Can We Perform Miracles?

What exactly did Jesus mean when he said, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” (John 14:12-14)

Q. Hello Jack, thanks for your wonderful work, you truly are gifted.

The question I have is: What exactly did Jesus mean when he said, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” (John 14:12-14)

Some people tell me that we can expect as true followers of Christ to perform great miracles, healing, and all sorts of other things, just Like Jesus. I don’t understand this passage, can you help with your insight?

A. This promise was given in the context of announcing the coming Holy Spirit. When Jesus became man, He set aside His Godly powers and voluntarily limited His abilities to only those things that a man could do. That was one of the points of the temptation wilderness. Satan tried to get Him to pick up His God like powers again by creating bread from stones and jumping off the pinnacle of the Temple, but that would have violated His mission. He had to become a man to save mankind.

All of His miracles were performed through the power of the Holy Spirit. When He said that anyone who had faith could do the same, He meant that the power of the Holy Spirit would henceforth be made available to all believers, and when combined with sufficient faith, could produce the same miraculous feats as He had performed.

His promise is clear, the power of the Holy Spirit has been given, the only variable in the equation is our faith.