held in reserve until the time is complete.

“And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.” (Re 8:3–5).

Conclusion

Although Christ would leave His disciples, he encourages them with the promise that they would continue the work he began, by bearing witness to all he had said and done. All those who believe in Him would participate in His mission to redeem the world of sin by doing the greater work of applying His merit and mediation to others through word and deed. All of it done through the Spirit and suffused with prayer, as agents of Christ bringing good news to a lost a dying world. Pray then, in the name of Christ, that you may do these greater works, shining the spotlight on Christ, by your lives of holiness, your words of truth, and the devotion of your sacrificial love. The world will know you belong to Christ by these works, as you offer to them a Jesus, His forgiveness and His promise of eternal life. So that more and more are drawn to bow and accept Christ as Lord, and are brought into the kingdom of God, and so glorify the Father as they glory in Christ.

Lord's Supper Meditation

As we come to the table, consider simply this: only those who have Christ can offer Christ. If you are to do works that lead others to faith in Christ, then you must come to Christ and, in prayer, be empowered by His Spirit to walk in those works he prepared beforehand for you to walk in. If you have not known Christ, how can you make him known? If you have not tasted and seen that Christ is good, how will you invite others to taste and see? Your witness must be empowered by your delight in God. If you delight in Him, then I promise you, it will show. The world will see it in you everywhere, often in ways you would not suspect. To encourage delight, to fulfill desire, and to embolden witness, Jesus has given you this sacramental meal of bread and wine. Signs and seals of His body and blood, that is of His death on your behalf, and His rising again to new life. So here, not in fleshly ways, but in spiritual ways, Christ offers you himself. Saying come and eat, come and drink, find your hunger satisfied, and your thirst quenched. Come and feast with me in my Kingdom. As you come ask Jesus to work these "greater works" in you assuring you of your salvation, and giving you such an abiding sense of His forgiving love that you are empowered to bear witness in word and deed throughout the rest of this week, and until he comes. Christ stands here and offers you himself. Come and accept His gracious offer, so that you can offer Him to the world. Amen.

Charge

Since believers participate in the works of Christ by bearing witness, we must apply His redemption to the world of ruined sinners through constant dependence on Him in prayer.