Jesus said to His disciples, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believes 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." (John 14:12)
It is not to be wondered at that the question is often asked, "What are these greater works? Why do we not see them performed by the followers of Christ?" It is not possible for man to tell what the greater works are, for nobody can conceive of any greater works than Jesus did: "The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them." (Matthew 11:5)
The statement that is sometimes made, that the promise of Jesus is fulfilled in the great numbers that have accepted the Gospel through the preaching of His followers, does not meet the case. While conversions are included in the promise, miracles of healing, and even of raising the dead, cannot be excluded; for they were all among the works which Christ did.
That promise has not yet been fulfilled, except for a brief period in the days of the apostles. But a fulfillment of it at one time does not exhaust it, because it is unlimited. "He that believes on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do." (John 14:12)
Perhaps we shall find the complete answer to the question why miracles are not now wrought, by considering a case of failure, in contrast with the spirit which Jesus manifested in performing His mighty works. When Philip was preaching in Samaria, he performed some wonderful miracles, and among those who believed in consequence was one Simon, who had bewitched the people with his sorcery, "giving out that himself was some great one. ... [He] continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done." (Acts 8:9,13)
Finally Peter and John came, and laid their hands on the people, who received the Holy Ghost. This caused Simon to wonder the more, and he offered the apostles money, saying, "Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Your money perish with you, because you have thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. You have neither part nor lot in this matter; for your heart is not right in the sight of God." (Acts 8:19,21)
What was the trouble with Simon? It was self. The fact that he was willing to give money, in order to get power to bestow the Holy Spirit, shows that he wanted to make money out of it. Pecuniary gain, and self-glorification were the motives that prompted his desire for the Holy Spirit's power. He doubtless was not fully conscious of all this, but persuaded himself that his object was to do good; "For the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can know it." (Jeremiah 17:9)
And Simon's heart was not right with God. We see from this that the power of the Holy Spirit cannot be used for selfish ends, and therefore it cannot be given where there is a possibility that the one to whom it is given will become exalted because of it, and take honor to himself. It is the Spirit and power of God, and if men take any of the glory of the power to themselves, they would be putting themselves in the place of God; and then people would be led astray, because they would follow a sinful man, instead of God.
Now note a peculiarity of Jesus. "And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed and them all, and charged them that they should not make Him known." (Matthew 12:16)
So when He raised the ruler's daughter from the dead, "He charged them straitly that no man should know it." (Mark 5:43)
Also when He healed the man full of leprosy, "He charged him to tell no man." (Luke 4:14)
And so we find that He did on other occasions. In no case do we find Him telling anybody to advertise Him through His miracles, except in the case of the demoniac of Gadara, and then He was about to leave the country because the people would not allow Him to stay.
How many religious teachers are there in these days, who would pursue a similar course under the same circumstances? In these days any event of importance is heralded far and wide. Sometimes minor matters are magnified into vast proportions, so as to have a good report. If by any means a miracle healing should be performed, the probability is that the papers would fairly groan with accounts of it.
Of course in all this there would not be any conscious egotism, or desire to make self prominent. No doubt it would be expressly stated that the glory was all due to the Lord. The object would be to win converts to the faith. Nevertheless it would not be the way Jesus did; and as long as there is a spirit in man, different from the Spirit of Christ, they will not be able to do the things that He did.
We may say that times have changed, but the fact remains that the truth of God has not changed, and the conditions under which the Spirit and power of God are given, have not changed.
Let it be remembered that Jesus never performed any miracles merely for show. Every one was for the purpose of relieving pressing need. He did them because with His sympathizing nature, and the power that He had, they were the most natural things in the world for Him to do. In doing them His whole thought was for others, and not for himself. Said He, "I seek, not my own glory." (John 8:50)
Neither were Christ's miracles wrought for the purpose of winning converts, because there had to be belief before miracles could be performed. We read of His own country, that: "He did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief." (Matthew 13:58)
His words and His very presence were what won His disciples. Remember that His most intimate disciples, those who followed Him the most steadfastly, and who continued His disciples after His ascension,--followed Him before they saw any miracles.
When many professed believers on Him left Him the very next day after one of His most wonderful miracles, and He said to the twelve, "Will you also go away?" (John 6:67)
Peter answered for the twelve, making no reference to His miracles, by saying, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (John 6:68-69)
It was His words that held them to Him. It was His words that charmed the soldiers who were sent to take Him. "Never man spoke like this Man." (John 7:46)
This is why Jesus did not want to have His miracles advertised. He did not want people to follow Him from selfish motives, nor out of mere curiosity. Of course they could not be concealed, yet they were wrought because of pure love for the needy, and not for the purpose of making converts. He wished, as He does still, people who follow Him because they love Him.
In this we see that there is something far better than the power to work miracles. It is the meek and quiet spirit of Jesus. The ability to work miracles is inferior in importance to the power to bring to people the words of God. (See 1 Corinthians 12:28)
Jesus had "emptied himself," (Philippians 2:7,RV) and God worked through Him, so that when miracles were performed, the people "glorified God." (Matthew 9:8; Mark 2:12; Luke 5:26; 7:16; 13:13; 17:15; 23:47) So God can work now only through those who are wholly emptied of self, having the mind of Christ in them. Now, as in the days of Simon the sorcerer, those who desire the power to work miracles, will be the very ones who will not receive it.
We see in Samson a specimen of the spirit that will be manifested in those for whom the Lord works mightily. "A young lion roared against him. And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand; but he told not his father or his mother what he had done." (Judges 14:6)
So we have in the 25th chapter of Matthew the difference between the false and the true followers of Jesus. The one tell of the wonderful things that they have done, while the true followers are unconscious of the fact that they have done anything of value. And so we may conclude that when the disciples of Jesus do the "greater works" of which He spoke, they will not be conscious of the fact that they are doing anything extraordinary.
Therefore instead of wondering why miracles are not done, and faintly longing for the power to do them, the right thing to do is to hunger and thirst after righteousness; to seek to know the will of God, and to study His word until its Spirit permeates the soul.
To have the power to speak a word in due season to him that is weary, just as Jesus did, is the thing most to be desired. And that can be done only by those who speak the words of God as He did. Then, when:
• self is wholly gone;
• the individual is completely surrendered to the Lord;
• he is living by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord;
• he is seeking not his own, but only the glory of God;
• he is willing that God shall do whatsoever He wishes with him, no matter how humble the task; then will the lowliest services of love be transformed by the power of God into the most wonderful works, and men will praise the Lord for His goodness.--Present Truth, November 23, 1893.