John 14:8-14

8 Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."

9 Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? 10 Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, all who have faith 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. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.



Dig Deeper

My very first year as a high school teacher was unique because it was not only my first year as a teacher, it was also the first year of the high school. It’s one thing to be a new teacher at a school that has been around for awhile with systems that are firmly in place and other teachers and administrators who know what they’re doing. That’s not exactly the case in a new school. Everything was new, everything had to be developed and put together, and no one had any experience in running or teaching at this particular school. On top of that, I was hired as the basketball coach and athletic administrator, which meant that it was my job to build the program from the ground up. In being given the charge to do so, I was given a certain budget, but then I was told that I had the power to do anything that I needed to do in order to get that mission accomplished. They had given me the power to act in the name of the school and do anything that was in keeping with the mission of the school and the mission that they had given me. Now that meant that I could order uniforms, create game and practice schedules, buy equipment, secure referees, and many many other things. I could use any of the school resources that I needed for my mission without question or limitation. However, if I had, say, ordered a television set for my home from the athletic budget, started to order textbooks for the English department, or gave a bunch of teachers extra vacation days, I would have been in a lot of trouble. I had complete authority given to me to act, but only to act in a way that was consistent with the purpose for which I was hired.

Jesus knew that his time on the earth had come. He knew that he was returning to the Father and that meant that his relationship with his disciples was about to change drastically. No longer would they have him with them in the way that they had grown accustomed to. This wasn’t going to be a bad thing, though. He wanted to assure them of that. In fact, the presence of God would be with them in a whole new way. They weren’t going to be interns any longer. They would be the stewards of the mission that Jesus was entrusting to them. They were going to be given a great amount of authority in that mission, and so would those who would follow in their footsteps. Since that time, many people have read Jesus’ charge to his disciples that they would be taking over the mission and have misunderstood or twisted the meaning of his words. They were being given a mission and they could do whatever they needed to do to accomplish that mission. They could use all of the resources that would be put at their disposal, but only when it comes to accomplishing that mission. Their authority and resources were unlimited in that realm, but they shouldn’t attempt to apply that authority to anything outside of that call.

Jesus has just finished telling his disciples that they can believe that he is not about to abandon them and that he will enable them to be part of the Father’s family forever. They can trust this because the Father and the Son are one in essence, mission, and purpose. They have seen the Father, because they have seen the Son, his perfect representative. Philip seems a bit confused by this and asks that Jesus allow them to have a vision of the Father himself, perhaps looking for the sort of theophany that Isaiah had (Is. 6). Jesus is patient and loving but also a bit incredulous. Philip has seen what Jesus has done. He has been with him for such a long time and still asks that question? How could he not realize that the works that Jesus had performed were the works of the Father and that his words were the Father’s words? Jesus has been clear throughout the Gospel of John, that he has not done or said one thing on his own authority. Everything he does comes from the Father and is the Father’s will. He is the image of God. Thus, whenever he acts, it is the acts of the Father. This is the mission that the Father had given to Jesus and he has fulfilled it perfectly.

They have see all of these things, but the time of watching Jesus do God’s will is coming to an end. Soon he will return to the Father and the mission will become theirs. In fact, Jesus’ words of verse 12 must have been quite stunning: "all who have faith in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these." It must have been shocking to hear that they were going to do greater things than Jesus, but that they were going to do greater things precisely because he was going to the Father must have been thoroughly confusing. How could they, with all of their weaknesses do greater things than Jesus without him there? In saying that they would do greater things than he, Jesus is not referring to anything like miracles, signs, or wonders. Jesus had announced the onset of the new creation that would be available through his death and he could point to it through miracles. With his completed work on the Cross, however, the life of the age to come, the life of Christ would actually be available to all who believed. The disciples would be able to announce Jesus’ victory over evil and death and that all those who would die to themselves could now enter into his life. They would indeed do greater things, but it would be Jesus’ leaving and death that would make those things possible. They wouldn’t just point people to the new creation, but invite them to become a part of it.

It has become increasingly popular in our day to claim that, in giving the mission of the Gospel to his disciples, Jesus had great faith in them. He believes strongly in mankind, says this view, and so we should believe in ourselves. If Jesus believed that humans could be like him and do greater things than him, then we should believe it. This is a great and dangerous re-imagining of what Jesus actually said and did. They will do greater things because he is leaving and returning to the Father and when he does so, he will send the Counselor. It is the Holy Spirit that will enable their ability to carry out the mission to which he is entrusting them. The events of the crucifixion, particularly their coming failures, would serve to remind the disciples that they could not follow Jesus anywhere on their own strength. They tried that and Jesus allowed them to experience the fact that they would fail miserably without the power of the Spirit. They would need the power of the Holy Spirit to truly follow him. This is why, after his resurrection, Jesus sternly charges his disciples with the task of staying put in Jerusalem until the Spirit came upon them (Lk. 24:29; Acts 1:4). They would change the world, but they needed the Spirit to do it. We can follow Jesus, but we must never forget that we need the Spirit to do it. The idea that God has faith in humans is rank humanism that leads us to the dangerous position of thinking that we can accomplish things apart from the power of God and His Spirit, or have some special status or ability on our own. Jesus did not have faith in the disciples; he knew that they were weak and would fail on their own, just as he knows that of us. Jesus had faith in the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that allows us to follow Christ and be transformed into his image.

There is another great misunderstanding that has arisen concerning this passage, particularly in 20th and 21st century American churches. It has to do with Jesus’ statement that his disciples will be able to call on him and he will do whatever they ask in his name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Jesus goes on, in verse 14, to say that they may ask him for anything in his name, and he will do it. This statement has been twisted in recent years into an unbiblical view of faith. This view, often called "the word of faith" movement, teaches that faith is a force to be accessed and that what Jesus was promising was that his followers would receive absolutely anything they wanted if they simply have enough faith. You want to receive a luxury car, a multi-million dollar home, a new promotion, etc. Whatever it is, you just have to ask and you will receive. If you don’t receive it then it is because you didn’t have enough faith.

This is just not the case, however. Jesus was not telling his followers that he was about to go to the Cross and take the full wrath of god onto himself, being crushed for our sake so that we could have access to material wealth and health. That is not at all what Jesus was talking about. To say as much is as legitimate as it would have been for me to take the access, authority and power I was given as an athletic director and charge a new whirlpool spa for my home to the school. The key is that Jesus says he will do whatever they ask "in my name." In biblical language, "name" meant far more than an identifying word. It was used to signify all that came with who that person was. It was virtually synonymous with "life." So, what Jesus is saying here is that whatever his disciples ask in accordance with his life, he will do. What does that mean? It means that Jesus constantly stressed that he did nothing but the express will of God. Those who take up that same vocation, because we have had our sins forgiven and entered into his life, are called to do the same. Jesus has given the authority of his life to those who will enter into it, but he calls us to do God’s will and only ask for things consistent with his life. Jesus is not at all referring to those who would exalt their own materials desires and selfish wants. Jesus died on the Cross so that his disciples could share in his life, be forgiven of sin, and do God’s will, not so that we could have eight cars and a mansion.



Devotional Thought

Are you busy doing the work that the Father gave his children to do? Some of us need to ask ourselves if we spend more time in prayer asking things in Jesus’ name or in our own interests. Some of us, however, perhaps need to spend some time if we have even been asking anything in Jesus’ name. Are you about the Father’s work in the name of his Son at all? It’s never too late to start.