How do Cessationists interpret John 14:8-14, especially verses 11 and 12?

Question

John 14:8-14 (NIV):

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.

My understanding of verse 11 is that Jesus is pointing to the works he has done that give evidence that the Father is in him, which without a doubt include the signs and wonders he had been performing during his ministry. Then in verse 12 he says "whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these".

How do Cessationists interpret this passage, especially verses 11 and 12?

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Edit: Luke 7:20-23 (NIV) gives explicit examples of the works Jesus did:

20 When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’” 21 At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. 22 So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 23 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

Answer 1

Most cessations would agree that God can work miracles of healing today. The real question is "Has God authenticated anyone's ministry by miracles, signs or wonders since the days of the Apostles"? Cessationists would say "No, except the miracle of God bringing others to the new birth by his/her instrumentality".

As Rhetorician has said, it is the greater work of bringing souls to salvation. Just before Christ died, after His ministry of, debatably, three and a half years, there were about one hundred and twenty believers (Acts 1:15) in Jerusalem, and some elsewhere (eg at Sychar in Samaria). When Peter preached at Pentecost, on the first day of receiving the Holy Spirit, about three thousand souls were added to their number (Acts 2:41).

That is the greater works.

The miraculous healings of the New Testament era, apart from those of our Lord, were done only by the Apostles and by two of their close band.. Stephen and Phillip. The only other miraculous healing was the restoration of the sight of Paul by Ananias (Acts 9:17). That's it. Notice the following verses:-

Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. (Acts 2:43)

And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch. (Acts 5:12)

Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds. (2 Corinthians 12:12).

They were the signs of an Apostle, not of all believers, or many believers.

how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will? (Hebrews 2:3-4)

And if the Church/local church was going to have ministries gifted to work miracles of healing ever after the apostolic era (eg beyond, say, AD 60) then we should expect to see the ministry named in the following verse:

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-12).

We do not find in this verse "he gave some to be healers, and some to be workers of miracles", etc.

In the early days of the NT church God was healing and even raising people from the dead by the Apostle Paul (- according to historical records Gallio became Proconsul of Achaia in AD 52, cf Acts 18:12) so that Paul's handkerchiefs were sent to heal people (Acts 19:11-12) about AD 54 or 55. But later, God seems to have stopped healing through Paul as shown by Paul not being used to heal the following disciples:-

(1) Timothy, advising take a little wine for the sake of your frequent illnesses (1 Timothy 5:23)... and

(2) Trophimus: Trophimus I left in Miletus sick (2 Timothy 4:20).... and

(3) Epaphroditus: Yet I considered it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, but your messenger and the one who ministered to my need; since he was longing for you all, and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. (Phil 2:24-26)

[Some claim that believers should never die of sickness claiming that if someone is not healed it is because they do not have enough faith. But did Elisha not have enough faith? - "Elisha was fallen sick, of the sickness whereof he died" (2 Kings 13:14).]

In one of his messages on Youtube Pastor Justin Peters records six "faith healers" who taught that believers need never fall ill, all of whom have since died of ill health.

Finally according to James the Lord's brother, when a believer falls sick they are not to call for a worker of miracles or a wonder worker, they are to call for the ordinarily appointed elders of the church who are chosen on the basis of their spirituality (1 Timothy 3:1-7). These are the ones to call:

Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. (James 5:14-15)

Cessationists believe that the greater works means effective preaching of the Gospel with the aid of the Holy Spirit; the continuing works of miraculous gifts and healings is a myth. This does not mean that miracles and healings no longer happen. When people get saved that is a very greatest of miracles. But cessationists believe that God worked miracles through the Apostles and a very few others to authenticate their ministry and message. Today a man's ministry can be authenticated by comparing what they teach with the completed Bible. Therefore, there is no good reason why God would give the gift of signs and wonders to any man or woman today.

The sign miracles were the work of the apostles and a few of their band only. And only those who were eye witnesses of the resurrection could be an Apostle (Acts 1:21-26) who are by their writings along with the Old Testament prophets the foundation of the church (Ephesians 2:20).

And the Word of God explicitly tells us that the last of the Apostles was the Apostle Paul:

After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. (1 Corinthians 15:7-9)

There are no more Apostles, nor Prophets, nor the signs of Apostles (2 Cor 12:12) which were given to authenticate their message of the Gospel.

[[I have used mostly "Proving the Charismatic gifts have ceased" by Dr Peter Masters, a 50 pence booklet from the Tabernacle Bookshop, Metropolitan Tabernacle, Elephant & Castle, London. Tel: UK 0207 735 7076. But buy it to see if I have said things which the author would not agree with.]]

Answer 2

You are not alone in thinking immediately of signs and miracles when you hear the word works. Have you ever stopped to think about another aspect of Christ's work on earth, which the apostle John called "other things"?

24 This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true. 25 Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written (John 21, NIV, my emphasis).

As good as signs and wonders and miracles are in testifying to the deity of Jesus, those "other things" John referred to are equally as good, if not better!

First is the amazing teaching and preaching Jesus did throughout his public ministry. Witnesses characterized them as having authority and inspiring awe and praise. The Synoptics record this in Matthew 7:29 and 9:8; Mark 1:22 and 27; and Luke 4:32 and 36.

In like manner, when Jesus sent out the 12, he gave them authority to perform miracles and to preach repentance wherever they went (Mark 6:7 ff.; and Matthew 10:1). While they were doing what Jesus told them to do, he also went out by himself to do the same; namely, to preach and teach and perform miracles of healing and exorcism.

Second is the harvesting of souls. I suggest there would not have been a harvest of souls in Samaria when Philip the evangelist preached there after Jesus's ascension had not Jesus himself reached out to a despised woman whom he met him at Jacob's well in Sychar. She was gloriously saved, and thanks to her witness to her fellow townspeople, she may very well have prepared the Samaritan field for harvesting when Philip and, later, Peter and John also came to town (see Acts 8:12-25).

What I am suggesting is that "cessationists" may be on the right track, hermeneutically, when they seem to minimize the miraculous aspects of Christian ministry after the church universal was up and running. What were the "greater things" Jesus spoke of when he told his followers in general and Philip(!) in particular they would in fact do after he ascended to his Father?

I suggest those "even greater things" included the harvesting of souls who would become disciples of the Master, expanding the Kingdom of Heaven that would be baptized by the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost.

Jesus said confidently in the presence of his disciples and Peter in particular,

“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter [or rock] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades [or, the realm of the dead] will not overcome it (Matthew 16, NIV).

In conclusion, I believe the greater works of the first-century disciples, and the disciples of each generation since then, is the expansion of the church universal through the harvesting of souls. As good as signs and wonders and miracles are (and yes, I believe God is still to this day a miracle-working God), the greatest work of Christians in any generation--besides loving one another--is preaching the gospel and making disciples worldwide. By so doing, they will one day, in God's perfect timing, see the completion of the church when every living stone is in its place and the superstructure is complete "at the end of the age" (see Matthew 28:16-20 and 1 Peter 2:4-5).