JW Free Public Event

Christ's Memorial, Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Recently I discovered a small (9 x 6) Watchtower pamphlet stuck in my door. It stated that, “this year, the anniversary of Jesus’ death falls on Wednesday, March 23, 2016. Jehovah’s Witnesses invite you to meet with them on that day to observe the Memorial that Jesus instituted.”

The pamphlet only had three short paragraphs yet cleverly hidden in those paragraphs were TWO HUGE ERRORS.

ERROR #1 occurred on the 2^nd page, 1^st paragraph. It reads, “He later promised a condemned criminal: “You will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43) Here the WT has used one of their favorite tactics to “twist the scriptures” so that their Bible goes along with their doctrine. They “quote” Luke 23:43b, the last part of verse 43. If they had quoted the entire verse, one would see that their doctrine DOES NOT align with the clear teaching of the Bible.

Luke 23:43 in its entirety reads, “And He said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise." The part the WT omits is "Truly I say to you, today" By quoting only a portion of verse 43 the WT is sidestepping the fact that Jesus said, "Today, you will you will be with Me in Paradise."  

The critical part of the verse reads:

1. "Truly I tell you today, you will be with me in Paradise."

            WT translation.

2. "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

            24 Bible Translations including King James, NASB, ESV, NIV, Young’s

            Literal, Berean Study, KJ 2000, Weymouth NT, Darby, etc.

In other words, the single point of disagreement is whether "today" belongs with "truly I tell you" or "you will be with me in Paradise." To rephrase it as a question: Does the comma belong before or after the word "today"?

This may seem unimportant, but it is crucial for the JWs to translate it as they have in order to support their doctrine. Like some other controversial groups, the JWs believe that at death human beings cease to exist as persons. That is, they deny that there is an immaterial soul or spirit which can exist as a personal being apart from the body. This position is obviously contradicted by Jesus' promise to the thief that he would be with Him in Paradise "today." By changing the position of the comma, however, "today" is shifted away from "you will be with me in Paradise" and placed alongside "truly I tell you." Thus the idea that Jesus and the thief went to Paradise immediately after their deaths is eliminated and JW doctrine remains intact.

The words "Truly I tell you" is an introductory expression or formula Jesus used only when introducing a truth that is very important and perhaps hard to believe. In the Gospel of John, it is "Amen, amen I say to you." It is rather like the Old English expression, "Hear ye!" An even more appropriate parallel is the Old Testament expression, "Thus says the Lord." Therefore, "Truly I tell you today" would be just as unlikely an expression as "Hear ye today!" or "Thus says the Lord today."

Of the 76 times the expression “Truly I tell you” occurs in the Bible, the NWT places a break immediately after it 75 times; Luke 23:43 is the only exception. Below are just 16 of the 76 times the expression “Truly I tell you” is used. The commas all line up in the WT concordance except one time—Luke 23:43. Why?

Matthew 5:18    “Truly I tell you, till heaven and earth pass away . ”

Matthew 5:26    “Truly I tell you, you will not get out . . .”

Matthew 6:2     “Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.”

Matthew 6:5     “Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.”

Matthew 10:15   “Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable . . .”

Mark 8:12       "Truly I tell you, no sign will be given . . ."

Luke 4:24       “Truly I tell you, a prophet is not without honor . ”

Luke 11:51      “Truly I tell you, it shall be required . . . ”

Luke 13:35      “Truly I tell you, you will not see me . . . ”

Luke 18:17      “Truly I tell you, whoever shall not receive . . . ”

Luke 23:43      “Truly I tell you today, you will be with me . . .”

John 3:3        “Truly I tell you, unless a man . . .”

John 3:11       “Truly I tell you, we speak . . . ”

John 5:19       “Truly I tell you, the Son can do . . .”

John 5:24       “Truly I tell you, whoever hears my . . .”

John 5:25       “Truly I tell you, a time is coming . . .   ”

Unless there is overwhelming evidence from the context that Luke 23:43 is an exception to the above pattern, it should be translated according to Jesus' normal usage of the expression.

ERROR #2. The second error is in the 2^nd sentence of the 3^rd paragraph. It reads, “Jehovah’s Witnesses invite you to meet with them on that date to observe the Memorial that Jesus instituted.” The key word and the one totally at odds with the true teaching of the Bible is “observe.” At their “Memorial” all JW’s world-wide, except for approximately 8,000, do not partake of the bread and wine but merely observe the bread and wine as it is passed from person to person throughout the entire Kingdom Hall.

Paul relates very clearly what Jesus wanted His followers to do at the Lord’s Evening Meal that He started.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26:

For I received from the Lord that which I also handed on to YOU, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was going to be handed over took a loaf and, after giving thanks, he broke it and said: “This means my body which is in YOUR behalf. Keep doing this in remembrance of me.” He did likewise respecting the cup also, after he had the evening meal, saying: “This cup means the new covenant by virtue of my blood. Keep doing this, as often as YOU drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as YOU eat this loaf and drink this cup, YOU keep proclaiming the death of the Lord, until he arrives.”

Is this what they do? They teach it is a command for all JW’s to attend this memorial and then are told to disobey Jesus' command to partake of the emblems that represent His blood and body that He gave to cover our sins. Right after they read Jesus’ words to “Keep doing this in remembrance of me” they are told not to do the very thing that would remind them of Jesus, namely partake. If the majority of JW’s are not in the New Covenant then why are they invited to this meal? Is this some kind of spectator sport that Christ instituted? Apparently the leadership of JW’s thinks so.

Consider Christ words at John 6:53-58:

Accordingly Jesus said to them: “Most truly I say to YOU, Unless YOU eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, YOU have no life in yourselves. He that feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has everlasting life, and I shall resurrect him at the last day; for my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. He that feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood remains in union with me, and I in union with him. Just as the living Father sent me forth and I live because of the Father, he also that feeds on me, even that one will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. It is not as when YOUR forefathers ate and yet died. He that feeds on this bread will live forever. (NWT)

Notice what Jesus urges his followers to do:

“As they continued eating, Jesus took a loaf and, after saying a blessing, he broke it and, giving it to the disciples, he said: “TAKE, eat. This means my body.” Also, he took a cup and, having given thanks, he gave it to them, saying: “Drink out of it, all of YOU,” (Matthew 26:26-27,)

If there are two classes of Christians, those who attend and partake AND those who attend but do not partake, then why didn’t Jesus ever mention this? Clearly the practice of not partaking is against Jesus' command for all of his followers to partake!