God is Greater than Jesus

“I'm leaving you peace. I'm giving you my peace. I don't give you the kind of peace that the world gives. So don't be troubled or cowardly. You heard me tell you, 'I'm going away, but I'm coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I'm going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I am.
I'm telling you this now before it happens. When it does happen, you will believe. The ruler of this world has no power over me. But he's coming, so I won't talk with you much longer. However, I want the world to know that I love the Father and that I am doing exactly what the Father has commanded me to do.”
John 14:27-31

Jesus says simply, “God, my Father, is greater than I am.” I think we can learn 2 things about our relationship with God. First, don’t be afraid. Take a minute and thing of some of the greatest things Jesus did. Think of how amazing Jesus was. Besides all the miracles, he also had commitment to purity and sinlessness and was perfect. Never made a mistake. It is like being on a team with the best player in the league. Jesus was the Michael Jordan, the Wayne Gretzky, the Barry Bonds, the Michael Vick of the religious realm. He did things that others could only dream about. He performed miracles that others could not even imagine. He was the superstar. But he was leaving, just when the disciples thought they needed him most. Jesus even talks about the rule of this world who he makes out to be a scary fellow. So when he says “I’m leaving, but there is one even greater than me” that’s pretty unbelievable.

It would be like Michael Jordan coming to practice the day before the playoffs started and saying, “I am retiring. But don’t worry, I have someone lined up to take my spot on the team. He can jump higher, make more shots, play better defense, and win more games that I ever could.” That would be unbelievable. At first you might be bummed, but then you think, “If we did this well with Jordan, think how well we will do with this other guy.” And that is what Jesus is saying. He says, I am leaving soon. But someone who’s even more powerful than me comes in my place. He was leaving the Spirit of God in his place. And if God is greater than him, think of the possibilities. I am sure there were going to be times when the disciples were scared, but they had an ally, a teammate that was far more powerful than anything they would face.

There are a lot of difficult circumstances to face in this world. There are things that might trouble us or act cowardly. But Jesus says to us like he said to the disciples, don’t worry. If you believe in me believe that God who is greater than me can take care of the things you encounter. Don’t be afraid.

Second, look forward to heaven when we enjoy God for eternity. Before meeting Jesus, these guys weren’t about to try anything new. They weren’t about to leave their fishing boats to wander around Israel. They weren’t about to turn their backs on their families. They weren’t about to go up against the religious leaders. They were fine just staying in the corner and blending in. But when Jesus came along, he changed all that. Through their relationship with him, they became better people. They became world changers. Jesus made them feel truly alive. So when Jesus said to them, I have to leave, they were upset. They didn’t want him to leave. They loved spending time with him.

Think of your favorite relationship. That person that you can just be yourself, and act crazy and not care. That was how the disciples felt with Jesus. But Jesus makes it clear—a relationship with the father is even better. Jesus said the relationship with God is even greater. Jesus says that if you think that being with me is a blast, wait until you meet the father. Wait until you meet God. When you see what God has in store for you in heaven, you won’t even remember this.

A relationship with Jesus can be pretty exciting. But it doesn’t hold a candle to what it is going to be like in heaven. I can dream about it and make guesses, but hanging out with God in heaven is something that I look forward to. No one is going to care about looking stupid or foolish. We are just going to care about worshipping God and He is just going to care about lavishing us with love. Accepting Jesus and living for him is just a taste of what heaven will be like. It will be awesome, because the Father is greater than the Son. A relationship with God in heaven is greater than a relationship with Jesus here on earth. Both are good, but the one in heaven is going to be even better. God is greater than Jesus. He gives us strength and courage to make it through today, and he gives us something unbelievable to look forward to.