Daily Bible Nugget #439, John 14:12

The Nugget:

Joh 14:12  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. 

My Comment:

This encouraging Bible promise, like many other promises in the Bible, seems on first reading to generically apply to everyone that believes the words of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Yet most of us in our day have not seen anyone doing greater miracles than Jesus Himself did in His day. But in the beginning of the Christian era, the original disciples and apostles did see many great miracles take place.  Careful reading of the New Testament will lead to evidence that the extent and frequency of reported instances of the miraculous decreased over time.

Nevertheless, even today God is working miracles in the lives of those who trust Him as the need arises. Some experience miracles of physical healing. Some experience remarkable answers to prayer involving the salvation and spiritual growth of others, sometimes when the person has no contact with the person being prayed for.

Sometimes we do not see the answer for what is prayed for.  When we pray, we must always ask that God’s will be done. But in the Bible, there is good evidence that at this time, sometimes spoken of as in this dispensation, God is silent. The reason for this silence may be inferred from where Jesus stopped reading in the Isaiah passage as reported in Luke 4:19, 20.

I have placed a new note in The Ultimate Cross Reference Treasury which discusses the silence of God in more Scriptural detail than you are likely to find anywhere else at Psalm 50:3,

Psa 50:3  Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.

not keep silence. Now He is keeping silence. But He will speak again, and here we are told what He will say (CB). The silence of God is spoken of under several different terms and in some other not so obvious ways. The silence of God is spoken of in reference to prayer, when prayer is unanswered (**Psa 28:1; +**Psa 66:18). Today it may be that in mercy God is intentionally silent such that we do not see the miraculous interventions experienced in certain periods of Old Testament history and in the beginning of the church in Acts when its membership was still entirely Jewish and God still extended His mercy to the nation of Israel if they would repent (Act 3:19, 20, 21). Miracles of healing were prominent in the early ministry of Peter (Act 5:15; Act 9:34) and Paul (Act 19:11, 12; Act 20:10). But Paul later left Trophimus at Miletum sick (2Ti 4:20). Peter and Paul experienced miraculous Divine Intervention earlier in their ministries when they were released from prison (Act 12:5-10; Act 16:25-40), but Paul later spent much time in jail. A clue as to why God does not now intervene in such outwardly visible ways in answer to prayer may be suggested by the manner in which Jesus read aloud the Scripture from Isaiah as recorded in Luk 4:18, 19, 20, where Luke records “And he closed the book.” Jesus stopped reading at a most significant place in Isa 61:2, in the middle of the verse, for He did not read “and the day of vengeance of our God,” which came next. This stopping point in the text of Isaiah is one of many places where there is an unannounced time gap in the prophecy (See the notes and references at Isa 61:2 note). The stopping point may also signify that when God next visits this earth it will be for judgment, not mercy. In accordance with that promise, His silence now exhibits His mercy. Peter speaks of this very matter when he says God’s apparent “slackness” is rather evidence of His mercy, for He is “not willing that any should perish” (2Pe 3:9). Study of the cross references given for such texts as 2Pe 3:9 and the subject of God’s longsuffering (see also the cross references at +**Mat 17:20; Mat 21:43; Mat 23:39) may further explain the nature and reasons for God’s present public silence. Psa 50:21, +Psa 28:1; Psa 83:1; Psa 109:1, Exo 19:16, 2Ki 19:7, Job 16:21, Isa 8:17; *Isa 42:13; *Isa 42:14; *Isa 65:6; *Isa 65:7, +*Hab 1:13.

To dig deeper into the Bible promise at John 14:12, study the following cross references and notes from The Ultimate Cross Reference Treasury:

and greater works. Note.—This promise is in allusion to the greater effects to follow the preaching of the Apostles, and the greater power of God in the conversion of men after the ascension of Christ and descent of the Spirit—and possibly a greater number of miracles also wrought by them (Compare Act 2:43 and Act 5:12-16); which however all redounded to the glory of Christ as being wrought in his name (See on Mar 16:17), and in fact the exercise of his power in fuller manifestation because of his being glorified. See the words following—because I go to the Father and compare Act 2:33; Act 4:29, 30, 31; Rom 15:18, 19 (De Burgh, p. 273). Joh 4:37, 38; Joh 5:16; Joh 5:20, *2Ki 2:9; *2Ki 2:14; 2Ki 20:10, Act 1:15; Act 2:4-11; Act 2:37-41; *Act 2:43; Act 4:4; Act 4:31; *Act 5:15; Act 6:7; Act 10:46; Act 16:25-34; *Act 19:11; *Act 19:12, *Rom 15:18; *Rom 15:19.

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