The Watchtower, June 15, 1943
Download: PDF — The Watchtower, June 15, 1943
“THE NEW WORLD” TESTIMONY PERIOD
All persons who love righteousness want to see a new world. How will it be brought about and established for ever? Only through the Kingdom of Christ, for which kingdom his followers have prayed for 1900 years. The proof of this is set forth in the publication The New World, and you will be delighted in reading it. Send your 25c contribution to this Society and learn what the Bible has to say about the new world. There will also be sent to you the booklet Fighting for Liberty on the Home Front. All persons who desire to have a share in the proclamation of the Kingdom will, during the month of June, call on as many people as they can, announcing this new world. The Society has designated the month of June “The New World” Testimony Period; hence throughout all the countries of the world proclamation is being made concerning this new world. If you desire to share in this work of making known the good news, get in touch with one of the local companies of Jehovah’s witnesses or write direct to the Watchtower Society, 117 Adams St., Brooklyn, N.Y.
“WATCHTOWER” STUDIES
Week of July 18: “New World Ambassadors to the Homes,” 1-20 inclusive, The Watchtower June 15, 1943.
Week of July 25: “New World Ambassadors to the Homes,” 21-45 inclusive, The Watchtower June 15, 1943.
SOCIETY’S ADDRESS
Hereafter all communications mailed to the Society should be addressed as follows:
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society
117 Adams St.
Brooklyn 1
N. Y.
When writing to the Society at 124 Columbia Heights, the address should be Brooklyn 2, N. Y., as this is m a different district from 117 Adams Street.
This is required in order to comply with the request by the U. S. Post Office Department to facilitate the handling of mail at the General Post Office in Brooklyn, New York.
USE RENEWAL SUBSCRIPTION BLANK
The blank sent you one month before expiration of your Watchtower subscription should be filled out and returned to the Brooklyn office or to the Branch office in the country where you reside. Servants in the companies, and individuals, when sending in renewals for The Watchtower, should always use these blanks By filling in these renewal blanks you are assured of the continuation of your Watchtower from the time of expiration, and without delay. It will also be a great help if you sign your name uniformly, and note any recent change of address, on the renewal slip.
Vol. LXIV
June 15, 1943
No. 12
NEW WORLD AMBASSADORS TO THE HOMES
''And he said, Go, and tell this people, . . . Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man."—Isa. 6:9, 11.
JEHOVAH is the Sender of good news to the homes of the people. The good news, or gospel, tells of the new world of righteousness, and Jehovah God is the Sender of the ambassadors entrusted with the message of that blessed world. His ambassadors are not sent directly or primarily to the diplomatic or political courts of this old world. They are dispatched directly to the people in their homes. This is because none of the nations will survive as such into the new world, and hence each individual must make his own decision, accepting or rejecting the good news and then taking the consequences. Thereby the individual is afforded the opportunity to escape destruction with the nations in the universal conflict that will shortly break forth over the domination of the universe.
2 When Jehovah God made announcement concerning the man destined to be the forerunner of the new world's King, he sent his faithful messenger to Zacharias, who was honored to become the father of John the Baptist. “And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.” The tidings were almost too good for Zacharias to believe as true. “And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished [at the temple in Jerusalem], he departed to his own house.” In due time great joy filled his house at the birth of the announcer of the Governor of the new world, and all the neighbors of good-will also rejoiced, just as Gabriel had said: “And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.”—Luke 1:11-58.
3 Six months later Jehovah God dispatched another angel, who appeared, not to the officers in the court of King Herod, but to lowly shepherds, men from the homes of the common people, who were watching over their flocks during the night. “And the angel said to them: Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, that shall be to all the people: for, this day, is born to you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David. And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God, and saying: Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will.”—Luke 2:10-14, Douay Version.
1 (a) Of what news is Jehovah the sender, and by whom? (b) Tor whom are such directly sent, and why?
2 What was the news that Jehovah sent to the priest Zacharias at the temple, and what did the fulfillment thereof bring to his home and neighborhood?
3 Six months after John’s birth what news did Jehovah send, and how and to whom?
4 Without delay the herders went to witness the fact of the human birth of the Son of Jehovah God. Then they reported abroad to persons of good-will Jehovah’s dealings toward men, and thus they became witnesses of Jehovah. The fact that they were not priests or clergymen, but were rustic shepherds, did not render worthless their testimony nor did it relieve them of their obligation to bear witness. Highly favored were they to become Jehovah’s witnesses testifying to the birth of the Ruler-elect of the new world of endless peace and tranquillity. Unlike those shepherds, the religious clergymen of all denominations fail to see and act upon the still higher honor and privilege to testify to a fact of far greater moment and immediate importance, the birth of Jehovah’s Theocratic Government under his Christ in A.D. 1914. That Government now rules from heaven in the midst of its enemies, demon and human, and shall gain glorious victory over them in the impending fight at Armageddon over the issue of universal domination. — Rev. 12:1-12.
5 While “Christendom’s” clergy mix in with the political problems and controversies of this wicked world and do fail in the Christian obligation of serving as ambassadors of God’s established Government of the new world, who on earth is it that joyfully avail themselves of such privilege at Jehovah’s express invitation? Men and women and children of lowly station and occupation like the honest, Godfearing shepherds of Bethlehem, persons devoted wholly to Jehovah God and gladly willing to suffer all manner of reproach and persecution in order to serve as His ambassadors. “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory in his presence.” (1 Cor. 1:26-29; Jer. 9:23, 24) To God be all the glory!
4. As what were such shepherds then obligated to act, and how have the religious clergy of today failed as to a still higher honor than that of those shepherds?
5 Who, then, avail themselves of the privilege as ambassadors, and with what Scripture rule is this fact in harmony?
6 “Christendom” has many professional religious clergymen graduated from theological seminaries. These she recognizes, but not the office and ministry of the “foolish”, “weak,” “base,” and “despised” ones whom Jehovah God calls to act as his witnesses and ambassadors to all nationalities. Jehovah’s greatest ambassador or sent one is his only begotten Son, the One who was once born as a homeless man-child in the manger at Bethlehem and who later became a carpenter in the despised city of Nazareth. He was born of the tribe of Judah, concerning which God’s law by Moses said nothing as respects priesthood. (Heb. 7:13, 14) Concerning Jesus’ education or schooling absolutely nothing is recorded, only that, according to Deuteronomy 6:4-7 and other statutes, his foster-father and mother were under legal obligation to teach Jesus diligently concerning Jehovah’s commandments. Little cause for surprise, then, that, when Jesus grew up and began teaching publicly, his critics said in amazement: “How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?” (John 7:15) As the professional clergy of this twentieth century do not recognize his faithful followers as ministers of the gospel, neither did the Jewish clergy recognize Jesus as Jehovah’s witness and ambassador. They vehemently assailed his commission from God.
7 Seven centuries before Christ the prophet Isaiah had served for many years as Jehovah’s witness to the nation of Israel. His name means “Salvation of Jehovah”. He typed or prefigured Christ Jesus himself. (Isa. 8:16, 18; Heb. 2:13) As such type of Jesus, Isaiah said prophetically: “The spirit of my Lord Jehovah is upon me, because Jehovah hath anointed me to tell good tidings to the oppressed, hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim to captives liberty, to them who are bound the opening of the prison; to proclaim the year of acceptance of Jehovah, and the day of avenging of our God: to comfort all who are mourning.” (Isa. 61:1, 2, Roth.) These prophetic words set out the terms of Jesus’ commission from his Principal and Head, Jehovah God. It was this commission that Christ Jesus was sent to earth to fulfill as Jehovah’s Senior Ambassador. Jesus did not receive his commission from the Jewish clergy or their theological school at Jerusalem, but from God. “Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.” “For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father, which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.”—John 7:16, 17; 12: 49, 50.
6 . Whom does “Christendom” recognize, and whom does she not recognize as ministers of the gospel, and how does this agree with the religious attitude adopted toward Jesus’ training and commission?
7 What prophet and his prophecy foreshadowed Christ Jesus and his commission, and from whom did Jesus receive his commission?
8 There were no pompous graduation ceremonies or glamorous commencement exercises when Jesus was anointed with power from on high and thus commissioned for his ministry on earth. Only one other man was witness to the commissioning or anointing of Jesus. That was John the Baptist, at the banks of the Jordan river. The sign of Jesus’ anointing was the visible manifestation of the spirit of his Principal, Jehovah God, descending upon him immediately after John lifted him from beneath the baptismal waters. “And John bare record, saying, I saw the spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the holy [spirit]. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.” (John 1:31- 34, 41) At such anointing he became Jesus Christ, or Jesus the anointed;—Acts 10: 37, 38.
9 Christ Jesus displayed no framed graduate’s diploma from the religious schools of his day. He called public attention to being anointed or commissioned from Jehovah God. This was by virtue of wholly consecrating himself to God, such consecration being symbolized by water baptism. His anointing with God’s spirit definitely carried with it the authority and commission to preach the good news, as prophetically stated by Isaiah. Jesus plainly so stated in the synagogue at Nazareth after he had read the very words of his commission from Isaiah 61:1, 2. “And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” Then, to serve notice in advance that the religionists would not accept or approve his ordination or commission as a minister of the gospel, Jesus said: “No prophet is accepted in his own country.” “A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.” (Luke 4:16-24; Matt. 13: 57) When he gave historical examples to prove that such had been the experience of Jehovah’s witnesses before him, the religionists of Nazareth raged at Jesus. They “rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill, whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong”. Jesus managed to escape the lynching attempt of this religious mob, because his time for martyrdom ‘was not then come’. (Luke 4:25-30) Later, to John the Baptist, who was then in prison, Jesus pointed out the evidence that Isaiah 61:1, 2 concerning Christ was being fulfilled in him, saying: “The poor have the gospel preached to them.”—Matt. 11: 5.
8. What were the events attending the anointing or commissioning of Jesus? and who was a witness thereto?
9 What did Jesus’ anointing carry with it, and what effect did the disclosure that he was commissioned of God have upon the religionists of his home town?
10 Down to the bitter end, the professional clergy of Jewry, who had their own religious ordination, refused to admit Jesus’ divine ordination or anointing. They disputed his authority to preach the kingdom of God. When, finally, he stood on trial before the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem, “the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said.” (Matt. 26:63, 64) For this confession of the truth Jesus was accused of blasphemy deserving of death. When the Sanhedrin delivered him over to the political governor of Jerusalem for summary trial, Jesus continued to carry out his commission to preach regarding the new world, saying: “My kingdom is not of this world: . . . now is my kingdom not from hence. ... To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.” (John 18: 36, 37) Not alone did Jesus confess his commission to preach, but he carried it out with perfect integrity toward God in spite of the vicious and violent objections of religionists. He read his commission in black and white in God’s Word. He took it seriously. It was his faithful performance of the terms of his commission that led to his death at the hands of professional religionists.
11 Though Jesus was God’s Chief Minister and High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, the clergymen branded him as a faker and impostor. Today comparatively few really follow Jesus’ steps, consecrating themselves entirely to God and receiving commission from him to preach the gospel as did their Leader Christ Jesus. Such ones may not and do not expect any better treatment at the hands of either the clergymen of “Christendom” or the principal ones of their religious flocks who occupy political offices, judgeships, or schoolboards, etc. At the time of sending out his twelve apostles to preach the Kingdom gospel Jesus said: “The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? Fear them not therefore: . . . What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the house tops.” (Matt. 10:1, 7, 24-27) Those prophetic words of Jesus are fulfilled upon his faithful disciples now, Jehovah’s witnesses. In harmony with his words, they are everywhere evil spoken against by the professional clergy and their ordination to preach is scoffed at and their Christian ministry is ignored. Hence it is not from the side of the religious element that the prophecy of Isaiah 61:6 is fulfilled toward the consecrated, spirit- begotten witnesses of Jehovah, namely: “Ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: men shall call you the Ministers of our God.”
10. What position did the Jewish clergy take toward Jesus’ ordination, down to the very end, and how far did Jesus continue to exercise his commission to preach?
11. How many really follow Jesus' footsteps today, and why do not and may not they expect the prophecy of Isaiah 61:6 to be fulfilled toward them at the hands of the religious element?
12 Like Jesus, Jehovah’s present-day witnesses point to Isaiah 61:1-3 and 43:10-12 as their commission from God to preach the good news of the righteous New World. But religious animosity and prejudice cause politicians, police officers, legislators, judges, sundry boards and commissions to classify Jehovah’s witnesses as “book agents”, “peddlers,” “commercial vendors,” “peace upsetters,” “trespassers on private property,” “sleep disturbers,” and “proselytizers”. Then such official personages attempt everywhere to please the religious clergy by interfering with the gospel-preaching of the Christian servants of Jehovah God and to deny them freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom from fear, and freedom of worship of God according to a conscience instructed in His Word. At the same time the professional mouthpieces of this war-racked world broadcast loud and imposing prophecies respecting the “better world” they propose to create with their own hands. Such anti-Jehovah religionists are the “false prophets” which were foretold to arise at the “end of the world”, whereas any candid examination of the commission to preach, stated at Isaiah 61:1-3, shows that Jehovah’s house-to-house witnesses are the true preachers and ambassadors of the only new world of freedom under God’s kingdom by Christ.
13 You remember, the “Four Freedoms” were announced by a religionist, on January 6, 1941, to a national legislative body including many religionists of conflicting creeds. Such freedoms were and are held forth as promise of what is coming in the “new world order” established by human hands. The one given most emphasis of all is the “freedom of religion”. During March of this year a Commission to Study the Bases of a Just and Durable Peace was set up by the Federal Council of Protestant religious organizations in America. It proposed “six pillars of peace”, the sixth and last of which declares: “The peace must establish in principle, and seek to achieve in practice, the right of individuals everywhere to religious and intellectual liberty.” (New York Times, March 19, 1943) This means to say that, in the postwar world arrangement, in Spain and other lands where only the Roman Catholic religion is now permitted to operate freely the right of individuals to religious and intellectual liberty will be established only in principle. It will not be made an actual fact or achieved in practice, because the Roman Catholic Hierarchy and their religious-political pawns in the various nations object to that one of the “Four Freedoms”.
12. (a) To what do Jehovah's witnesses point as their commission, but how are they classified by officials who please the clergy? (b) Whom do the facts and the commission to preach show to be the false prophets?
13. Of the "Four Freedoms”, which is given the most emphasis, and where will postwar peace establish it only in principle but not achieve it in practice?
14 In the postwar world organization much lip- service will be paid to high-sounding principles by the propaganda agencies, but there will not be universal application of those principles. The manner in which Jehovah's witnesses worship the Most High God will be an inescapable issue in the postwar setup, even as it is among all the nations at present. Particularly the Roman Catholic Hierarchy, and their obedient agents in the nation’s judiciary and political offices, insist on what they call “the good old American right and freedom to be let alone”, that is, let alone religiously, because the evangelistic work of Jehovah’s witnesses spoils the pastures of the religious clergy and proclaims “liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound”. (Isa. 61:1) Jehovah’s witnesses do not confine themselves and their witnessing to assembly halls, but go out among the creed-bound, clergy- ridden captives and call from house to house to tell them of the evangel of God’s kingdom. Religious judges and others claim this is an intrusion on the ecclesiastical provinces of the clergy and is an invasion of the religious rights of the clergy’s victims; and that hence it is proper for local city and municipal governments to lay a license tax upon the distribution of Bible literature by Jehovah’s witnesses in order to compel them to let the clergy-pastures alone.
15 To the direct contrary of such un-American, undemocratic, and un-Christian religious claim, the house-to-house visiting upon the people regardless of creed is a refusal by Jehovah’s witnesses to recognize the hate-provoking barriers of religious sectarianism and sectionalism, which divisive barriers are anti-Christian because “Christ is not divided”. Moreover, it is also a practical recognition by Jehovah’s witnesses of each individual’s “freedom of worship” and of his full right to “freedom from fear” in exercising the liberty to hear and choose what he wants as respects God and Christ’s kingdom. Their door-to-door visitation and placing literature with the people and accepting grateful contributions from receivers does not transform them from evangelists into book agents. Their distribution of Bible literature is preaching the Kingdom gospel by the printed page in addition to preaching by mouth, and by no manner of reasoning can it be subjected to license tax. With this truth the majority opinion of the Supreme Court of the United States agrees. In its remarkable 5-to-4 decision of May 3, 1943, the nation’s highest court vacated its adverse judgment of June 8, 1942, and reversed the adverse decisions of the state courts and ruled that the Bible literature of Jehovah’s witnesses distributed at the homes of the people may not constitutionally be license-taxed. (Jones vs. Opelika, Ala.) When delivering another majority opinion of the Supreme Court of the same date on a related case Mr. Justice Douglas referred to the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and said:
“Petitioners spread their interpretations of the Bible and their religious beliefs largely through the hand distribution of literature by full or part time workers. They claim to follow the example of Paul, teaching ‘publickly, and from house to house.’ Acts 20:20. .. . The hand distribution of religious tracts is an age-old form of missionary evangelism—as old as the history of printing presses. ... It is more than preaching; it is more than distribution of religious literature. It is a combination of both. Its purpose is as evangelical as the revival meeting. This form of religious activity occupies the same high estate under the First Amendment as do worship in the churches and preaching from the pulpits. It has the same claim to protection as the more orthodox and conventional exercises of religion. It has also the same claim as the others to the guarantees of freedom of speech and freedom of the press. . . . Plainly a community may not suppress, or the state tax, the dissemination of views because they are unpopular, annoying or distasteful. If that device were ever sanctioned, there would have been forged a ready instrument for the suppression of the faith which any minority cherishes but which does not happen to be in favor. That would be a complete repudiation of the philosophy of the Bill of Rights.” —Murdock, Jr. vs. Commonwealth of Pa., City of Jeannette.
14. Why will the manner of worship of Jehovah’s witnesses be a postwar issue, and on the basis of what arguments or claims?
15 (a) By their house-to-house visitation work, what do Jehovah’s witnesses refuse to recognize and what freedoms do they recognize? (b) How does offering literature on contribution affect their true ministerial status, and how did the U.S. Supreme Court majority show agreement therewith on May 3, 1943?
THE PIONEER HOUSE-TO-HOUSE PUBLISHER
16 There are many kindly persons who observe the outdoor activities of Jehovah's witnesses and take their literature and read it, but who say: “I believe in Jehovah God and in the kingdom of his Son, but I will not humiliate myself or expose myself to danger by going out like them from door to door or standing on street corners and sidewalk pavements giving out this message. I do not see that it is God’s will that I should do that kind of preaching of his kingdom. To be a Christian and worship God I do not have to do that form of work which subjects a person to reproach, persecution and buffetings. I will piously attend Bible study meeting, and also study for myself at home, and then let my moral way of living and being sweet and inoffensive tell of God’s power in me.”
17 Such view, like that of “Christendom” in general, is due to failing to see and appreciate the example of service which Jesus set in demonstration of practical Christianity. The house-to-house work of Jehovah’s witnesses is not new, but is more than nineteen hundred years old. It appears “strange”, undignified, and un-Christlike to religionists solely because of their blindness. The fact is, it was introduced by Jesus Christ himself, who pioneered therein. It is part of the Theocratic rule and procedure he himself brought in under the command of his Father, the great Theocrat. John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus, did not engage in house-to-house witnessing. He failed to do so, not because he was not a Jehovah’s witness (for he was such), but because he must be for a sign of the fulfillment of divine prophecy, particularly the prophecy of Isaiah 40: 3, which foretold : “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”
18 Hence John avoided the cities and confined himself to the wilderness, uninhabited places along the Jordan river, where there was much water for baptism. (Matt. 3:1-5) He confessed that Isaiah’s prophecy was then being fulfilled for the first time in him; and Jesus also declared that the people went out into the wilderness to see John and that John was like the prophet Elijah. (John 1:19-23; Matt. 11:7-14; 17:11-13) John’s course, in fact, foreshadowed the “Elijah work”, from 1878 to 1918, of Jehovah’s witnesses, during which forty years there was no house-to-house witnessing by word of mouth except for a few hundred pioneers devoting all their time to door-to-door testimony. First after the Lord came to the temple in 1918 and after the Elijah work was forcibly stopped that year and then the “Elisha work”, its successor, was opened in 1919, the general house-to-house witnessing began in the real sense.
16 What attitude do many kindly-disposed, literature-reading persons take toward their personal participation in activities such as those of Jehovah’s witnesses?
17 Why is the house-to-house work not new or un-Christlike, and why did not John the Baptist engage in such witnessing?
18 To what, therefore, did John confine himself, and what did his course foreshadow in modern times?
19 Very few Bible readers seem to have noticed the house-to-house and back-call work that Jesus our Exemplar did. In the 114 to 116 pages of the four Gospel accounts of Jesus’ ministry the words “house” and “home” appear more than 130 times, and in the majority of those times it is in connection with the preaching of Jesus. On one occasion the apostle Peter came to him and said: “Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.” To that Jesus replied: “There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, but he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.” (Mark 10: 28-30) Jesus hereby brought to light the fact that Almighty God has assigned the homes and houses of the people for visitation by those who leave their own home and home folks for Christ’s sake and the gospel’s, that is, in order to imitate Christ’s example and to preach the gospel. God does not literally hand over houses to a hundredfold extent to any Christian who stays at home trying to mind his own business, and not God’s business. In order to “receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses”, and so forth, the Christian must go out from his own house for the gospel’s sake and imitate Christ Jesus and call upon the houses of these prospective brethren, sisters, mothers, children, and relatives of the household of faith, and not fear the persecutions at the hands of religionists on account of such door-to-door calls.
20 Note now how Jesus, who did not have a cent or denarius in his pocket (or purse) and who had not where to lay his head, not even a “foxhole”, received in hundredfold measure houses and spiritual brethren as a recompense for dropping his carpenter work and leaving home and his mother Mary at Nazareth, for the gospel’s sake, to preach it. When Jesus spoke the foregoing words to Peter he was near the end of this three and a half years of preaching and was on his way up to Jerusalem to be killed. Hence he had over three years of personal experience and observation from which to say what he said to Peter. He knew whereof he spoke.
19 (a) What fact is generally overlooked by Bible readers respecting Jesus’ ministry? (b) What did Jesus say to Peter concerning those who leave house for his sake and the gospel’s, and how does Jehovah God fulfill this promise to those who qualify for it?
20 How had Jesus himself qualified for such promise, and how could he speak from direct knowledge?
21 After his baptism and his forty-day temptation in the wilderness Jesus returned to John’s neighborhood at the Jordan, on a sort of back-call. He knew John was preparing the way before him and hence instructing many of Jesus’ future disciples. So Jesus went to get in touch with such prospective disciples. “John stood, and two of his disciples; and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour,” or about 4 p.m. These two were strangers in that section, as well as was Jesus, so Jesus took them to his own lodging room, and they held a question-and-answer meeting; just three of them gathered together in the Lord God’s name. The power and effect of that simple meeting was such that Andrew recognized Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ. He at once hunted up his brother Simon Peter and reported having discovered the Messiah, and then brought Peter to Jesus. It must have been to Jesus’ lodging room that Andrew conducted Peter, for a private home meeting with Jesus. — John 1: 35-42.
22 The next house visit was the other way around, this time by Jesus at Peter’s home. It was the sabbath, and as a Jew “made under the law” Jesus attended the synagogue and witnessed there to God’s power and kingdom. It is written: “Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.” (Matt. 9:35; Luke 4:44) Jesus attended the synagogue on the days that the people assembled in such meeting-place, because an audience was there then and also an invitation was extended for one with a message to address them. — Acts 13:15.
23 For example, at his home-town synagogue Jesus was invited to preach. He then “stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears”. — Luke 4:15-21.
21 Under what circumstances, and with whom, did Jesus begin his ministry in private houses?
22 Why and for what purpose did Jesus attend synagogue?
23 How was the above illustrated at his visit to his home-town synagogue?
24 Jesus did not go to meeting with a Bible tucked under his arm. There is no record that in all his travels and ministry he and his disciples carried the rolls of the various books of the Hebrew Bible. Copies thereof were not general public property, but were regularly kept in the sacred ark or closet of the synagogue. Hence Jesus and his disciples were not so favorably and conveniently equipped for preaching as his followers are today. Back there they had to depend entirely upon what knowledge of the Scriptures they had stored in their heads according to their opportunities to hear the Scriptures read or to read them directly for themselves. Nor was the Bible divided into verses as it is today, nor did they have a Bible concordance or index whereby they could locate any text or verse in the Bible in less than a minute. This fact must be kept in mind in order to appreciate the circumstances under which Jesus and his disciples did their witness work those days.
25 Jesus built no synagogues, nor took up any collection to build one, nor did he rent any in which to establish himself as a resident permanent preacher or rabbi therein. That was not God’s way for his Son to fulfill the preaching commission that Jesus read out of Isaiah’s prophecy. Were there not the thousands of homes of the people to visit and to preach in? Whereas Jesus was without a personal copy of the Bible while preaching, yet, the record says, “his word was with power”; “for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.” This was because Jesus quoted the Scriptures, and not the traditions of men, as authority for what he said. His words had God’s power in them. — Mark 1:22; Luke 4: 32.
26 When at Jerusalem Jesus preached also in the temple, for it was no religious denominational house, but was supported by all the Jewish nation. Even Jesus contributed as a Jew to its support. As reported at Matthew 17: 24-27, when Jesus was asked about the tribute money of one didrachma or halfshekel for the upkeep of the temple, he paid the tribute, sending Peter to catch a fish in the mouth of which Peter found a piece of money sufficient for both Jesus and Peter, (Ex. 30:13, 14; Neh. 10:32) As a taxpayer Jesus acted on his right to preach at the temple. In a typical sense that temple was his Father’s house, and as the beloved and chief Son of God Jesus had the foremost right to use its public courts for Kingdom witnessing. At the time of the feast, when Jews like himself must attend and when Jews from all parts of the land and from outside nations were celebrating at the temple, Jesus took advantage of this to preach to the crowds, many of whom had already heard him preach in their villages and local synagogues. Today, in the United States, there is no required public taxation for religious purposes and support. Hence Jehovah’s witnesses have no right to invade temples of religion uninvited and to use such properties as a public forum. But now to return to the matter of private houses:
24. Under what circumstances as regards equipment for preaching did Jesus and his disciples do their witness work, as in contrast with our conveniences therefor today?
25. Why was Jesus not obliged to build a synagogue in which to preach? and why was his word powerful and authoritative?
26. (a) Why did Jesus rightly preach in the temple at Jerusalem? (b) Why do Jehovah’s witnesses today have no such right at temples of religion?
27 At Capernaum, “when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.” Peter’s motherin-law was found to be sick, and Jesus healed her. He remained at Peter’s house and conducted a Bible study, and the healed woman ministered to them all. At even, when the sun had set and the sabbath had passed and people felt free to carry loads, they brought their sick to the door of Peter’s home, and Jesus gave further testimony there at that door by healing many that were variously afflicted.—Mark 1: 29-34; Matt. 8:14; Luke 4: 38.
28 Later in the same city, it being called “his own city” because he made it his local headquarters, he went into another private home to preach, on a weekday. When it was learned that he was in the house and neighborhood, people gathered and the house was thrown open for a neighborhood meeting. The house was so crowded that they had to open up a hole in the roof tiling to let down in front of Jesus a paralyzed man that needed healing. At the faith demonstrated by such special efforts Jesus cured him. Such crowded home meetings are not unusual in the experiences of Jehovah’s witnesses in modern times.—Matt. 9:1-7; Mark 2:1-12; Luke 9:1-8.
29 Some time after, Jesus passed by Matthew Levi taking up custom for the Roman government in his capacity as a publican or tax-collector. Jesus bade Matthew follow him as a disciple. Matthew then invited Jesus to his house to a Bible study, and also made him a great feast, to which Matthew invited his acquaintances, publicans like himself and others. Jesus used the occasion, not just to wine and dine, but to fulfill his commission to preach.—Matt. 9:9,10.
30 Many instances are recorded of where Jesus was at private homes and feasted, so much so that religionists used it as grounds for condemning him. John the Baptist did no house-to-house work and hence did not enjoy such feasts at which to preach. In answering his own critics Jesus said: “John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.” (Matt. 11:18,19) The fruitage of Jesus’ course of action among the people proved the wisdom of his course. He had no home of his own; he had no kitchen, cook or other servants. Moreover, he declared: “The workman is worthy of his hire.” So he accepted such feasts as a partial recompense for the priceless Kingdom message that he gave to his entertainers. Thereby the contributors had a part in the support of his gospel work. Jesus’ acceptance of an invitation to the despised publican’s house showed he was not “choosy” of his territory as affected by the reputation of it according to religious circles. If a home opened its doors to the message Jesus was willing to enter.—Matt. 9:10-13; Mark 2:14-17; Luke 5:27-39.
27 . What ministry did Jesus perform at the house of Simon Peter? 28 At Capernaum, how did a neighborhood meeting develop at a home, and what did the crowded conditions make necessary?
29 . How was Matthew Levi called, and how did Jesus use his home?
30. (a) Under what religious criticism did Jesus’ house-to-house visitation bring him? (b) Why was Jesus’ course in the homes one of wisdom and propriety, and what about the choice of his territory for witnessing?
31 So on and on you may go through Jesus’ service record. Repeatedly the report is that “he went into an house”, and crowds assembled and he gave them Kingdom testimony. At one house two blind men visited him for healing. (Mark 3:19, 20; Matt. 9: 28) At various houses he instructed his disciples privately with fuller information concerning things he had just preached openly to the people. Thus in aftermeetings in the homes he gave further information to those seeking more knowledge and understanding. However, he did not stay at such houses and keep to himself and his private circle of apostles. The record stipulates that "he departed thence”, for more field activity.—Matt. 13: 36-53; Mark 7:17; 9: 28, 29; 10:10. ‘ '
32 One night at a house he was quietly visited under cover of darkness by Nicodemus, a Pharisee and ruler of the Jews, with whom Jesus had a long Bible discussion. (John 3:1-21) In a house up north he was openly called on by a Syrophoenician woman, whose daughter, though a Gentile, Jesus healed. At another time he accepted an invitation to a meal at the home of Simon the Pharisee, where a sinner woman came in and wept at his feet, wiping them with her hair, though it is a woman’s glory. At another home he set a little child in their midst, and used it as an illustration in a speech to his disciples. (Matt. 15: 21-28; Mark 7:24; Luke 7: 34-50; Matt. 18:1-10; Mark 9: 33-37) At another Pharisee’s home to which he was guest at meal he was criticized for not washing his hands in religious fashion before eating. Then he took the occasion to set his critics right, exposing their religious hypocrisy. He felt under no obligation to practice religion, just because he was a guest. He was there primarily as Jehovah’s witness rather than as a guest at meal, so he tried to help the household rather than just indulge himself with things of their hospitality. — Luke 11: 37-54.
31. What does Jesus’ service record show as to his locations for witnessing, and after meetings, and confining himself to any one particular home?
32. (a) Where was the scene laid for him in connection with Nicodemus, the Syrophoenician woman, and the little child? (b) At the feast with the Pharisee, how did Jesus show what was his main purpose in accepting a meal?
33 When Jesus came to the town of Bethany, near Jerusalem, a “certain woman, named Martha, received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word”. The household was divided. Mary realized Jesus’ true purpose in gracing their home with a visit, and she listened to his teaching on God’s Word. Martha thought about spreading a good meal and other material matters of housework. She interrupted Jesus’ teaching to ask him to let her sister Mary help her in getting the meal ready for him. Martha did not realize that Jesus’ meat was to do his Father’s will, and that for him to thus instruct Mary was more sustaining to him than the food Martha was preparing. Hence Jesus said: “Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”—Luke 10: 38-42.
34 When Jehovah’s witnesses conduct a Bible study in a home where the household is divided in interest, they let the uninterested ones go about their house duties or otherwise and fix their attention on the interested one or ones. Due particularly to Mary’s interest, Jesus made back-calls on that household and finally both Martha and her brother Lazarus became interested. Just before his death Jesus made a back-call at their home, or at least at their neighbor’s, Simon the leper. Lazarus, Martha and Mary were present, and Mary anointed Jesus’ head and feet with costly ointment and used her hair to wipe his feet.—John 11:1-5; 12:1-9; Matt. 26 : 6-13.
35 On his last trip up to Jerusalem Jesus saw above the heads of the crowd a little man perched high up on a roadside tree. Jesus stopped and called to him: “Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down, for today I must abide at thy house.” To the uninformed this might sound like the height of boldness and indecency on Jesus’ part, equal to inviting himself into a stranger’s home and to the meal which Zacchaeus provided for Jesus. Such was not the case, though. Jesus, in his regular house-to-house work, approached any door and announced his presence, without previous invitation. He then introduced himself or rather his mission and offered to come in and give Bible instruction. (Luke 10:1-5) So Jesus was doing no more than telling Zacchaeus that he proposed to make a call at his house and offering to give him and his household a Kingdom witness, if he desired. If Zacchaeus did not want to let Jesus in to give his message, it was within his right to refuse to admit Jesus.
33. How did he show and state his main purpose in visiting a home in connection with Mary and Martha?
34 What therefore should Jehovah’s witnesses do in a house of divided interest, and why did Jesus make back-calls at the home of those two women?
35 How did Jesus meet up with Zacchaeus, and why was his action toward Zacchaeus not Indecent but in keeping with his regular procedure?
36 Many religious people of that neighborhood would have said to Jesus: “Don’t go to that house. Zacchaeus lives there. He is a publican, a tax- gatherer for the Gentile Roman government. He is not interested. He is worldly and concerned only in squeezing the people for money by excessive tax rates.” But Jesus passed up no house where interest in the Kingdom might be hid under a rather forbidding front. The extra effort to climb a tree to see Jesus pass by, even out of curiosity, denoted friendly interest. At least it was too much of a good situation to pass by and not improve upon and try out for an opening for God's message. So Jesus announced his intended visit, and put it up to Zacchaeus to accept the offer.
37 Zacchaeus surprised the religionists. He clambered down and gladly took Jesus into his house, and also entertained him with a meal. Jesus’ spending time in private homes, and his acceptance of invitations to the dining table, was not a case of staying too long at a house and wasting his time and that of his twelve apostolic companions. He had no Bible with him, neither did he have with him any printed literature explaining the Bible to introduce to Zacchaeus or others and to leave such with them to read and study after he quickly passed on to the next house. Hence it was necessary for Jesus to spend time at the home and deliver first his extensive testimony respecting the Kingdom and then answer questions upon the Bible and over the questioner’s course of action to follow. As a laborer at the work of the gospel, he was not out of order in accepting a meal if it was convenient to his own time and if the gratitude of his hearers moved them to offer such. Furthermore, Jesus improved the mealtime to preach the glad tidings and thereby serve spiritual food to the diners. The wisdom and correctness of Jesus’ action toward Zacchaeus is established in that this publican repented of his professional practice and offered to make amends, and Jesus said: “This day is salvation come to this house.” Then he gave to Zacchaeus and the others present the parable of the pounds or Kingdom interests.—Luke 19:1-10.
38 In agreement with his own example, Jesus instructed his disciples to get into personal touch with the people at their homes, in all the cities, towns and villages of the territory. To the twelve apostles he said: “Into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence. And when ye come into an house, salute it. And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.” “And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart.” (Matt. 10:1-14; Luke 9:4) How could they inquire in a city who in it was worthy? The most direct and certain way would be to go from house to house presenting the Kingdom gospel, thereby identifying themselves, and thus let the people show worthiness by joyfully accepting the good news.
36 What may have been the religious attitude toward Zacchaeus’ house, but why did Jesus not pass it up?
37 How did Zacchaeus respond, and why was Jesus not wasting time in spending time there and at other homes and taking the meal offered?
38 To give the most direct witness, what did Jesus instruct his disciples to do, and how best could they inquire in a city for worthy ones?
39 When sending out seventy additional Kingdom publishers he said: “Into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again. And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house.” (Luke 10:1-8) This instruction does not mean that Jehovah’s witnesses must not go from house to house with the New World message. It means they should not change from one place of physical entertainment to another in any city or town where they are working and persons of good will receive and entertain them freely. They owe some spiritual ministration of the Kingdom message for such bodily refreshment and care. As Rotherham’s emphatic translation renders Jesus’ words: “And in the self-same house abide ye, eating and drinking such things as they have; for worthy is the labourer of his hire: be not removing from house to house.” That is, having located there while witnessing to others in town, be content and do not remove to other places and deprive your entertainers of spiritual help.
40 That such is the meaning is proved by the apostle Paul’s words. He said: “Be ye imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ.” (1 Cor. 11:1, A.R.V.; 2 Thess. 3:9) He interprets the meaning of Jesus’ words for us when he testifies of his own method of preaching the gospel, saying: “I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks.” (Acts 20:20, 21) He went both to Jewish homes and to Gentile or Greek homes. His work “from house to house” could not have been in violation of Jesus’ words, for he imitated Jesus faithfully. The public activities of the apostles and other disciples both on and after the day of Pentecost also prove that the use of the house-to-house way of preaching the gospel is proper and according to Jesus’ instructions and is under the guidance of the holy spirit of God then poured out.—Acts 2:46; 5:42.
39 What special instructions did Jesus give the seventy additional Kingdom publishers, and did he forbid their going from house to house?
40 How did the apostle Paul, and also the other apostles and disciples on and after the day of Pentecost, show the proper construction to be placed on Jesus’ words?
41 The house-to-house and back-call method of enlightening the common people in the New World message is thus proved to be the Christ-like method and the God-ordained way for those who desire to serve and worship God in spirit and in truth today. To worship him in truth the worshiper must serve God by proclaiming his truth. (John 4: 23, 24) The doors of private homes are designated in the Scriptures as proper places to speak about God’s kingdom and vengeance. At Ezekiel 33:30 Jehovah says to his witness, Ezekiel: “Son of man, the children of thy people still are talking of thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the Lord.”—Marginal reading.
42 Jesus recognized and made plain the right of his faithful imitators to approach the doors of the people without any prior license from worldly authorities and without any previous invitation from the householders and to knock at the door to call those inside to hear the Kingdom news. Jesus said: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” (Rev. 3:20) Jesus there showed it is up to the man to decide whether he wants to hear the message and take Jehovah’s witness inside the house or not. If he does, the man will sup at the Lord’s table by means of the message Jehovah’s witness brings. No anti-doorbell-ringing ordinance, such as the U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-to-4 decision of May 3, 1943, declared unconstitutional, can take away or make void this God-given right of Jehovah’s witnesses. (Martin vs. City of Struthers, Ohio) ‘Christ left us an example, that ye should follow his steps.’ (1 Pet. 2: 21) “Stand at the door and knock.”
43 On February 1, 1943, a New World college was opened in New York state, namely, the Watchtower Bible College of Gilead. At the end of this month (June) it will graduate its first student body. Such men and women were already at the time of admission to the college ordained and active ministers of the gospel because of their full consecration to God and according to his law and commission applying to them; hence their diploma will not be one of ordination as ministers, but will testify to having taken a prescribed course of training. At the college they have been receiving intensive training to make them still more able ministers to bear the fruits of God's kingdom from door to door, especially in foreign lands. Throughout their whole course of study the essential and basic work of a Christian as being from house to house and in the homes of the mourning people has been made prominent. As college graduates they will be sent forth, as Jesus sent forth his apostles and evangelists, with a broadened appreciation and increased efficiency respecting their divine commission and clearly knowing the work ahead of them until the battle of Armageddon.
41 How does one worship God in truth, and what do the Scriptures designate as proper places to speak of God’s message?
42. At Revelation 3:20 what right of his followers did Jesus make plain, and how did the U. S. Supreme Court confirm this in its majority decision of May 3, 1943 ?
43 Why will the Watchtower Bible College of Gilead not be graduating persons as ordained ministers, and what essential Christian work has been held prominently before them during their college course?
44 As long as there are homes of the people, Jehovah’s ambassadors for Christ must go to the houses, announcing the Kingdom, declaring the impending day of God’s vengeance, and pointing out God’s provided way of escape to safety and life. Of old, when the prophet Isaiah came forward to the call to action with a “Here am I; send me!” the Lord gave him the commission as a witness of Jehovah. Then the prophet asked, “Lord, how long?” and the Lord answered: “Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, and the Lord [Jehovah] have removed men far away.” (Isa. 6:8-12) To Isaiah’s modern counterpart, Jehovah’s witnesses, that means, Until God Almighty brings the final end upon “Christendom” and all Satan’s organization.
44 The existence of occupied homes entails what obligation upon Jehovah’s witnesses? and for how long, according to God’s words to Isaiah?
45 The conclusion is inescapable, therefore, that the bearers of the good news of God’s new world of righteousness must continue to go to the homes of the people, whether governments of this demoncontrolled old world approve it or not. (Matt. 24:14; Joel 2:9) Until Jehovah’s “strange act” desolates the houses of all persons not of good-will toward Him and his Theocratic rule by Christ Jesus, his ambassadors must continue going throughout the land ‘marking in the foreheads’ those who ‘sigh and cry’ at the religious abominations and who long for the manifestation of God’s power and the complete bringing in of the “new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness”. (Ezek. 9:4-6) Proverbs 14:25 declares: “A true witness delivereth souls.” No greater service to the people of all nations and to the glory of God could there be than to bear witness to Jehovah’s way of deliverance. Great was the honor and privilege of the heavenly angel nineteen centuries back to announce to the shepherds the birth of the promised King of the new world. Far higher and grander is the privilege now granted to both Jehovah’s witnesses and their companions of good-will. That privilege is to proclaim the birth of the long-promised Kingdom and to speak of the glories of the new world which that Government will usher in over the whole earth for all those who now take their stand immovably for the Most High God and his Prince of Peace.
45 (a) What conclusion is inescapable as to the direction to go in their work, and for what purpose? (b) Why is there now no greater service of benefit to the people and to God’s glory than theirs toda?
TO WHOM IS THE GIFT OF LIFE?
CONCERNING the cost at which the right to life was bought for humankind an apostle writes: “Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” (1 Pet. 1:18, 19) The human lifeblood of the man Christ Jesus provides the ransom price for humankind.
By right of purchase Jesus is the owner of mankind, clothed with full power and authority to minister salvation from death and the right to life to human creatures who comply with what God’s law requires. His Father, Jehovah God, is the great Savior, because “salvation belongeth unto Jehovah”, and he has made Christ Jesus the “author of eternal salvation”. (Ps. 3: 8, A. R. V.) Jesus suffered for three and a half years the contradiction of sinners and was continuously persecuted by the religious sinners, but under those adverse conditions he kept his integrity toward God. “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.” (Heb. 5:8, 9) That means he is God’s Executive Officer, who ministers to humankind the salvation to life according to the will of God.
Is the right to eternal life to be bestowed on all men, whether men desire to have salvation or not? No; it is not for those who do not desire it. Note again that the scripture says that Jesus is made the “author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him”. Salvation is granted to man according to the specific terms and conditions which God has set forth in his Word, and one specific condition is: “Whosoever believeth in him [Christ Jesus] should not perish, but have everlasting life.” God sent Jesus into the world “that the world through him might be saved”. (John 3:16,17) There are certain conditions attached to such divine provision for life which must be met. God’s provisions for man’s salvation could not mean compulsory salvation, but that salvation must be for those who believe, inasmuch as to those who believe the promise is that they shall not perish. To perish means to go completely out of existence.It is the love of God that provides for man’s salvation, that is, salvation to those who desire to be saved. Since salvation is the gift of God through Christ Jesus, it follows that no sinful man could gain salvation to life for mankind. (Rom. 6:23) Life is a free gift from God, and those shall freely receive it who comply with the terms attached to the gift.
…