John 14:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: “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.

NIV: Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

NASB: Truly, truly I say to you, the one who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I am going to the Father.

CSB: "Truly I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.

NLT: I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.

KJV: Verily, verily, I say unto you, 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.

NKJV: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.

The word "works" in Greek most literally means "actions," or "deeds." Just as in English, exactly what "works" are in mind is determined by context. Jesus' list of proofs for His critics referred to "works" in the sense of divine miracles (John 5:36). His instruction to do good in the name of God implied everyday behaviors (Matthew 5:16), as did His criticism of religious hypocrites (Matthew 23:3). In the last few verses, Jesus seems to have meant both in His explanation for why the disciples ought to embrace the truth that He is God (John 14:9–11).

Full biblical context is incredibly important when attempting to interpret this verse. Some of Jesus' "works" were displays of unspeakable power, such as resurrecting the dead (John 11:43–44). Other miracles demonstrated His sovereignty over nature, including weather (Mark 4:38–40), matter (John 2:7–9), and the body (John 9:6–7). In other cases, His "works" were accurate teaching (Matthew 4:23), and righteous intervention (John 2:14–16).

Jesus' promise here is not that all who claim to be believers will be endowed with the power to raise the dead or transmute matter. Nor does Jesus mean to imply that future Christians would have widespread supernatural powers. The following verses include two crucial qualifiers: "asking" and "in My name," clearly indicating that God does not sign a blank check for miraculous power to anyone. In part, this prediction of "works" refers to the early days of the apostles, who were granted miraculous signs (Acts 3:1–6).

The idea that anyone could do "greater" works than Jesus also helps explain the context. Scripture not only associates Jesus with miracles in the Gospels, it credits Him with creation itself (John 1:1–3). In terms of power, it's logically impossible to suggest anyone could do something beyond what Jesus accomplished. The meaning, therefore, ought to be taken in some other way.

The area where Christians can exceed what Jesus did is not "quality," but "quantity." His earthly ministry lasted only about three years—as He says here, He is soon to end this phase of God's plan. Jesus preached without modern communications, or modern travel technology. In contrast, modern evangelists can spend decades preaching to hundreds of thousands of people. Missionaries can serve the furthest reaches of the globe. As of this writing, this website is accessed by more people every week than lived in Jerusalem during Jesus' era. In a year, some bible-related websites speak to more people than populated the Roman Empire in the first century.

John 14:1–14 continues Jesus' discourse with the disciples at the last supper. He has recently mentioned a traitor in their midst and predicted Peter's denials. That leads Jesus to reassure these men—reminding them that He has told them the truth and has all things in hand. In this passage, Christ famously refers to Himself as ''the way, and the truth, and the life.'' That is the sixth of seven such ''I Am'' statements included in John's gospel. This section includes Jesus' words, personal experience, and evidence of His miracles as reasons to maintain trust.

Christ reassures His followers that faith in Him is faith in God. To know Christ is to know ''the way, and the truth, and the life'' (John 14:6). The words, actions, and miracles of Jesus should give Christians confidence to trust that He will make good on His promises. Among those are His guarantee that He is preparing to come for us, so we can be where He is. Jesus also predicts the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This is only available to believers, and this Helper acts to guide, teach, and remind us. Both for the disciples, and for future Christians, these words are meant to be comforting during hard times. Since Christ knew, in advance, what would happen, we can be even more confident to trust Him.

After completing His public ministry in Jerusalem (John 12:36–38), Jesus has washed the feet of the disciples (John 13:3–5), predicted His betrayal (John 13:21), and foreseen Peter's denial (John 13:37–38). Chapter 14 begins a series of remarks meant to encourage the disciples, in the face of dire warnings. Among these are reminders that Jesus is planning to bring them to be where He is, assurance that He is ''the way,'' and the first explicit promises of the coming of the Holy Spirit. Chapter 15 will continue this address, beginning with Jesus' claim to be ''the true vine.''

The gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls “signs”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.