Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater [ works ] than these he will do, because I go to My Father.
Jesus - John 4:12 ( NKJV )
For years I have puzzled over, not only what Jesus could have meant by these plain, but enigmatic words, but also how orthodoxy seems to have missed this simple truth. Now, I say "missed", but to be honest, there are probably more than a few extant theories that various theologians have postulated concerning what Jesus might have meant when He uttered these words. Right off the top of my head, from my own Christian upbringing/experience, one explanation, maybe the most ready one, might involve the phrase "already/not yet". In essence, Jesus would have been saying that, in some future Resurrection, His disciples would indeed do Greater Works than even He did. In this "already/not yet" scenario", it is because of His Spirit that we are able to do anything ( good ), but once our corrupt ( sinful ) human nature has been changed to an incorruptible one, then we will do those things He promised. However; I digress, because my purpose here is not to decry the orthodox ( Christian ) position so much as to uncover the Truth of this plain & simple statement.
With these words, was Jesus implying that what did during His earthly ministry was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to the miraculous, or supernatural? It's hard for us, even as faithful Christians, to imagine a Time when we'll be able to heal with a touch or a Word, or to literally walk on water, much less to do greater miracles. That IS what He said though ( according to our garbled transliterations ), so it is doubtless what He meant. However, the question remains; "What Did He mean?!" Did Jesus actually mean to say that EVERYTHING He did was a mere pittance compared to what we ( His disciples ) would do? For that matter, can we say for sure that Jesus meant those words for US today, now in the 21st century, almost 2,000 years after He uttered them? By looking closer at the context of His Words, might we reach a better conclusion as to His intended meaning? It is entirely possible, in fact, very likely that Jesus made this promise to His 1st century disciples as well as those who would follow, including those in the 21st century & beyond, to Infinity!
"You still haven't answered the question!" you might be thinking! That's true, though I intend to pursue it's elusiveness a bit further.
First, let's suppose Jesus WAS speaking ONLY to those 1st century followers of His. If this were so, looking further into the context, including 'audience relevance' might indeed clear things up. For the sake of conjecture, what if He was prophesying of a future generation ( 21st century? ), in which, because of technology or whatever ( 'evolution' ?! ) humankind would be able to accomplish more astounding things than Jesus Himself?! A greater possibility though & a greater likelihood, is that Jesus uttered a Universal Truth here, One that spoke of the Potential within EVERY human being. Was Jesus speaking metaphorically here, referring not simply to the physical but to the more important metaphysical? The inner alchemy, which is necessary for any outward change to occur, might better serve as an explanation of Jesus' enigmatic words!
If indeed Jesus WAS speaking metaphorically ( which actually makes more sense ), then maybe, just maybe, He was pointing His disciples, indeed ALL of humanity to the fact that they would do as He had done, unlocking the Potential within themselves that would enable them to do, not only what He did, but even GREATER ( more miraculous )! At this juncture, my readers might be thinking, "Okay, so how DO we unlock this Potential? How can we EVER hope to get to the point where we'll do what Jesus did, much less Greater Works?!" Well, my friends, I'll tell you one thing for sure; it's not going to be easy & in fact, it's probably going to hurt like hell!
Again, you might be inclined to wonder, first, why I say "it's going to hurt like hell" & second, if indeed it IS going to hurt like hell, "why the hell would we even want to do it?" Well, to answer ( to the best of MY ability ) the former question: something I often say concerning how far we've fallen, both as individuals & as a nation; "It's taken this long to get to where we are; it's going to take at least that long to get back to where we should be ( "Back to the Garden", so to speak ). We have forgotten Who & What We are, having built so many layers over our True Identity, that not only will it take some time to strip away all those layers, it will be a painful process too. Secondly; a choice is set before you this day, my friend ( not to sound too ominous ); you can take the blue pill & go back to sheep, continuing your mind-numbingly painful existence, or you can take the red pill & wake up to the realization that it's not all about you & the 'Murican Dream, that we are here not just to wake up, but to help others wake up. '"Will it really be all that painful?" Hell yes! But it will be SO worth it!
Back now, to those troublesome words of Jesus; it almost goes without saying that every action we take, with the possible exception of pure animalistic ( instinctual ) behavior, begins in the Mind. We must determine a course of action, whether consciously or unconsciously, before our brain sends the necessary signals to the constituent elements, our hands & feet. Even still, these signals often tend to get fucked up! Once we remember Who We are though ( this would be another reason for 'Ascension', as some have called it), these signals, almost bypassing the brain, coming directly from our High, or Innermost Self are longer garbled; In Essence, "no more fucking up!"
( This is also why Science & Technology can never be our Savior; They rely on the Mind/Brain! )
Although Jesus WAS simply the Jewish Messiah, as I've often posited, in this sense, He could be perceived as our Salvation! I say, "in this sense", because as I've also previously stated, Jesus came to show His people that they too could awaken the Potential Within & become Gods, doing what He did & More. As the Jewish Messiah, some might be tempted ( some have ) to say, "Jesus failed!" Did He though?! Yes, one might well say, there might not be a lot of available evidence that He did much waking up. This may seem to be the case, but then again, "what about thinking outside the Box ( or Book ) for a change?" No, there is not a lot of plain, in-your-face biblical evidence ( though it IS there if you care to open your Mind ), but what about places the biased transliterators chose not to go? For instance, "what do you think the chances are that the word of Jesus, if not Jesus Himself. might have traveled as far ( "from east to west" ) as the Americas, India, China? The possibilities are Infinite!
In the Christian Mindset, which is what I was raised with, the very idea that we, as mere human beings, could do "greater works" than Jesus Himself is approaching blasphemy, playing with Fire, so to speak. Yet, that is exactly what we're doing, my friends; We ARE playing with Fire, the same Fire that Jesus played with! Like the fabled woman ( Matthew 9:18-26, Mark 5:22-43, Luke 8:41-56 ) that was healed by her faith, we too can heal ourselves & help our world heal by grasping Infinity!
Namaste' & Blessed Be
Sage Charles
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