"You Will Do Greater Things Than These...."
Reflection: Today’s readings bring two significant moments in the life of Israel. Solomon instructs the Ark of the Covenant to be brought into the temple to the Most Holy Place. Here God will dwell by His Spirit, and yet more significant is that He has chosen David to rule over His people. It is by God’s presence that the kings of Israel would rule and have power and authority to lead the nation. Later we will see what happens when they depart from this basic principle that their power and authority which comes from God alone! Their power is maintained by being obedient to the Covenant He had given Moses coming out of Egypt.
In the Gospel reading, we have Jesus comforting His disciples with the words I read at every funeral. “Don’t let your hearts be troubled but trust in me for there are many rooms in my Father’s house and I go there now to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you I will take you back to the place where I am.” Jesus has been living every move in power of the Spirit, and He is using this as platform to show the disciples where He is going. Philip still hasn’t gotten it and He says, “Show us the Father and that will be enough for us!” As if raising Lazarus from the dead wasn’t enough to show them the Father. It would take Jesus’ rising from the dead and eventually Jesus’ appearance to the disciples and the power of the Pentecost poured out for them to believe.
Then Jesus makes an astounding claim when he states, “12 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. 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.”
Jesus not only says, I am the way to the Father, but when I leave you I will open the way for others as you act in my power and pray in my name. Jesus is conferring His power and disciples on the disciples. The same power in which Jesus did all his miracles will be in every believer. This is where Martin Luther developed his doctrine of the “priesthood of all believers”.
Are you living in the power and authority God has given you as a Son or Daughter of the King? Through the Covenant promises God has made with us we are Sons and Daughter of the King. As we live and operate in the King’s name and power we can do greater things than Jesus did because we do it collectively. As we gather in Churches the collective power of God is what ignites our worship, group life and service together in His name. In this way we can transform the communities around us. This is the same plan Jesus gave His disciples and it is the same plan with the same power available to us today! Do you want to be a part of this???
Psalm 123
A song of ascents.
1 I lift up my eyes to you,
to you who sit enthroned in heaven.
2 As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
till he shows us his mercy.
3 Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us,
for we have endured no end of contempt.
4 We have endured no end
of ridicule from the arrogant,
of contempt from the proud.
1 Kings 8
The Ark Brought to the Temple
8 Then King Solomon summoned into his presence at Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Zion, the City of David. 2 All the Israelites came together to King Solomon at the time of the festival in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month. 3 When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took up the ark, 4 and they brought up the ark of the Lord and the tent of meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it. The priests and Levites carried them up, 5 and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted. 6 The priests then brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. 7 The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its carrying poles. 8 These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today. 9 There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt. 10 When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord. 11 And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled his temple. 12 Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud; 13 I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever.” 14 While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed them. 15 Then he said: “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his own hand has fulfilled what he promised with his own mouth to my father David. For he said, 16 ‘Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built so that my Name might be there, but I have chosen David to rule my people Israel
John 14:1-14
Jesus Comforts His Disciples
14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Jesus the Way to the Father
5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” 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, 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. 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.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:9
Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. 1 Corinthians 13:12
Heavenly Father, we claim your power and authority through belief in Your Son and we pray in His name that you might use us to carry on the mission You gave Your Son in our community in the power of the Holy Spirit and in the name of Jesus. Amen.
In the Gospel reading, we have Jesus comforting His disciples with the words I read at every funeral. “Don’t let your hearts be troubled but trust in me for there are many rooms in my Father’s house and I go there now to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you I will take you back to the place where I am.” Jesus has been living every move in power of the Spirit, and He is using this as platform to show the disciples where He is going. Philip still hasn’t gotten it and He says, “Show us the Father and that will be enough for us!” As if raising Lazarus from the dead wasn’t enough to show them the Father. It would take Jesus’ rising from the dead and eventually Jesus’ appearance to the disciples and the power of the Pentecost poured out for them to believe.
Then Jesus makes an astounding claim when he states, “12 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. 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.”
Jesus not only says, I am the way to the Father, but when I leave you I will open the way for others as you act in my power and pray in my name. Jesus is conferring His power and disciples on the disciples. The same power in which Jesus did all his miracles will be in every believer. This is where Martin Luther developed his doctrine of the “priesthood of all believers”.
Are you living in the power and authority God has given you as a Son or Daughter of the King? Through the Covenant promises God has made with us we are Sons and Daughter of the King. As we live and operate in the King’s name and power we can do greater things than Jesus did because we do it collectively. As we gather in Churches the collective power of God is what ignites our worship, group life and service together in His name. In this way we can transform the communities around us. This is the same plan Jesus gave His disciples and it is the same plan with the same power available to us today! Do you want to be a part of this???
Psalm 123
A song of ascents.
1 I lift up my eyes to you,
to you who sit enthroned in heaven.
2 As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
till he shows us his mercy.
3 Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us,
for we have endured no end of contempt.
4 We have endured no end
of ridicule from the arrogant,
of contempt from the proud.
1 Kings 8
The Ark Brought to the Temple
8 Then King Solomon summoned into his presence at Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Zion, the City of David. 2 All the Israelites came together to King Solomon at the time of the festival in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month. 3 When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took up the ark, 4 and they brought up the ark of the Lord and the tent of meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it. The priests and Levites carried them up, 5 and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted. 6 The priests then brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. 7 The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its carrying poles. 8 These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today. 9 There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt. 10 When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord. 11 And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled his temple. 12 Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud; 13 I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever.” 14 While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed them. 15 Then he said: “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his own hand has fulfilled what he promised with his own mouth to my father David. For he said, 16 ‘Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built so that my Name might be there, but I have chosen David to rule my people Israel
John 14:1-14
Jesus Comforts His Disciples
14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Jesus the Way to the Father
5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” 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, 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. 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.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:9
Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. 1 Corinthians 13:12
Heavenly Father, we claim your power and authority through belief in Your Son and we pray in His name that you might use us to carry on the mission You gave Your Son in our community in the power of the Holy Spirit and in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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