How do preachers or teachers explain this?

[Godsgood]

Jesus was talking to the twelve, who would eventually become his apostles. Their works will be greater in the sense that they will reach more people with the gospel. They will travel around the known world. Many of them will contribute to the New Testament. We owe a lot to their works.

The Lord Jesus never commanded His chosen disciples to travel throughout the whole world to preach, because if they did, they would need money and would have to ask people for financial support.
The Lord Jesus did not want that. Instead, He obeyed God's will without asking people for money.

Therefore, traveling around the whole world to preach cannot be what the Lord meant by "greater works." Rather, the Lord was referring to the degree or magnitude of what His disciples would accomplish, which would be greater than what He Himself did.

 

[Godsgood]

The Lord Jesus, in His role as the Son of the living God, served as a model by demonstrating true humility before God.
Although the Lord was without sin, He did not claim that He Himself was good.
2 CORINTHIANS 5:21
21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

This is the example He wants those who believe in Him and read the Holy Scriptures to follow.
LUKE 18:18-19
18 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
19And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.

These two roles of the Lord Jesus were foretold by Isaiah.

In His role as God the Father, He will be called the Everlasting Father.
And in His role as the Son of the living God, He will be called the Prince of Peace.
ISAIAH 9:6
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

 

[DavidLamb]

In His role as the Son of the living God, the Lord Jesus was 100% human. In every way that an ordinary human being is, He was truly human.
He became tired, He became hungry, He became thirsty, and He experienced fear.
Therefore, as a man, the Lord Jesus would never claim to be good.
For He Himself taught and revealed to Paul that no human being is good.
That is why, before the rich young ruler, He did not claim to be good.
And since He is the truth and always speaks the truth (John 14:6), His statement was true.
ROMANS 3:10
10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

Therefore, He Himself did not claim to be good, so that He would not contradict His own words.

But He was not merely 100% Man. He is 100% God too. Think of how the scribes complained about Jesus claiming to forgive sins:

(Mar 2:7 NKJV) "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

Jesus showed them that as God, He had the power and the right to forgive sins:

(Mar 2:8-11 NKJV) But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins"—He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."

As I mentioned in another reply to you earlier today, Jesus once challenged His hearers to convict Him of any sin, and of course they could not. That was a demonstration of His sinlessness, or His goodness.

 

[DavidLamb]

The Lord Jesus never commanded His chosen disciples to travel throughout the whole world to preach, because if they did, they would need money and would have to ask people for financial support.
The Lord Jesus did not want that. Instead, He obeyed God's will without asking people for money.

Therefore, traveling around the whole world to preach cannot be what the Lord meant by "greater works." Rather, the Lord was referring to the degree or magnitude of what His disciples would accomplish, which would be greater than what He Himself did.

(Mar 16:14-15 NKJV) Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

 

[Roger316]

The Lord Jesus never commanded His chosen disciples to travel throughout the whole world to preach, because if they did, they would need money and would have to ask people for financial support.

That's exactly what they did.

 

[Dino246]

These two roles of the Lord Jesus were foretold by Isaiah.

In His role as God the Father, He will be called the Everlasting Father.
And in His role as the Son of the living God, He will be called the Prince of Peace.
ISAIAH 9:6
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Those are aspects of His identity, not roles.

 

[Inquisitor]

I agree with most of your post, except the part where you say that Paul converted people. Preachers don't convert people; God does.

I may not have been clear enough.

Paul could not convert anyone to a belief in Jesus nor could anyone else.

Here is what I said.

Paul constantly performed under the power of the Holy Spirit and converted people in the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the force behind conversion not Paul.

 

[Inquisitor]

I do not believe that the "greater works" refer to the length of their ministry or preaching. Rather, they refer to the greater extent or magnitude of what they accomplished.

Jesus said "greater works than these will he do".

Which means that the disciples would perform greater works generated by the Holy Spirit than these.

Jesus emptied Himself before He assumed our identity but relied on the full force of the Holy Spirit.

Through the apostles the blind received sight and the deaf heard the gospel via the Holy Spirit.

The dead were raised and the power of the Holy Spirit was active at all times.

Which was the case recorded throughout Acts.

 

[SomeDisciple]

 

[Godsgood]

(Mar 16:14-15 NKJV) Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

God's chosen ones do not interpret His words only in their literal sense.
Instead, they seek His mercy so that they may understand and proclaim the truth contained in His words.

The Lord would not command His chosen people to go into the literal world, because if He meant the physical world, many of His chosen ones who live in poverty would be unable to fulfill His command due to a lack of financial resources.
How could they afford to do so?

How could the Lord have commanded this, when He Himself ministered only in Israel and did not travel throughout the whole world?

Remember, before the Lord Jesus (in His role as God the Father) commanded His chosen ones, He had already fulfilled it Himself (in His role as the living Son of God). Therefore, His disciples had no objection to what He said.

That is why the Lord revealed to His chosen one the true meaning of the "world" He was referring to.
To people, the world means the Earth, but to God, the world refers to humanity.
JEREMIAH 22:29
29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord.

Therefore, His command, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature," means, "Go into the people and preach the gospel to every creature."

Whether the one He has chosen is rich or poor, this command can be fulfilled, because both the rich and the poor live among and interact with other people.

 

[Godsgood]

That's exactly what they did.

In truth, those who preach throughout the literal world are those who do not know the one true God.
MATTHEW 23:15
15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

And this truth in the Word of God has not passed away, even in our time (Matthew 24:35).

The preachers today who travel throughout the whole world are like the scribes and Pharisees who did not know the one true God.

 

[Godsgood]

(Mar 16:14-15 NKJV) Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

Because of the hardness of the human heart, people insist on using their own understanding to interpret the Word of God, even though the Lord has already given a warning not to rely on one's own understanding when it comes to His words.
PROVERBS 3:5
5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Therefore, we who are chosen by God avoid relying on our own understanding of His words. Instead, we ask for His mercy, because having come to know the one true God enables us to do this. That is why the truth in His words is revealed to us.

In this way, we fulfill His command in Mark 16:15 that you mentioned, because we share the truth with the people we interact with. And of course, here in this thread. Therefore, we do not ask people for money in order to fulfill this command of His.


You say that the literal world must be traveled in order for you to share the words of God. How, then, will you fulfill Mark 16:15?

First, can your finances support it? Perhaps you have enough money to do this. If your money is not enough, you would first need to ask people for help.
Second, can your health withstand traveling throughout the whole world?

 

[Godsgood]

But He was not merely 100% Man. He is 100% God too. Think of how the scribes complained about Jesus claiming to forgive sins:

(Mar 2:7 NKJV) "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

Jesus showed them that as God, He had the power and the right to forgive sins:

(Mar 2:8-11 NKJV) But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins"—He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."

As I mentioned in another reply to you earlier today, Jesus once challenged His hearers to convict Him of any sin, and of course they could not. That was a demonstration of His sinlessness, or His goodness.

I don't know if Mark 2:8–11 is the passage you are referring to.
But if it is not, could you please mention again where He challenged the people? Chapter & verses.

 

[Godsgood]

These two roles of the Lord Jesus were foretold by Isaiah.

In His role as God the Father, He will be called the Everlasting Father.
And in His role as the Son of the living God, He will be called the Prince of Peace.
ISAIAH 9:6
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Therefore, we who have come to know the one true God, whenever the Lord Jesus speaks or does something, wait for His revelation of the truth in His words.
We seek to understand which of His two roles He is fulfilling: whether it is His role as God the Father or His role as the living Son of God.

Because when it is in His role as God the Father, we praise and thank Him while also asking for His mercy.
However, when it is in His role as the living Son of God, we follow His example (1 Peter 2:21).

 

[DavidLamb]

I may not have been clear enough.

Paul could not convert anyone to a belief in Jesus nor could anyone else.

Here is what I said.

Paul constantly performed under the power of the Holy Spirit and converted people in the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the force behind conversion not Paul.

That's clearer, thanks. However, I still think it can be misleading to talk about Christians (in this case Paul) converting sinners. Thanks again.

 

[DavidLamb]

God's chosen ones do not interpret His words only in their literal sense.
Instead, they seek His mercy so that they may understand and proclaim the truth contained in His words.

The Lord would not command His chosen people to go into the literal world, because if He meant the physical world, many of His chosen ones who live in poverty would be unable to fulfill His command due to a lack of financial resources.
How could they afford to do so?

Well, take the apostle Paul. We read that he was a tentmaker. That was his secular job:

(Act 18:1-3 NKJV) After these things Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla (because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome); and he came to them. So, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked; for by occupation they were tentmakers.

Also, some of the churches he visited supported him. For example:

(2Co 11:9 NKJV) And when I was present with you, and in need, I was a burden to no one, for what I lacked the brethren who came from Macedonia supplied. And in everything I kept myself from being burdensome to you, and so I will keep myself.

How could the Lord have commanded this, when He Himself ministered only in Israel and did not travel throughout the whole world?

The fact that He Himself didn't go beyond His own country was no barier to Him commanding His followers to go into all the world.

Remember, before the Lord Jesus (in His role as God the Father) commanded His chosen ones, He had already fulfilled it Himself (in His role as the living Son of God). Therefore, His disciples had no objection to what He said.

That is why the Lord revealed to His chosen one the true meaning of the "world" He was referring to.
To people, the world means the Earth, but to God, the world refers to humanity.
JEREMIAH 22:29
29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord.

Therefore, His command, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature," means, "Go into the people and preach the gospel to every creature."

Whether the one He has chosen is rich or poor, this command can be fulfilled, because both the rich and the poor live among and interact with other people.

So are you saying that Paul, Silas, Timothy, Luke, Barnabas and others were being disobedient when they took the gospel to people beyond the borders of Judea/Israel?

 

[DavidLamb]

Because of the hardness of the human heart, people insist on using their own understanding to interpret the Word of God, even though the Lord has already given a warning not to rely on one's own understanding when it comes to His words.
PROVERBS 3:5
5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Therefore, we who are chosen by God avoid relying on our own understanding of His words. Instead, we ask for His mercy, because having come to know the one true God enables us to do this. That is why the truth in His words is revealed to us.

In this way, we fulfill His command in Mark 16:15 that you mentioned, because we share the truth with the people we interact with. And of course, here in this thread. Therefore, we do not ask people for money in order to fulfill this command of His.


You say that the literal world must be traveled in order for you to share the words of God. How, then, will you fulfill Mark 16:15?

First, can your finances support it? Perhaps you have enough money to do this. If your money is not enough, you would first need to ask people for help.
Second, can your health withstand traveling throughout the whole world?

I would say that we should take the words of Scripture literally unless there is good reason not to do so (as for example when we read of Jesus saying that He is a door.) The first disciples clearly didn't understand Jesus to mean that each one of them individually had to travel to every country in the world to spread the gospel; some of them remained in their own country and preached the gospel there. It is the same with Christians in 2026. Not all of us are called to go to other countries, and none of us individually is called to visit every single country in the world with the gospel. Nevertheless, the gospel is to be taken into all the world.

 

[DavidLamb]

I don't know if Mark 2:8–11 is the passage you are referring to.
But if it is not, could you please mention again where He challenged the people? Chapter & verses.

The verse I meant where Jesus asked which of His hearers could convict Him of sin is this one:

(Joh 8:46) Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?

Not one of His hearers answered, "Yes, I can convict You of sin. I saw You doing such-and-such."

 

[DavidLamb]

Therefore, we who have come to know the one true God, whenever the Lord Jesus speaks or does something, wait for His revelation of the truth in His words.
We seek to understand which of His two roles He is fulfilling: whether it is His role as God the Father or His role as the living Son of God.

Because when it is in His role as God the Father, we praise and thank Him while also asking for His mercy.
However, when it is in His role as the living Son of God, we follow His example (1 Peter 2:21).

In His role as God the Father? Yet He said:

(Joh 15:26 NKJV) "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.

(Joh 16:28 NKJV) I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father."

(Joh 5:26 NKJV) For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself,

Where do we read of Jesus Christ having the role of God the Father?

 

[Roger316]

In truth, those who preach throughout the literal world are those who do not know the one true God.
MATTHEW 23:15
15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

And this truth in the Word of God has not passed away, even in our time (Matthew 24:35).

The preachers today who travel throughout the whole world are like the scribes and Pharisees who did not know the one true God.

Have you never read the book of Acts?