John 14:12-14 12Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who believes in me the works that I do, that one will also do, and greater than these he will do, because I am going to the Father. 13And whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, in order that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
The next three verses form a complex timeless truth (truly, truly) statement that applies not only to the disciples gathered at the supper but to all who read or hear and believe. The challenge is the meaning and extent of the application. The invitation is open to anyone who believes in Jesus. Believing in Jesus has been the key theme of John’s Gospel to this point. One outcome of this believing is eternal life. Jesus speaks about two other outcomes in these verses. The first is about doing works (erga). Jesus did many works in his ministry that proved his identity (verse 11). The person who believes will imitate Jesus and do what he did.
There are two challenges about this idea: the identity and extent of these works. The context of John suggests that these works were obviously miracles but went beyond those. Jesus showed great compassion toward those in need but also strength against adversity and those who needed correction. Jesus embodied God’s will and revealed through his obedience the attributes of God. The challenge is to understand how believers will do greater works. The word greater (meizona) can be interpreted as more spectacular, but we cannot imagine doing miracles greater than Jesus, who was the greatest miracle worker of all time. The word could refer to greater in number because the group of disciples would grow over time and their ministry impact would become greater than Jesus’ brief ministry.
The second option seems more likely because of the next phrase with gives the basis for how the disciples’ works will be done: because Jesus was going to the Father. The disciples would be able to do their works because will have completed his mission and returned to the Father. Their ministry would commence after Jesus ascended. Because Jesus brought life to believers through his resurrection, believers must then extend this ministry to others after he was gone. The effectiveness of their ministry depended on Jesus completing his mission.
The second significant outcome of Jesus completing his mission and ascending to the Father is represented in his position as mediator for prayer. The name of Jesus represents his person and character. The disciples would be successful in their mission when they went to the Father through Jesus. The phrase ask in my name is not a magical formula tacked on the end of a prayer but represents how Jesus is the only way to the Father (verse 6). Prayer that aligns with Jesus’ ministry, purpose, and plan will be answered (1 John 5:14). The only way to do the works of verse 12 successfully is when our will is aligned with Jesus’ will, which is then aligned with the Father’s will.
The reason why this prayer will be answered is because it glorifies the Father. Prayers are answered when they follow Jesus’ example of glorifying the Father. Everything in Jesus’ ministry brought glory to God (7:18; 8:50, 54). The disciples’ future ministry was dependent upon their faith in Jesus and obedience to his character by glorifying God in the same way Jesus did.
Verse 14 summarizes the two previous verses and emphasizes the awesome position of faith that disciples may occupy. All the great promises of God are fulfilled in Jesus and are confirmed by what he did through death and resurrection. We may doubt the fulfillment of the promise in this verse when our prayers are not answered. This verse is not a magical genie jar that we just rub and expect God to do our wishes. We must align our will with God’s will as revealed in Jesus. The key phrase to think deeply about is in my name. We must pray in Jesus’ character, life, death, and resurrection, which all brought glory to God.
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