Why Did Jesus Say, “The Father is Greater than I?”
Skeptics of the Deity of Christ often point to John 14:28. In this verse,
Jesus makes the statement that, “…the Father is greater than I.” This is offered as evidence in
refutation of Christ being truly God – after all, if Christ is truly God as the Father is,
then we should expect Jesus to say that He is as great as the Father…right?
In responding to this interpretation of Jesus’ words, we have to keep the context
of this verse in mind. John 14:28 does not exist as a single verse in pure isolation.
Rather, this verse, and every other verse in the Bible, is part of a greater narrative
that the author has written. In order to properly understand Jesus’ words here,
we have to consider the narrative in which John has placed this quotation.
First, the term, “greater,” in verse 28 (μέγας) can be used either qualitatively
or quantitatively. In other words, “greater” could be in reference to superiority (i.e.
better, higher rank) or it could be used in reference to number (i.e. more, larger amount).
An example of the former would be to say, “My general is greater than I,” this being
in reference to the ranking superiority of the general over a subordinate officer. An example
of the latter would be to say, “You have greater wealth than me.” In contrast, this reference would
be with respect to the quantity (i.e. amount) of money you possess in comparison to me.
Verse 28 is also not the only place in John 14 where,
“greater,” (μέγας) is used. In verse 12, Jesus states:
“Truly, truly, 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 the Father.” (John 14:12)
Is Jesus making a qualitative or a quantitative statement in verse 12? If He is saying, “greater,”
with respect to quality, then that would mean that believers would do better works than Him.
This understanding poses some serious problems. It would mean that believers have more power to
perform miracles than Jesus did. If this were true, then we would be able to accomplish our
own resurrection and would not need to look to Him as our Savior. Further, there has never been
anyone who has truly performed better works than Christ Himself – He lived a perfect life
without sin and He knew things about people that no other person could know.
For these reasons, it’s apparent that Jesus is not speaking qualitatively here. Instead, He is
speaking quantitatively – that believers would do more (i.e. a greater number of) miraculous works
than Him. The reason Jesus says this is because He will, “…go to the Father.” For as many miracles
as Jesus performed, His ministry only lasted a few years and in a relatively small area. In
comparison, the Church has had 2,000 years to bear witness of the Holy Spirit’s miraculous power.
As well, the demonstrations of the Holy Spirit’s power have gone out across the world.
Jesus is saying, “greater,” with respect to quantity or number, not quality or standing.
Even Jesus illuminates this meaning by saying, “the works that I do,
he will do also.” Believers are fully capable, by residency of the Holy Spirit,
of similar kinds of miracles as what Jesus performed in His earthly life. The reason
we don’t is because of the presence of sin our lives, by which we quench and grieve
the Spirit’s working. But, in pursuing a repentant attitude and sacrificial living,
we open ourselves up to the same kinds of powerful demonstrations He performed through Christ.
In saying this though, why would Jesus point to the limit of his miraculous works as being
His departure to the Father? This brings up another important point we need to consider
from John’s context. John 14 is the continuation of everything John has written from the prior
13 chapters of his gospel, so we should also consider what he has stated earlier.
In John 1:1, he says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word
was God.” In John 1:14, he continues, “and the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us,
and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and
truth.” Between these two verses John is telling us two things – Christ is fully God and He is
fully man. To put it another way, Christ is truly Divine and truly human. Christ’s Divine
nature is from eternity as the Word in which He has perfectly fellowshipped with the Father.
This is why John says, “In the beginning was (ἦν) the Word,” ἦν being the imperfect form
of the Greek verb εἰμί – “to be” – because John is testifying to the fact that the Word
has no beginning. For as long as God (the Father) has been, the Word has also been. More than that,
as long as the Word has been, He has been truly God as the Father has been.
In contrast to the eternality of the Word, John states that, “…the word became flesh and dwelt
among us.” The verb John uses for, “became,” is ἐγένετο, the aorist form of γίνομαι – to come
into being, to be born or created. Where the Word has existed eternally as truly Divine,
the man Jesus was born at a particular point in time in a particular location. As a man, Jesus
was in one place at one time and He interacted with other people according to human behaviors
and conventions. Yet, in parallel, as the Word, He upheld all things by the word of His power.
Christ is not half divine and half human – Christ is fully Divine (as the Word) and fully human (as
Jesus). Both of these natures reside distinctly alongside one another in the person of Christ.
This doctrine is known as the hypostatic union. A full dissertation of this doctrine is beyond
the bounds of this video. For our purposes here, it is enough to recognize that John
records Jesus as having the ability to speak from either perspective – as God or as man.
Returning to chapter 14, Jesus references His departure to the Father as the limit
of His miraculous works because He is speaking to His earthly life as a man living in first
century Judea. However, look at what Jesus continues to say in the following verses:
“Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If
you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.” (John 14:13-14)
The asking in Jesus’ name is set after His departure to the Father – in other words,
this is after Jesus has returned to His heavenly glory. Thus, this, “asking,” is not merely an
earthly conversation, it is a prayer offered to Jesus. At this point, we need to pause; if Jesus
is not truly God then it would be blasphemy to pray to Him. Further, He says that whatever one
may ask in His name He will do. This means that Jesus must possess God’s attributes: eternality,
absolute authority, omnipresence, omniscience and omnipotence. If Jesus is able to grant,
“anything,” that might be asked of Him in prayer, He must exist eternally without reference to time;
He must have absolute authority to do it; He must exist in all places; He must know all things to
understand all requests and to know how to do them and He must have unlimited power to bring those
requests to pass. These attributes are only ones that can be possessed by true Divinity – by God.
Therefore, if Jesus is not God, then He has just committed a gross blasphemy,
which would make Him a sinner. Conversely, if Jesus is speaking truthfully, then He is truly God
the same as the Father is. This understanding is affirmed in verse 23:
“Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me,
he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our
abode with him.” (John 14:23) Jesus says that both He and the
Father will tabernacle spiritually with all those who love Him. Given that those who love Jesus have
existed across time & space, only a Being Who is truly Divine can accomplish this. The Father is
truly Divine – truly God – which is why the Father can do this. Likewise, for Jesus to be able to do
the same with His Father means He possesses the same Divine attributes as His Father. Therefore,
the nature of the Father is the same as the Son; if the Father is truly God, so is the Son.
It is this context that leads us into Jesus’ statement that, “…the Father is greater than I.”
First, is Jesus speaking qualitatively or quantitatively? The former interpretation
would mean that Jesus is saying the Father is better (i.e. superior) to Him; the latter would
mean that the Father is more in number than Him. Obviously, the testimony of the Bible
is that there is only one Father, so Jesus is not speaking quantitatively. Therefore, He is saying
that the Father is superior to Him. But, in what way or for what reason is the Father superior?
The assumption of skeptics is that this superiority is one of nature or essence – that
Christ is not truly Divine. But, if this were true, then Jesus has just contradicted His own
words from earlier in the chapter. In addition, it means that John has been incorrect about Who
Jesus is from the very first verse of his gospel. If the assumption of skeptics is correct, then
there is no basis to trust anything that John has written or that Jesus ever spoke because they are
self-contradictory. A simple assumption we are right to possess is that both John and
Jesus were not self-contradictory; they could make sense of what they were saying. This being said,
Jesus cannot be saying that He is inferior to the Father according to His nature, because
He has claimed multiple times to possess the attributes that are only found in God’s nature.
So in what sense is Jesus saying the Father is superior to Him?
Remember the example I gave earlier – “My general is greater than I.” If a soldier
said this about His general, it does not mean that his general is a superior being than the soldier,
because both the general and the soldier are equally human. They possess the same set of
attributes in their nature as humans. No human is greater than another by virtue of their nature.
Rather, what the soldier is saying that the general possesses a superior function
or office than he does. The general gives the orders while the soldier follows them. “Greater,”
in this context is with respect to rank and function, not essence or nature.
With this in mind, also remember what Jesus has previously stated,
“…greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.” Christ,
as the eternal Divine Word, has always been in perfect fellowship and residence with the Father.
But, as a man, Jesus is on earth while the Father is in heaven. Jesus is speaking here according
to His position as a man on earth in time & space. He is doing the same thing in verse 28:
“…I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.”
The phrase, “I go to the Father,” is the same as in verse 12. Where verse 12 indicates that Jesus
is speaking according to His role on the earth as a man, verse 28 does the same thing. This is
the substance for why Jesus says the Father is greater than Him because, in saying this, He is
a man living on the earth at a particular time in a particular place carrying out the Father’s will,
while the Father is in heaven outside of time and space instructing Him by His own will.
Jesus is saying that, at that time, the Father is in possession of a superior rank and function than
Him. This is called the functional subordination of the Trinity. The three Divine Persons are equal
in their nature, but they possess specific roles and functions by which they relate to
each other and to all of creation. In John 14:28, Jesus is acknowledging His unique role – that He
is the Divine Person Who has taken on flesh so that He would save His people from their sin.
For more information on the Deity of Christ and the doctrine of the Trinity,
please see this playlist on my channel or
view the corresponding lectures from my Fundamentals of the Christian Faith class.