John 14:12 – “The person who believes in me will perform the miraculous deeds that I am doing, and will perform greater deeds than these, because I am going to the Father.”

What are these ‘deeds’, and in what sense would they be ‘greater’?

Miracles (accompanied by conversions)?

Some think that the ‘deeds’ are miracles, as in Jn 5:17; 10:32.  They would be quantitatively ‘greater’ in that they would be multiplied through all Jesus’ followers. (Keener, IVP Bible Background Commentary).  It is naive to suppose, as some Christians do, that Jesus was speaking of a future generation performing more numerous or more astounding miracles that he did.  But it is manifestly the case that even the apostolic miracles did not exceed our Lord’s in these respects, and even more the case in those that have occurred in more recent times.

According to Kostenberger,

‘from the patristic period onward, the “greater works” have been interpreted as the missionary successes of the disciples. The Fathers as well as medieval commentators understood the “greater works”  as referring to the miracles performed by the apostles accompanying their missionary activities.’

The same writer adds that the linkage between this passage and Acts has persisted (with a few exceptions) throughout the 20th century.

Canagaraj:

‘The believers will not only perform miracles, but also will speak words of salvation to the world.’

Conversions (unaccompanied by miracles)?

Others place the emphasis on the greater numbers of people reached by the gospel.

Luther (cited by Bruner):

‘Greater works because the apostles and the Christians had a wider field for their works than He did, that they brought more people to Christ than He Himself did during His earthly sojourn. Christ preached and worked miracles only in a small nook, and for just a short time.… [Jesus’ promise is the more remarkable] especially since the day of miracles is past [!].Miracles, of course, are still the least significant works, since they are only physical and are performed for only a few people. But let us consider the true, great works of which Christ speaks here—works which are done with the power of God, which accomplish everything, which are still performed and must be performed daily as long as the world stands. In the first place, Christians have the Gospel, Baptism, and the Sacrament [of the Supper], by means of which they convert people, snatch souls from the clutches of the devil, wrest them from hell and death, and bring them to heaven.… In the second place, the Christians also have prayer.… So greatly can a whole country or kingdom be benefited by [the prayers of] one pious man.… Abraham [Gen 14:14] … Lot [Gen 19:22] … Naaman [2 Kings 5:1, the entire kingdom of Syria] … Joseph [Gen 41:46ff., all Egypt] … Daniel [Persia].… Isaiah defeated the hosts of the Assyrian empire singlehandedly through his prayer.’

Hoskyns (cited by Bruner):

‘The separation [of Jesus from them] which disturbs them is [in fact and paradoxically] the effective cause of their being endowed with powers greater even than those of the Lord Himself when He was with them on earth.… The contrast is … between the few disciples of Jesus and the vast number of those converted by the preaching of His apostles; between the mission of Jesus to the Jews and the mission of His disciples to the world.… Petitions so addressed to the Father will be answered by the Son, who will have resumed His position as the instrument in heaven of the actions of God (Jn 1:3).’

The NET Bible offers the following note:

‘When the early chapters of Acts are examined, it is clear that, from a numerical standpoint, the deeds of Peter and the other Apostles surpassed those of Jesus in a single day (the day of Pentecost). On that day more were added to the church than had become followers of Jesus during the entire three years of his earthly ministry. And the message went forth not just in Judea, Samaria, and Galilee, but to the farthest parts of the known world. This understanding of what Jesus meant by “greater deeds” is more probable than a reference to “more spectacular miracles.” Certainly miraculous deeds were performed by the apostles as recounted in Acts, but these do not appear to have surpassed the works of Jesus himself in either degree or number.’

According to Lincoln, the meaning is that reach of the gospel through the apostles would not only be more extensive that before, but more complete (precisely because, coming after the resurrection and ascension, they would reveal the completed story of God’s work in Christ.

Chester (The Message of Prayer, 175) argues similarly: the nature of these ‘greater works’ has already been established in Jn 5:20-24:

‘The greater work occur when people receive eternal life or when, by rejecting Jesus, judgement is passed on them. This salvation or judgment event takes place as people respond to the words of Jesus. The miracles Jesus has done are to be surpassed by the greater miracle of conversion. This disciples will do greater works as the continue Christ’s mission by proclaiming his word, so that people receive eternal life as they respond in faith or receive judgment when they fail to honour Jesus. In Jn 6:29 Jesus says, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.’

See also Chester’s more recent, Do Miracles Happen Today? –

The greater works take place when Jesus gives eternal life to people. When someone becomes a Christian, they pass from death to life. It’s not something they achieve. It’s a gift given by Jesus. It’s a miracle taking place in their soul.

People are dead in their sins (Ephesians 2 v 1-3). How can that change? They can’t change themselves—they’re dead. They’re as incapable of self-improvement as a corpse. But God works a powerful miracle in them as a result of which they become alive in Christ. They were spiritually blind, but God miraculously opens their eyes to recognise the glory of Christ. They were enemies of God, but God miraculously transforms their affections so that they pursue God. They had hearts of stone, but God miraculously melts their cold hearts and fills them with love. There is no greater miracle. Curing physical blindness is easy compared to curing spiritual blindness. Resuscitating physical bodies is easy compared to granting spiritual life. And God has done it again and again. Forty years ago he did it in me, and he did it in you if you’re a Christian.

Not only that, but we get to be involved. This is what Jesus means when he says we will do greater miracles. As we preach the gospel, God grants eternal life. He opens blind eyes and melts cold hearts so that people respond to our message with faith. [Cf. 2 Cor 4:4-6]

‘The disciples will go beyond what Jesus did in evangelising the world and bringing about its salvation.’ (Witherington)

Donald MacLeod takes a similar line:

‘Literally, that means that the followers of Christ would perform greater miracles than he himself ever performed. If we think of miracles only in terms of healings and exorcisms and controlling the elements, then of course we haven’t surpassed Christ. But if we think of the miracle of evangelism and of spiritual renewal by the power of the gospel, then Christ’s followers have seen far greater things than Jesus himself ever saw. Three thousand converts at Pentecost in one sermon! George Whitefield proclaiming the gospel to audiences of twenty thousand, and thousands converted! The gospel in modern times has, in an instant, almost total global exposure through mass communication. Let us rejoice that all things are ours. (1 Cor 3:21) Let us claim the miracles of the last days, the wonder of the eruptions of grace in the lives of countless individuals and the salvation of whole communities. That is what God has led us to expect.’ (A Faith to Live By)

For Richard Bewes,

‘the clue is in the surrounding context – the coming of the Holy Spirit in power, following Christ’s “Going to the Father”.  With the globalising of the gift of the Spirit and the new birth, Christ’s followers on every continent would be accomplishing deeds greater that Christ’s – not in terms of physical quality, but rather deeds of a superior dimension altogether.  As a preacher once put it, “The 3,000 converted at Pentecost was a greater deed than the feeding of the 5,000.’ (The Top 100 Questions, p266)

A fuller spiritual reality?

Other scholars present a similar, but more focused argument.  Michaels says that

‘it is generally agreed that they will not perform “greater” or more spectacular miracles than he did.’  Michaels allows that the ‘works’ performed by the apostles would be ‘greater’ in the sense that they would reach more people.  But he adds that two ‘works’ that Jesus promised but which had not yet been accomplished were the forgiveness of sins (Jn 1:29) and the baptism in the Holy Spirit (Jn 1:33).  ‘Clearly, something is missing—something that will not be explicitly supplied until Jesus’ resurrection, when he will breathe on his disciples and say to them, “Receive Holy Spirit. Whosoever’s sins you forgive, they are forgiven them; whosoever’s you retain, they are retained” (Jn 20:22–23). If there is a prime candidate for one of these “greater” works, it is the forgiveness of sins, possibly because it could only come by virtue of the actual shedding of Jesus’ blood on the cross, just as the gift of the Spirit could only come by virtue of Jesus’ glorification (see Jn 7:39).’

Kruse notes (presumably with approval) the suggestion that these ‘greater works’ are the fruits of the missionary endeavours of the early church.  But ‘greater’ does not simply mean ‘more numerous’.  The works are ‘greater’ than those of Christ in a similar way that ‘the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven’ is ‘greater’ than John the Baptist (Mt 11:11):

‘John was the herald of the kingdom that Jesus brought in, but John himself lived, worked and died before people entered it. In terms of privileges, then, the least in the kingdom were greater than John. If we apply this to the differences between Jesus’ works and those of his disciples, we might say that the disciples’ works were greater than his because they had the privilege of testifying by word and deed to the finished work of Christ, and the fuller coming of the kingdom that it ushered in, whereas Jesus’ ministry prior to his death and resurrection only foreshadowed these things.’

Carson (in this article) also points to the comparison between John the Baptist and ‘the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven’ (Mt 11:11):

‘Something similar may be in view in John 14. Jesus, by his redemptive work, his “going to the Father,” inaugurates this new phase in the history of redemption; and the disciples in their mission participate in the works peculiar to this already dawned eschatological age. Jesus in his earthly ministry never did. His work brought it about; but then he left and did not himself participate in it (in his bodily presence) after Pentecost.’

Concluding his thorough discussion of this passage, Kostenberger states that

‘the “greater works” of John 14:12 are the activities of believers, still future from the vantage point of the earthly Jesus, that will be based on Jesus’ accomplished Messianic mission.  Viewed from an eschatological perspective, these works will be “greater” than Jesus’, since they will take place in a different, more advanced phase of God’s economy of salvation. At the same time, there is an essential continuity between Jesus’ earthly mission for his followers and the mission of the exalted Jesus through his followers. The “greater works” are thus works of the exalted Christ through believers.’

Kostenberger adds:

‘In the light of John’s avoidance of “signs” terminology with reference to the disciples, and in the light of the fact that the emphasis of “works” terminology likewise is not necessarily, nor even primarily, on the miraculous (as in “signs and wonders”), one should caution against using John 14:12 in support for a theology that advocates the expectation of a believer’s working of miracles today. The issue is not so much that is it possible to exclude this notion entirely from the Johannine reference as to demonstrate that such a theology was clearly not central in John’s intention.’

Whitacre argues similarly:

‘What are these greater things of which Jesus speaks? Some think he is referring to spectacular miracles, but what would top the raising of Lazarus? Others think it refers to the missionary activity of the disciples, their bringing more converts to faith. Such activity is an important focus for the disciples, but the meaning here is more specific. These greater things are possible because I am going to the Father (v. 12). That is, Jesus’ greatest work has yet to occur: his death, resurrection and ascension. After he is glorified, the Spirit will be given (Jn 7:39), and believers can then receive the full benefits of the salvation Jesus has accomplished through the union that comes through the Spirit. The disciples’ works are greater in that they are “the conveying to people of the spiritual realities of which the works of Jesus are ‘signs’ ” (Beasley-Murray 1987:254). So greater things refer to our having a deeper understanding of God and sharing in his own life through actual union with him, which is now possible as a result of Jesus’ completed work (cf. Jn 14:20). It is not just a matter of more disciples; it is a matter of a qualitatively new reality in which the disciples share.’

Milne:

‘The difference between Jesus and his disciples lies in the event which marks the boundary between the old and new aeons, the Easter triumph of Jesus. Because of that, the disciples will serve in the new time of the kingdom’s presence.’

Beasley-Murray puts it like this:

‘Reflection will show that the “greater works” here mentioned are not more miraculous miracles than the miracles of Jesus (the Evangelist has stressed the motif of abundance in the signs of the new age in the water into wine and the feeding of the multitude, the divine power in the walking on the water, and the extraordinary nature of giving sight to the man born blind and the raising of Lazarus four days in the tomb). Nor is it likely that the first thought is that of the greater success of the disciples in their subsequent mission to Israel and the nations. Is the point in view not rather the conveying to people of the spiritual realities of which the works of Jesus are “signs”? All the works of Jesus are significant of the saving sovereignty of God at work among humankind through the eschatological Redeemer. The main reality to which they point, and which makes their testimony a set of variations on a single theme, is the life eternal of the kingdom of God through Jesus its mediator. This is confirmed by the striking parallel to v 12 in Jn 5:20 and its following exposition: the Father shows the Son all (sc., the works) that he himself does, “and greater works than these he will show him, that you may be amazed.” The context reveals that the “greater works” that the Father is to “show” the Son, greater than those given him to do thus far, are manifestations of resurrection and judgment, but with emphasis on the former (as 5:24–26 in relation to v 17 shows). Thus the “greater works” that the disciples are to do after Easter are the actualization of the realities to which the works of Jesus point, the bestowal of the blessings and powers of the kingdom of God upon men and women which the death and resurrection of Jesus are to let loose in the world.’

Again:

‘The contrast accordingly is not between Jesus and his disciples in their respective ministries, but between Jesus with his disciples in the limited circumstances of his earthly ministry and the risen Christ with his disciples in the post-Easter situation. Then the limitations of the Incarnation will no longer apply, redemption will have been won for the world, the kingdom of God opened for humanity, and the disciples equipped for a ministry in power to the nations.’

Klink stresses that these ‘greater works’ of Jesus’ followers are not to be placed in contrast with the works of Jesus himself.  They are, rather, the post-ascension works of Jesus (through his followers) as contrasted with his pre-ascension works.