“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…”

–Jesus, John 14:12

Jesus said that he was sent to proclaim freedom to the prisoners. This was a central aspect of his gospel. He ended up dying in the place of Barabbas, an insurrectionist, but other than that, he wasn’t able to free any prisoners. But Christ’s ministry of reconciliation continues through his living Body.

Jesus gathered and fed thousands, developed a revolutionary discipline and formed dozens of bands of holy insurrectionists, publicly rebuked empire and the leaders of his day, released people from the bondages of shame, sin, sickness, even death. And he promised us that we will do greater things.

That’s our inheritance as the Body of Christ. That’s our corporate calling. Maybe I will never heal a sick person. Or lead a cop to quit their job and repent. Or be able to break into prisons and free every captive. But I can be part of the living Body of Christ that creates a world where everybody had their needs met and where there are no police or prisons.

We cannot let the life of Jesus limit us. We need to let the life of Jesus challenge us to do even greater things. Jesus flipped tables and whipped the merchants out of the temple, I love him for it, and guess what? We’ll burn down fucking prisons.