Can I really do greater things than Jesus?

On the face of it, the idea that Christians could do greater things than Christ himself, seems audacious at the very least and outright blasphemous at worst. This notion comes from a tiny piece of scripture as recorded by the Apostle John:

Very truly I [Jesus] 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.
John 14:12

Can Christians expect to do greater
works than Jesus?

In this isolated text, Jesus seems to be indicating that Christians will be able to do all the same things as Jesus and then some. However, a cursory glance at Christ's Greatest Hits reveals miracles such as: turning about 450L of water into premium wine; restoring sight to blind people; feeding a crowd of over 4000 with nothing more than an initial couple of loaves of bread and fish - on at least two separate occasions; walking on water and verbally instructing a fierce storm to settle down; exorcizing multiple demons from quite a few possessed individuals; bringing a man back to life who had been dead for four days and had begun to decompose; and in the ultimate tour de force of Christ's divinity, he painstakingly submits himself to execution by crucifixion, sacrificing his life for the wrongs of all of humanity, and then comes back to life before ascending to heaven.

These historically recorded miracles provide a burden of proof to substantiate Jesus' claims about his divinity as the Christ and to give weight to his spiritual message about restoration with God. These signs are designed to demonstrate that Jesus was more than just a man and worthy of further investigation into his teachings. Therefore, some context must be provided for the aforementioned scripture, lest any Christian feel the need to outdo Jesus.

Firstly, this quote from Jesus occurs within a long-running Q & A that Christ was having with his twelve disciples between the last supper and the arrest of Jesus. The disciples know that Jesus will soon be leaving and in the cool of the night, Christ delivers his last sermon to his inner circle. In this final series of teachings, Jesus encourages, instructs and warns his followers. It is a provocative, confronting and uplifting message from a man who is about to willingly undergo arguably the worst form of torture devised. 

For a slightly larger context, here are the surrounding verses (taken from the Message translation so that the sentiment is more immediately apparent):

Thomas said, "Master, we have no idea where you're going. How do you expect us to know the road?"
Jesus said, "I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him. You've even seen him!"
Philip said, "Master, show us the Father; then we'll be content."
"You've been with me all this time, Philip, and you still don't understand? To see me is to see the Father. So how can you ask, 'Where is the Father?' Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you aren't mere words. I don't just make them up on my own. The Father who resides in me crafts each word into a divine act.
Believe me: I am in my Father and my Father is in me. If you can't believe that, believe what you see—these works. The person who trusts me will not only do what I'm doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do that I've been doing. You can count on it. From now on, whatever you request along the lines of who I am and what I am doing, I'll do it. That's how the Father will be seen for who he is in the Son. I mean it. Whatever you request in this way, I'll do.
John 14:5-12

Secondly, this quote from Jesus is only recorded in the Gospel of John and not in the synoptic gospels. It was written far later than the other gospels with the intent of persuading its audience (originally the area of Asia Minor - modern day Turkey) rather than simply informing. This does not imply that John was putting words into Jesus' mouth or that one could casually discard this scripture, but rather it provides an overall context into which the words were written.

Thirdly, when examining the lives of the apostles as recorded in the Book of Acts, miracles were performed but they were of a different measure and quantity. The apostles healed the sick, cast out demons and even raised the dead. They instantly spoke in different languages and experienced earthquakes that freed them from prison. However, no single apostle performed anywhere near the same number of miracles as Jesus or even the same breadth of supernatural phenomena. They did not influence natural weather events or remotely heal. Importantly, the apostles did not resurrect themselves.

Therefore, how do we understand this notion of doing greater things than Jesus? I would firstly contend that Jesus is not implying that Christians can out-perform him. To even think so seems down-right arrogant.
Secondly, I think Jesus was attempting to inspire his disciples during a strenuous period and that his words are to be interpreted with the intent rather than the actual specifics - in the same manner that no one seriously tells a mountain to move, or cut out their left eye after staring at a lingerie billboard for too long.
Thirdly, if this was a fundamental and theogically sound doctrine that you could hang-your-hat-on, I think it would have appeared in more than one singular scripture.
Fourthly, as the lives of the apostles set an example for our lives, even they do not out-perform Jesus' miracles. Why would a 21st Christian who has not physically met with Jesus suddenly think that they could do one better than the apostles?
Lastly, Jesus' miracles pale in comparison to his greatest accomplishment: triumph over sin. Therefore, by sharing the gospel with others around us, we participate in the great work of Jesus which was the reconciliation of humankind and God.

For a far better analysis than mine of this scripture, check out this: http://www.predigten.uni-goettingen.de/archiv-7/050424-5-e.html