Do Jehovah Witness' worship Jesus?

Question

I was reading on watchtower.org about their views on the trinity.

I personally also question some of the theological implications of the trinitarian belief that some Christians have as well.

Yet, I was curious about if they worship Jesus. When I first started questioning the trinitarian concept I doubted worshiping Jesus. Because Jesus said explicitily while on Earth that he did not want to be worshiped and God claims the authority as the center of our worship.

Yet this was only at first. I do believe Jesus should be worshiped since he sits on the throne. In fact in the Gospel of Luke after the Ascension, his disciples worship him. (24:52)

So I was just curious abou the JW position on the worship of Jesus.

Please for those who say JW do not worship Jesus, would you make remarks regarding Luke 24:52. Thanks!

Answer 1

I just wanted to clarify that those who said we worship Jesus did not say they were Jehovah's Witnesses.

Also the bible refers to Satan as the God of this world and that alone does not mean he should be worshiped.

2 Corinthians 4:4,King James Version
“The god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not.”

Hopefully this link in our official website will clear things up.


"Worship God on His Terms"
http://www.watchtower.org/library/ti/article_09.htm

Matthew 4:10
" Then Jesus said to him: “Go away, Satan! For it is written, ‘It is Jehovah your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service.’”"

The situation with Luke 24:52 is one of translation since the word used for worship can be translated in more then one way.
That same word is used else where in the bible, but not directed at Jesus or his father. Like for example in Revelations 3:9.

Revelation 3:9 (King James Version)
9Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

This is directed at the congregation of Philadelphia.
Are we to take from this that it's fine to worship humans?
Most people would say obviously no.

The word used for worship can be translated other ways according to the context such as "homage" or "obeisance".
Here's Luke 24:52 in a different translation.

Luke 24:52 (Darby Translation)
"And *they*, having done him homage, returned to Jerusalem with great joy,"

Answer 2

As one of Jehovahs Witnesses I firstly need to point out that those who commented that Witnesses worship Jesus did not say they themselves were Witnesses.
Jehovahs Witnesses do not worship Jesus Christ.
At Matthew 4:10 Jesus himself states:"....For it is written,'It is Jehovah your God you must worship,and it is to Him alone you must render sacred service".
Translating the Bible is a tremendous responsibility that unfortunately too many have taken for granted.Some have rendered it to favor their own view,others have been just lazy.The point is whatever translation we use can alter or misguide or even confuse the reader if it is not accurate.
For example,take Luke 24:52.The KJV among others renders the Greek word 'worship'.Whilst the NW renders the word 'obeisance'.And the Diaglott by the Greek Scholar Benjamin Wilson renders it 'prostrate'.
Which seem more in harmony with the rest of the Scriptures?Certainly not the KJV as Jesus himself stated to Satan that only Jehovah deserves the worship.
The disciples at Luke 24:52 gave Jesus the honor and respect he so deserves.But they did not worship him.
Even though Jesus rules as King of Jehovahs heavenly Kingdom and is deserving of our respect,the worship still belongs to Jehovah God who has allowed Jesus this authorative position.
So in a nutshell - NO Jehovah's Witnesses do not worship Christ.They obey him,respect and honor him but their worship goes to Jehovah God alone.

Answer 3

No, regrettably they don't worship Him. in the time of the Bible Jesus is shown being worshiped via the clever adult males, his followers, and the angels and believers in Heaven. Did Jesus ever end all and sundry from worshiping Him? nicely, you will possibly think of so if He wasn't God. John made the blunders of worshiping an angel. The angel replaced into speedy to easily right him. Revelation 22:8-9--"Now I, John, observed and heard those issues. And as quickly as I heard and observed, I fell right down to WORSHIP earlier the ft of the angel who confirmed me those issues. Then he stated to me, "See [which you do] not [try this.] For i'm your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of people who shop the words of this e book. WORSHIP GOD." If Jesus is only an angel and does not forbid human beings from worshiping Him, he's not extra efficient than Lucifer. Holy angels would possibly in no way settle for worship from all and sundry, not even from different angels. Jesus is God. he's on the Throne of God, being worshiped as God via Christians, angels, and the believers who're absent from the physique and cutting-edge with the Lord. ---*---*---*---*---*---*---* A, your scripture costs are from the NWT, not from the Holy Bible. Jesus actually stated, "The Lord thy God..". The be conscious "Jehovah" isn't any the place in the textual content textile.

Answer 4

Matthew....Of course, what he said was right...FOR 33 1/2 YEARS. Jesus was a MAN when he said that. After his resurrection, that changed. If you do not think that the King of the Kingdom, the prince of peace, the everlasting father ( isaiah ) who sits at his Fathers right hand is worthy of worship, you may want to study a bit more. You are "devoted" to your children, spouse, parents, etc. But there is only one Almighty God. Exclusive devotion means just that he is the only Almighty God. I can see why a "cult" may want to degrade Christ Jesus in order to get more honor for themselves, may even re-write the Bible to their liking...?????

Answer 5

This is where Strong's dictionary come in handy

the word in Luke 24:52 translated worshipped means the following

(Strong's 4352)

proskuneo {pros-koo-neh'-o}

1) to kiss the hand to (towards) one, in token of reverence

2) among the Orientals, esp. the Persians, to fall upon the knees and touch the ground with the forehead as an expression of profound reverence

3) in the NT by kneeling or prostration to do homage (to one) or make obeisance, whether in order to express respect or to make supplication

a) used of homage shown to men and beings of superior rank

Jesus is a person of superior rank. So people should bend their knee to him in obeisance.

But the word worship is not even mentioned.

Which is why the NWT reads : 52 And they did obeisance to him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.

Answer 6

The Father was not made, nor created, nor generated by anyone. The Son is not made, nor created, but begotten by the Father alone. The Holy Spirit is not made, nor created, nor generated, but proceeds from the Father and the Son. There is, then, one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three sons; one Holy Spirit, not three holy spirits. In this Trinity, there is nothing before or after, nothing greater or less. The entire three Persons are coeternal and coequal with one another. So that in all things, as is has been said above, the Unity is to be worshiped in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity.

Answer 7

Kind of. It's my understanding, having never actually attended their services but knowing people with JW family members, that they worship Him as a sort of equal to Michael the Archangel.

They call Him "the Man" and don't believe in His pure deity status. The Jehovah they refer to is God the father. Their depiction of Jesus' crucifixion is on a straight pole, not a cross, and the resurrection is not the same. It just gets further from the true Biblical accounts from there.

*Edit* Yes, Rev. 1-5 calls Him the faithful witness, while He was on earth. But, if you read further..."To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood (6)and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father, ***to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever.*** Amen." Truly we are meant to worship Jesus.

Answer 8

We accept Jesus as our personal Savior. The son of God.

We do have a responsibility to be witnesses for Jesus. That is why Jesus' role in God's purpose is emphasized in our publications. Here is something that may be a new thought for you.

Rev. 1:5 Speaks of Jesus being "the Faithful Witness'? Of whom was he the "Faithful Witness"?

John 5:43 "I have come in the name of my Father.....

John 17:6 "I have made your name manifest to the men you gave me out of the world"....

Jesus set the example that we should imitate.

So, although we recognize Jesus it is Jehovah that we worship

Answer 9

I am not JW but they do NOT worship Jesus - feel he was only a representative for God (not true) and feel he was a special created good man but that is it. His death only put us back on the fence per JW's (even though Jesus said it is finished on the cross) - we have to earn the rest of way through works for Jehovah (the bible says we are saved by faith not works lest any man could boast).

In the book of Revelation, Jesus is being worshipped by the angels. He did receive worship from his disciples when he appeared to them after the Resurrection.

If Jesus is the key to eternal life, the devil is going to do all he can to get rid of the Key. In Genesis, it says "WE will make man after OUR image". The triune God is one diety with 3 personalities, equal in diety but different in purpose. God the Father being the head of the Godhead.

Also, JW's have changed the wording of the bible to back up their claims. The editors were not Greek/Hebrew specialists. I asked one who the editors were and they said they wanted to remain anonymous. Hmmmmm..
Thanks for listening.

Answer 10

This is amazing! We have some JWs answering a categoric 'No!' and others an equally categoric 'Yes'! Their leaders ought to be worried (but not surprised, given the way they hedge their bets with cunning word-plays regarding 'obeisance' and 'worship' and 'exclusive devotion').

If Jesus is NOT God (with a capital 'G') then he must not be worshipped, otherwise polytheism will be committed. If Jesus is god (with a small 'g', aka the NWT rendering of John 1:1) then the JWs have two G/gods. If they give any worship to the lesser god, they are polytheists. That's why they refuse to pray to Jesus, because they know that prayer is a form of worship. So they dodge the problem of polytheism by not actually worshipping Jesus. Yet they know this leaves them in the ridiculous position of having a Big God and a small god, so they rabbit on about exclusive devotion, and honor, and respectful obedience etc. Who are they trying to convince?