Do The Works That I Do

Reflecting on the disciples’ misunderstandings, even after extensive time with Jesus, often prompts me to question their shortcomings; however, introspection reveals my errors, despite having followed Jesus longer than many of them and receiving years of theological training, fostering a greater sense of grace for their struggles. Christian Contemporary Music that I listened to growing up in my church youth group shaped my spiritual and theological framework. While I know many artists involved had great hearts, genuinely wanting to lead people to the Gospel and even contributing significantly to global health initiatives like combating HIV/AIDS, the genre had its limitations. Indeed, numerous leaders within this music scene eventually walked away from their faith because they couldn’t reconcile their life experiences with the feelings the music evoked, discovering nothing substantial beyond those emotions—a stark reminder that faith must be more than feeling. Where contemporary Christian music might fall short, Jesus offers enduring comfort. We often mistakenly look to external signs, songs, or leaders for guidance on how to live, yet Jesus repeatedly reminds us that proper direction comes from being led by Him alone. As His earthly time with the disciples drew to a close, He sought to comfort them, promising they would find genuine safety, solace, and strength through God. This profound assurance starkly contrasts with the empty promises offered by anyone else.

1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” 

8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. 

12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Jn 14:1–14.

Understanding Jesus transcends merely seeing Him as someone who shows us the way; fundamentally, Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. This profound reality necessitates that followers actively submit every facet of their existence to His guidance, moving beyond simple instruction to a profound, personal union with Him. Even the disciples, despite their proximity, initially struggled to grasp that knowing Jesus intimately meant inherently knowing the path to God (the Way), the ultimate reality of God (the Truth), and the source of spiritual vitality (the Life). Jesus wasn’t just pointing towards a destination; He is the destination, the embodiment of Truth and Life, through whom we are brought into the Father’s presence. Grasping this requires spiritual discernment, recognizing how Christ perfectly addresses humanity’s threefold need for reconciliation (the Way), illumination (the Truth), and regeneration (the Life), rescuing us from aimless wandering, deception, and spiritual death.

This divine identity and unity with the Father were intentionally demonstrated through Jesus’ works, which were designed to lead witnesses to faith in God by revealing that the Father was working through Him. Jesus Himself confirmed this intrinsic unity, explaining that His words originated from the Father and that His works were performed by the Father abiding in Him. Thus, to honestly know Jesus is to know the Father, as Jesus perfectly reveals God’s nature—the visible image of the invisible God. This underpins the call to believe in Jesus just as one believes in God, affirming His absolute deity and establishing Him as the exclusive way to the Father, a truth rooted in His unique divine person and incarnation. Embracing this belief offers profound peace and guards the heart against trouble.

Flowing directly from this understanding of Jesus and His unity with the Father, believers are called to imitate Christ comprehensively, in both word and deed. By actively performing the kinds of works Jesus did, the Church demonstrates His living presence within them and the enduring power of the Gospel. Jesus promised that believers would perform His works and even “greater works”—not necessarily more spectacular miracles, but broader spiritual realities like conveying truth, bestowing kingdom blessings, converting multitudes, and enabling the global spread of the Gospel through the power of the Holy Spirit, facilitated by His ascension. Crucially, these works are accomplished not by the believer’s strength but by the resurrected Christ working powerfully through them. The Father continues the Son’s work through disciples united to Him in faith, empowered by the Spirit. Therefore, yielding to Christ’s power within us and ensuring our actions reflect His self-emptying example, free from self-serving motives, is essential. Only by faithfully following Jesus’ ways in this manner can we effectively minister the Gospel to the poor and needy, truly embodying His life and mission in the world.

Thus, Jesus challenges all who might be disciples to truly embody the Gospel and live, speak, work, and act as He did. Through this living, the world will see Jesus, the Father, and the Spirit acting through us, thus shining God’s light for the world to see. However, to live like Jesus, we must study and understand what Jesus stands for, and even when we have been engrossed in the Word reading and intensely studying, we tend to miss that we need to keep looking to Jesus to show us the way, the truth, and the life.  Many big feelings will move our hearts, but Jesus reminds us not to take our eyes off Him in all circumstances. Life will always throw different experiences at us, some good, some bad, and a lot that may be a mix of the two, but we cannot get caught up in the feeling that they give us, because following God is more than just a feeling; it is a way of living. When we realize that we must cast aside anything that will try to rival the place God demands in our life and start living for God, we will do the works that Jesus does, and God will show the world light shining through us.