The Pentecostal Passage?

Well, this morning as we come to the Word of God, we come to what I like to call the Pentecostal passage.

Of course, all of you know that there are many different expressions of the Christian faith.

There are different denominations, different churches.

Even in our own little town of Davidson here, we have six different churches.

And I'm not going to get into all the differences between our churches this morning.

But we come now in the Gospel of John to some words that Jesus spoke, which are at the very heart of our differences with our brothers and sisters over at the New Life Pentecostal Church.

Jesus is in the upper room at the Last Supper with his disciples.

He's been giving them comfort, encouragement, instructions.

He's been telling them what to expect in the days ahead.

We'll pick up the conversation in verse 11 of John chapter 14.

John 14 · chapter mention

John chapter 14, verse 11.

John 14:11

Jesus says to them,

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.

And we talked about this two weeks ago.

Jesus is calling his disciples to believe something astounding and wonderful.

He's calling them to believe that God the Father is in him.

And that he is in God the Father.

And the evidence that Jesus points them to is the works that he's been doing.

The miracles.

The signs.

The wonders.

Things only God can do.

But now we imagine Jesus looks at the men around the table.

And he says this to them.

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.

And as soon as we read this, many of us go,

What?

Did I hear that right?

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.

This is what I call the Pentecostal passage.

And for those of us who aren't Pentecostal, probably many of us in this room,

We hear the plain sense of these words and we say,

What?

Whoever believes in your name will do the works you have been doing?

Will do miracles?

Signs?

Signs?

And wonders?

I mean, Jesus kind of seems to be saying that, right?

And for many of us, we think,

I mean, he can't mean that.

He can't mean that every believer will do miracles.

Can he?

The plain sense of Jesus' words here

Make all of us who are not Pentecostal

Squirm.

Or, in the words of my old professor,

These words make us do a little dance,

Trying to explain what they mean.

Well, it can't mean this.

And we look at this passage over here and bring it all together.

It must mean this.

And we don't like to dance.

Because we're not, most of us, Pentecostals.

I'm kidding.

So why do these words make us so uncomfortable?

Why do they make us squirm?

Why do they make us do a little interpretive dance?

Well, let's just acknowledge the facts.

These words make us uncomfortable

Because they seem to say that whoever believes in Jesus

Will perform miracles.

They seem to say that performing miracles,

Doing the kinds of things that Jesus did,

Is a normal part of the Christian life

For every believer.

And so it makes us uncomfortable

Because, dare I say, for all of us,

That has not been our experience.

What miracles have you performed lately?

Many of us have heard of miracles happening.

We've even prayed for miracles to happen.

Especially for friends and family to be healed.

And in some cases, God has answered our prayers.

And we have seen that.

But performing miracles?

I'll tell you the truth.

I've never done that.

Not anything like Jesus did.

Have you?

And it's not just either.

It's not just us either.

There are some people over at the Pentecostal church

Right now who are likely wondering the same thing.

Miracles like Jesus did.

They don't happen every day over there.

And why not?

If these words of Jesus mean what they seem to mean,

Shouldn't they all be performing miracles?

At least occasionally.

Like maybe once a month.

Or even once a year.

Now I don't know how many brothers and sisters

We have over there at New Life right now.

But let's say it's about 30.

Assuming all of them are genuine, born-again believers.

Who each do just one miracle a year.

We can expect to see at least 30 miracles per year

Happening over there.

Like 30 of the kinds of things that Jesus did on a regular basis

That can only be explained by the power of God

Done by the hands of our brothers and sisters at New Life.

Do we see that?

Well, if you were to ask them,

Many of our Pentecostal brothers and sisters

Are quite optimistic in their answer

Because they also believe that faith in God's power

Is a requirement to see miracles happen.

They believe that doubt is a diminisher of miracles.

But there are some of them

Who will straight up tell you

I don't know why we aren't seeing God

Work in these kinds of ways

More in our church

And in our community.

But for whatever reason

It hasn't been happening.

So what do we do

With these words of Jesus?

Well, as I've implied

One option is to just take these words

Of Jesus at face value

And become Pentecostal.

We can begin to expect

That everyone who believes

Will do miracles like Jesus did

And even greater things

Than he did.

But then what do we do

With this great absence

Of this ability

To perform miracles

In the lives of countless believers

Over the past 2,000 years?

This can become a real source of doubt

And disillusionment

With our faith.

I mean, he says

Whoever believes in me

Will do the works I have been doing

And even greater ones.

So maybe the problem

We might wonder

Is with my believing.

Is my believing genuine?

Am I not believing enough?

Am I not believing the right things?

Am I maybe just not

Taking those steps of faith

Or acting

Or taking hold of that power

That I have?

And what a knot

We can get ourselves into

Over this thing that Jesus said.

The alternative is that we

Don't take these words

At face value

And we end up having to squirm.

We end up doing some kind of

Interpretive dance

To explain what Jesus meant

And how

All of us are okay

Even though we're not

Performing miracles.

So

We're going to look at a couple

Of the interpretive dance moves

That we

Often do

To make ourselves

Comfortable with these words

Of Jesus

And I don't mean any disrespect

To any of our brothers

And sisters

Who have said these things

Or hold these views

I don't mean any irreverence either

But allow me a bit of humor

As we consider the various

Interpretive dance moves

That Christians like us

Do

With these words of Jesus

The first interpretive dance move

We might see

Is the works of Jesus

Wiggle

Some will point out

That Jesus did

All kinds of works

And not just miracles

He did works of compassion

Works of service

He did the work of proclaiming

The good news of the kingdom

And there is some truth to this

If we remember back

To John chapter 4

John 4 · chapter mention

And the Samaritan woman

At the well

You'll remember there

That there was this whole bunch

Of Samaritan townsfolk

That were coming out

To see Jesus

And in the midst of this

The disciples were trying

To get Jesus

To eat some lunch

And Jesus basically said to them

Open your eyes men

The fields are ripe for harvest

We've got work to do

We've got to do this work

Of harvesting the crop

That's about to come in

And so it's true

Jesus thought of his works

His work

As more than just miracles

His works included teaching

And preaching

Sharing the good news of the kingdom

Acts of compassion

And service

And so some will then

Go from there

To say

Well

Jesus didn't mean

That every believer

Would do miracles

He meant that every believer

Would do

Some kind of the works

That Jesus

Had been doing

That in some way

Every believer

Would take up

The works of Jesus

And well I guess

For most of us

It seems that it's mostly

Acts of compassion

And service

And spreading the good news

Because most of us

We're not performing miracles

Are we?

But you know

This interpretive dance move

Has never really satisfied me

For a couple of reasons

First of all

Jesus says here

In the same breath

That they will do

Even greater things

Than the things

That he has been doing

And so as soon as we hear that

I mean we can't help

But think

Of miracles

It's comparative language

This is what Jesus

Was known for

He was known for

Doing all kinds

Of very great things

Things like healing

Casting out demons

Walking on water

And so the natural

Sense of this

Comparative language

Suggests that

At the least

They will do

The same kinds of things

That Jesus did

If not things

That surpass

What Jesus did

Second

Let's remember

Why Jesus is talking

About his works

In the first place

He was giving

The disciples

A reason to believe

That God the Father

Is in him

And he

Is in the Father

That's a big claim

Which requires

Big evidence

To back it up

And so

The works

That Jesus

Did

Is what he

Pointed them to

So that they

Might believe

They must

Include his miracles

And signs

So I'm not too sure

About redefining

Works here

I don't think

Jesus means

That everyone

Who believes

Will only

Do the

Non-miraculous

Works of Jesus

And even

Greater

Non-miraculous

Works than he

Did

So that's

The works

Of Jesus

Wiggle

One of several

Interpretive dance

Moves that we

Find ourselves

Doing with a

Passage like this

So that we can

Be comfortable

The next dance

Move in our

Repertoire

Is the

Lexicon

Limbo

And usually

We see people

Do this move

Right after the

Works of Jesus

Wiggle

People will hear

This statement

Of Jesus

Whoever believes

In me

Will do the

Works I've been

Doing

And they will

Do even

Greater

Things than

These

And we look

At that word

Greater

And we just

Think

Well it

Can't be

It can't

Be that

We'll do

Works that

Are greater

Than Jesus

Did

And since

None of us

Seems to be

Doing works

That are

Greater in

Quality

Than Jesus

Did

He must

Mean that

Believers

As a

Collective

Whole

Will do

More amazing

Will do

More works

Greater in

Quantity

Than Jesus

Did

I mean

Surely

Jesus is

Not saying

That every

Believer

Will do

More amazing

Things than

He did

He raised

People from

The dead

He walked

On water

He calmed

Storms

He fed

Multitudes

What could

Possibly be

Greater than

These things

Surely

Jesus meant

That we would

All do

Greater

Things

As in

Together

We would

Do

Things

Greater

In number

As in

More things

Because now

There are

More of us

And with

Each passing

Year more

And more

People are

Being added

To the church

And we're

Doing more

And more

And more

Things

Carrying on

The works

Of Jesus

For years

And years

To come

But I call

This the

Lexicon

Limbo

Because it

Bends that

Word greater

Beyond its

Customary

Meaning

The word

Greater

In the

Original

Language

When it's

Used like

This

It doesn't

Really mean

Greater

In amount

It means

Greater in

Size

Greater in

Importance

Better

Better

Quality

Superior

Not

More

Numerous

And as

Several scholars

Have noted

There are

Plenty of

Other Greek

Words that

Would naturally

Convey

More

Numerous

Or many

More

Works

If that's

What Jesus

Meant

So what

Does

Jesus mean

When he

Says that

They will

Do even

Greater

Works

Than he

Did

In my

Mind

The

Lexicon

Limbo

Doesn't

Quite

Make it

Under

It

Bends

That

Word

Just a

Little

Too

Far

Back

Trying to

Get under

The

Bar

So what

Do we

Do with

These

Words of

Jesus

This

Seeming

Promise

That

Every

Believer

Will

Do

Miracles

And

Even

Greater

Miracles

Than

Jesus

Performed

Taking

It

At

Face

Value

Doesn't

Seem

To

Work

It

Leaves

Us

Doubting

And

Disillusioned

The

Works

Of

Jesus

Wiggle

Doesn't

Seem

To

Work

Because

While

The

Works

Of

Jesus

May

Have

Included

More

Than

Just

Miracles

It

Certainly

Doesn't

Include

Less

And

The

Lexicon

Limbo

Doesn't

Seem

To

Work

Because

It

Seems

To

Challenge

The

Word

That

Jesus

Chose

And

Force

On

It

A

Meaning

That's

Rather

Unusual

To

It

There

Has

To

Be

Another

Meaning

One

That

Acknowledges

The

Plain

Sense

Of

The

Text

The

Logical

Flow

Of

Jesus

Statements

And

Also

Fits

With

The

Story

Of

The

Christian

Church

Well

Let

Me

Suggest

An

Alternative

Understanding

It's

Probably

Not

The

Most

Popular

And

I'm

Not

Going

To

Claim

That

I

Know

For

Sure

That

This

Is

The

Right

One

I'm

Okay

If

At

The

End

Of

This

You

Have

A

Different

View

A

Different

Belief

About

This

If

You

Want

You

Can

Even

Have

Fun

With

My

View

You

Can

Call

It

The

Joshua

Jive

Or

Something

Like

That

But

This

Is

How

I've

Come

To

Handle

These

Words

Of

Jesus

Jesus

Said

Whoever

Believes

In Me

Will

Do

The

Works

I

Have

Been

Doing

And

Even

Greater

Things

Than

These

So

The

First

Question

That

I

Ask

Is

Does

Jesus

Mean

That

Every

Believer

Will

Do

Miracles

To

The

Relief

Of

Many

There

Is

An

Authoritative

Answer

To

This

Question

In

The

Bible

Paul

Makes

A

Statement

About

It

In

His

Letter

To

The

Corinthian

Church

Over

A

Decade

Later

First

Corinthians

Chapter

Twelve

Verse

Twenty

Seven

Paul

Writing

To

Them

Says

Now

You

Are

The

Body

Of

Christ

And

Each

One

Of

You

Is

A

Part

Of

It

And

God

Has

Placed

In

The

Church

First

Of

All

Apostles

Second

Prophets

Third

Teachers

Then

Miracles

Then

Gifts

Of

Healing

Of

Helping

Of

Guidance

And

Of

Different

Kinds

Of

Tongues

Are

All

Apostles

Are

All

Prophets

Are

All

Teachers

Do

All

Work

Miracles

Do

All

Have

Gifts

Of

Healing

Do

All

Speak

In

Tongues

Do

All

Interpret

Paul

Paul

Asks

A

Series

Of

Rhetorical

Questions

To

Make

His

Point

He's

Been

Talking

About

How

God

Has

Given

Different

Gifts

Of

The

Spirit

To

Each

Member

In

The

Church

He's

Been

Talking

About

How

Each

Person

In

The

Church

Is

Like

A

Different

Part

Of

The

Body

Each

One

Has

Their

Unique

Gifts

And

Functions

And

Role

That

They

Play

In

The

Body

Of

Christ

And

Each

One

Is

Important

And

Then

He

Comes

Around

To

Emphasizing

This

Point

That

There

Are

Many

Different

Roles

To

Play

Within

The

Body

Within

The

Church

Using

These

Rhetorical

Questions

And

The

Answer

To

Each

One

Of

These

Questions

Is

No

Of

Course

Are

All

Apostles

No

Are

All

Prophets

No

Are

All

Teachers

No

Do

All

Work

Miracles

No

The

Point

Is

To

Each

Person

In

The

Church

Their

Gifts

And

Abilities

And

Roles

Just

As

He

Sees

Fit

And

They

Shouldn't

Think

Themselves

Superior

To

Others

Or

Inferior

To

Others

Because

Of

Their

Different

Giftings

And

Abilities

Now

I

Know

That

This

Raises

A

Whole

Another

Set

Of

Questions

Because

Of

Some

Of

The

Things

Paul

Says

Here

But

Let's

Stay

Focused

On

The

Question

Does

Jesus

Mean

That

Every

Believer

Will

Work

Miracles

Let

Me

Put

These

Two

Passages

Side

By

Side

Paul

Answers

The

Question

For

Us

By

The

Spirit

Of

Christ

In

Him

He

Says

Do

All

Work

Miracles

Implied

Answer

No

They

Don't

Not

Every

Member

Of

The

Church

Not

Every

Believer

Will

Work

Miracles

We

Shouldn't

Expect

That

That's

Not

How

God

Has

Arranged

The

Body

Of

Christ

Which

Means

That

Likely

We've

Misunderstood

Just

Who

These

Words

Of

Jesus

In

John

14

12

Apply

To

And

It's

Here

That

I'll

Suggest

That

If

We

Dig

A

Little

Bit

If

We

Study

A

Little

Bit

If

We

Reflect

On

This

A

Little

Bit

An

Alternative

Presents

Itself

We

Can

Start

By

Looking

At

Some

Of

The

Other

Translations

Of

This

Passage

In

English

And

Very

Quickly

We

Notice

That

There

Are

Some

Differences

Some

Have

Whoever

Believes

In

Me

NIV

ESV

Probably

A few

More

Of

The

Majority

Translations

Say

The

One

Who

Believes

In

Me

The

Person

Who

Believes

In

Me

He

Who

Believes

In

Me

Will

Do

The

Works

That

I

Have

Been

Doing

So

What's

Hiding

Under

The

Differences

In

These

Translations

Well

The

Most

Literal

Rendering

Of

The

Original

Language

That

I

Can

Give

Is

This

The

One

Believing

In

Me

The

Works

I

Do

That

One

Also

Will

Do

And

It's

Here

That

I

As

I

Was

Reflecting

On

This

And

Studying

This

I

Noticed

That

There's

A

Little

Word

That

Was

Missing

In

The

Original

Language

There is

In

Greek

A

Word

For

Whoever

But

That's

Not

The

Word

John

Used

Here

And

There's

Also

A

Little

Particle

Which

I'll

Call

The

Ever

Particle

In

In

In

In

Greek

And

You

Can

Add

That

On

To

Who

To

Make

Whoever

Or

To

What

To

Make

Whatever

Or

To

When

To

Make

Whenever

And

That

Particle

That

Little

Ever

Particle

It's

Not

Here

Either

And

John

Could

Have

Used

It

In

Fact

He

Uses

The

Ever

Particle

In

The

Very

Next

Verse

To

Capture

What

Jesus

Said

When

He

Said

Whatever

You

Ask

In

My

Name

I

Will

Do

But

He

Doesn't

Use

That

Particle

Here

It's

Literally

The

One

Who

Believes

In

Me

Will

Also

Do

The

Works

That

I

Do

Now

There

Are

Some

Scholars

Who

Would

Push

Back

On

That

And

They

Would

Say

Hold

On

A

Minute

Don't

You

Try

To

Pull

A

Fast

One

On

Those

People

We

Left

We

Got

To

Look

At

Those

Other

Passages

Because

Jesus

Left

Out

The

Ever

In

A Lot

Of

Other

Statements

He

Made

John

6

35

For

Example

Jesus

Said

The

One

Who

Believes

In

Me

Shall

Never

Thirst

He

Didn't

Use

The

Ever

Particle

There

It

Clearly

It

Means

Anyone

Everyone

Whoever

Believes

In

Me

Shall

Never

Thirst

Same

Thing

In

John

7

38

The

One

Who

Believes

In

Me

Out

Of

His

Heart

Will

Flow

Rivers

Of

Living

Water

It's

Obvious

Jesus

Means

Whoever

Believes

In

Me

This

Will

Happen

For

Them

John

12

46

The

One

Who

Believes

In

Me

Will

Not

Walk

In

Darkness

And

Again

It's

Obvious

That

Jesus

Really

Really

Does

Means

Whoever

Believes

In

Me

This

Will

Be

True

For

Them

They

Won't

Walk

In

The

Darkness

But

In

All

Of

These

Cases

We

Have

To

Remember

The

Context

Jesus

Makes

All

Of

These

Other

Statements

In

Public

Teaching

Moments

To

The

Crowds

To

All

Kinds

Of

People

And

So

Of

Course

When

He

Says

The

One

Who

Believes

In

Me

In

These

Moments

He

Means

Whoever

Whoever

Believes

In

Me

But

Now

Look

At

Who

Jesus

Is

Talking

To

In

John

John 14:12

Chapter

14

Verse

12

He's

Not

Talking

In

Public

He's

Talking

To

The

Eleven

Men

Seated

Around

The

Table

With

Him

When

He

Says

To

Them

The

One

Who

Believes

In

Me

Will

Do

The

Works

I

Have

Been

Doing

And

Even

Greater

Works

Than

Is

Jesus

Stating

A

Timeless

Principle

For

All

Believers

When

He

Says

The

One

Who

Believes

In

Me

Will

Do

The

Works

I

Have

Been

Doing

And

Even

Greater

Or

Is

Jesus

Only

Speaking

To

The

Men

In

The

Room

Is

This

A

Statement

Of

What

All

Believers

Should

Expect

As

The

Norm

In

Their

Christian

Life

To

Perform

Miracles

Like

Jesus

Did

Or

Is

Jesus

Only

Granting

This

To

The

Men

Seated

Around

The

Table

In

The

Room

We

Have

To

Remember

The

Context

That

Jesus

Spoke

These

Words

Into

He

Wasn't

Speaking

To

The

Crowds

In

Public

He

Speaking

To

The

Eleven

Men

Whom

He

Has

Designated

Apostles

Those

Who

Are

Here

With

Him

Now

In

The

Inner

Room

Is

It

Possible

That

We've

Simply

Assumed

That

These

Words

Of

John

14

12

Apply

Directly

To

All of

Us

To

All

Who

Believe

In

Jesus

In

Every

Century

When

Actually

All

Along

Jesus

Meant

The

One

Who

Believes

Among

You

Here

With

Me

In

The

Room

Will

Do

Greater

Things

Than

The

Things

That

I

Have

Been

Doing

Will

Do

The

Works

That

I

Have

Been

Doing

I

Got

Thinking

About

This

And

I

Realized

We

Say

Things

Like

This

All

The

Time

On

Friday

Nights

We're

Doing

Youth

Group

Here

At

The

Church

And

We

Often

Play

Games

And

To

Spice

The

Games

Up

Sometimes

We

Like

To