“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.“ (John 14:12, NIV)
Let’s be honest – the Bible is often offensive. I’m offended when I’m told not to do certain things I might want to do. I’m offended when I’m told to do things I don’t want to do. And yes, it is offensive when the Scriptures reveal what an imbecile I often am. But sometimes, the Bible offends my sensibilities. Like this statement…how in the world can I do greater things than Jesus did? Who, in their right mind, is going to believe that?
Jesus believed it. He’s the one who said it…the words are in red letters.
The problem is that I read the word “greater” as a synonym for “better.” But the word often describes number.
In other words, Jesus said that he is going to the Father and sending the Holy Spirit to the disciples (see 14:15-18). The Spirit would empower them to do the same types of miracles Jesus did. But because there were many more disciples, the miracles would be greater in number.
That’s really the story of the Book of Acts – the disciples taking Jesus’ power and message to the ends of the earth. Jesus started with 12 men…by Acts 1 there are 120 people. By the end of Acts? Would you believe 10,000? We’ll begin studying that book together next week. This week, my friend Craig Nedrow will be encouraging us to do the same thing – to take Jesus’ power and message to those around us (check him out here )
One easy and exciting way to do greater things is through Revive Texas. People just like you and me are going out every day and sharing their faith in Denton…results have been miraculous! Join other churches from the area for the next 40 days of ministry. Check out the Denton region schedule of events here .
Whether it offends your “sensibilities” or not – greater things lie ahead…if we’ll get involved!
Until everyone has heard,
Pastor Jim
