The Watchtower — June 15, 1959

“Brace Up Your Minds for Activity”

SOME persons are like electricity. They always seek the way of least resistance. Anything that requires physical or mental effort they will avoid if at all possible. They prefer to do what is easy for them and not what is fatiguing or difficult. The less that is required of them the better they like it.

This attitude is a grave mistake. It is not the road to physical, mental and spiritual advancement and health. A man is benefited by activity, not inactivity. What progress could an athlete make if he never exerted himself to do more than what was easy for him? It is only by continually striving for greater heights that a jumper can develop his body so that heights that were once difficult become easy. So it is in whatever activity a person engages. What requires great effort now will be easy later if he exerts himself.

The human body was not designed to be inactive. It must be exercised for it to maintain good health. But because exercise is exhausting and requires effort many people avoid it. Instead of climbing stairs, they ride the elevator. Instead of going for a long walk, they go for a ride. The longer they go without exerting themselves physically the more difficult it becomes for them to do physical tasks that are easy for physically fit persons.

The important part that physical activity plays in health was pointed out by an article that appeared in Science Digest of December, 1958. It said: “Health, endurance, nutrition and general well-being are all dependent on a common denominator—circulatory fitness. The only way to get it is by a systematic method of exercise.”

As physical activity is necessary for bodily health so is spiritual activity necessary for spiritual health. The apostle Peter recognized this fact. That is why he told his fellow Christians: “Brace up your minds for activity.” (1 Pet. 1:13) Their spiritual activity was the Christian ministry. Unlike the professed Christians of today who think that sitting in church once a week is enough religious exertion, the early Christians diligently studied God’s written Word and then preached it publicly.

The apostle Paul spoke of this activity when he said: “Let us always offer to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips which make public declaration to his name.” (Heb. 13:15) His words reveal that all shared in the Christian ministry and that it was a regular part of their worship.

By this activity they made use of the knowledge they gained about God and his purposes. They talked with the people regarding his wonderful works, as foretold at Psalm 145:11, 12, which says: “About the glory of your kingship they will talk, and about your mightiness they will speak, to make known to the sons of men his mighty acts and the glory of the splendor of his kingship.”

It was not an easy thing for the early Christians to go out and talk with strangers about God’s works and purposes. It was fatiguing both mentally and physically. They had to brace up their minds by personal study of the Scriptures, that they might be able to reason with the people and give Scriptural proof for what they said. That required mental effort. It was physically tiring for them to walk from house to house and from one city to another as they did when preaching the Word of life. Christianity is not for persons who want things easy. It is for those who are willing to expend themselves in doing the will of God and in helping people to learn the way to eternal life and happiness. The early Christians were such people. This Christian activity was essential for their spiritual health. It kept them close to the supreme Sovereign and conscious of the divine will.

Spiritual activity is just as necessary today for maintaining spiritual health as it was then. Operating church bingo games, bazaars, raffles and so forth cannot be classed as spiritual activity. What constitutes that activity today is the same as what constituted it in the days of the early Christians. It is the public declaration of God’s doings and purposes. It is talking about his mighty acts and the glory of his kingship. This is the spiritual activity that brings spiritual health and divine approval.

It is not enough for a person to say that he has faith. He must prove his faith by exerting himself in the Christian ministry. He must brace up his mind through study of the Scriptures, and then he must become active in public preaching and teaching of God’s Word of truth. The Bible writer James makes it plain that the ministry is for all. He states: “Become doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves with false reasoning.” “Of what benefit is it, my brothers, if a certain one says he has faith but he does not have works? That faith cannot save him, can it? You see that a man is to be declared righteous by works, and not by faith alone.”—Jas. 1:22; 2:14, 24.

Activity in the Christian ministry is the work that proves a person’s faith. Christ set the example for his followers by engaging in it himself. He proved his faith in his Father by his works. He did not seek the easy way of inactivity but exerted himself in the work of public preaching and teaching of Scriptural truths. He instructed his disciples to do the same. As they followed in his footsteps of spiritual activity, so must Christians today. Their spiritual well-being depends upon it. That is why Jehovah’s witnesses stress it and build up the minds of people through Scriptural instruction. They provide a specific program of ministerial activity that fulfills Scriptural requirements.

We are living at a critical time in human history when the purposes of God are due to be carried out. It is a time for intensive activity on the part of Christians in proclaiming the good news of God’s kingdom. By such work they prove their faith and worthiness of the divine gift of eternal life as subjects of that kingdom.

Whatever things are true, whatever things are of serious concern, whatever things are righteous, whatever things are chaste . . . continue considering these things.—Phil. 4:8.

Is Jesus Christ the Promised Messiah?

Regardless of race, nationality or religion, this question affects your happiness—indeed, your everlasting destiny.

KNOWING the identity of the promised Messiah is not some trivial matter. It is absolutely vital. The Hebrew Scriptures not only tell us why this matter is so important but they fix the Messiah’s identity beyond any question of doubt.

Before examining the Scriptural testimony, there is the question: What does the word “Messiah” mean? Messiah means “the anointed one.” At Daniel 9:25 the Hebrew word mashíahh is translated “Messiah” in the King James Version, and the translation by The Jewish Publication Society of America renders it “one anointed.”

There are many different ideas as to Messiah’s identity. In Christendom millions of persons believe that the Messiah has already appeared in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Some Jews believe Messiah to be the new nation of Israel; and in his book What the Jews Believe, Philip Bernstein says: “The Orthodox still believe in the coming of a personal Messiah, and pray each day for his advent. A large segment of the liberal Jewish community has discarded the notion of a single messianic personality who is to save mankind. . . . In its place they affirm their faith in a messianic era which is to be achieved by the co-operative efforts of good men of all nations, races and religions.”

The Hebrew Scriptures clear up all misunderstanding and doubt as to Messiah or the “anointed one.” An anointed one is one clothed with authority from his superior to act. The Messiah is the One anointed by God; the One whom God has anointed to deliver obedient mankind. Early in mankind’s history God gave a basis for hope in a coming Deliverer, one who would crush the head of the Serpent, Satan the Devil. This promise is found at Genesis 3:15, in God’s declaration to the Serpent: “I shall put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He will bruise you in the head and you will bruise him in the heel.”

Later prophecies became more specific as to how the Deliverer would come. God promised that through Abraham great blessings would result: “By means of your seed all nations of the earth will certainly bless themselves.”—Gen. 22:18.

One who could deliver all obedient mankind would be a ruler or king indeed. A king in ancient times carried a scepter, a rod that was a symbol of royal power. The promised Deliverer must have kingly power, for God foretold in the prophecy spoken through Balaam: “A star will certainly step forth out of Jacob, and a scepter will indeed rise out of Israel.”—Num. 24:17.

The prophet Daniel shows that the kingdom the promised Ruler receives is a heavenly one: “There came with the clouds of heaven one like unto a son of man, and he came even to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion.”—Dan. 7:13, 14, AS.

By means of this heavenly kingdom the promised King is to bring blessings to “all nations of the earth.” The promised Ruler delivers God’s people everywhere by destroying their enemies, including the wicked nations of the earth. So the promised King is to do a nation-smashing work, as the psalmist foretold: “You will break them [the nations of the earth] with an iron scepter, as though a potter’s vessel you will dash them to pieces.”—Ps. 2:9.

What peaceful, happy conditions the rule of God’s Anointed One will bring to the earth! No wonder—the promised King is foretold by Isaiah to be the “Prince of Peace”! (Isa. 9:6) “In his days the righteous one will sprout,” foretold the psalmist, “and the abundance of peace until the moon is no more. And he will have subjects from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.”—Ps. 72:7-9.

With so many vital reasons for knowing the identity of the One whom God anoints as King, let us now see how the Hebrew Scriptures fix his identity, thus enabling us to answer the question: Is Jesus Christ the promised Messiah?

HIS ANCESTRY AND BIRTHPLACE

The royal Ruler to whom mankind must be obedient would come from the tribe of Judah. Jacob foretold this: “The scepter will not turn aside from Judah, neither the commander’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him the obedience of the people will belong.”—Gen. 49:10.

Not only must the promised King and Deliverer come from the tribe of Judah but he must also be a descendant of King David, just as God said to David through the prophet Nathan: “I shall certainly raise up your seed after you, which will come out of your inward parts, and I shall indeed firmly establish his kingdom. He is the one that will build a house for my name, and I shall certainly establish the throne of his kingdom firmly forever.”—2 Sam. 7:12, 13.

Moreover, as another positive identifying mark, the One whom God would anoint as Ruler must be born in David’s city, Bethlehem, just as the prophet Micah foretold: “But thou, Bethlehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting. And he shall stand, and shall feed his flock in the strength of Jehovah, in the majesty of the name of Jehovah his God.” (Mic. 5:2, 4, AS) Such promises as this of God’s anointed Ruler, a personal Messiah to come, make it clearly evident that the Messiah is not a nation or a cooperative effort among nations.

NATURE OF HIS WORK

Before receiving his heavenly kingdom, the promised King would make an earthly appearance. On earth he would do a special work. The prophet Isaiah foretold that the promised One would do a preaching work: “The spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me, for the reason that Jehovah has anointed me to tell good news to meek ones.” The promised Messiah would “call out liberty to those taken captive and the wide opening of the eyes even to the prisoners” and also “call out the year of good will on the part of Jehovah and the day of vengeance on the part of our God.”—Isa. 61:1, 2.

So the promised Anointed One must be a prophet to whom men must listen. Moses foretold this coming Prophet. “Jehovah said to me,” wrote Moses at Deuteronomy 18:17-19, “‘A prophet I shall raise up for them from the midst of their brothers, like you, and I shall indeed put my words in his mouth and he will certainly speak to them all that I shall command him. And it must occur that the man who will not listen to my words that he will speak in my name, I shall myself require an account from him.’”

Though the promised Anointed One would not receive his kingdom when on earth, would he yet present himself to his people as the King and Ruler foretold by the prophets? Yes, but he would do so in an entirely unexpected way. He would not then come on the clouds of heaven or to smash the yoke of Roman domination, but he would come as the prophet Zechariah foretold: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy king cometh unto thee; he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, even upon a colt the foal of an ass.” (Zech. 9:9, AS) Would this king be accepted by his own people?

MESSIAH’S REJECTION AND DEATH

Contrary to expectation, the long-promised Messiah, when appearing as a man, would be accepted by only a few. The Jewish people as a nation must reject him as being the promised Messiah, as Isaiah foretold in the fifty-third chapter of his book. “He was despised, and we held him as of no account,” foretold Isaiah. “We ourselves accounted him as plagued, stricken by God and afflicted.”—Isa. 53:3, 4.

Finally, as if to climax the utterly unexpected, God’s Anointed One must be put to death at the hands of those who rejected him. Yes, persecution and death would be Messiah’s lot “despite the fact that he had done no violence and there was no deception in his mouth.” Does Messiah resist? Said God’s prophet: “He was being brought just like a sheep to the slaughtering; and like a ewe that before her shearers has become mute, he also would not open his mouth.”—Isa. 53:9, 7.

Psalm twenty-two is another inspired account telling beforehand of the things Messiah must suffer. Read this psalm for the many specific ways Messiah must suffer. For instance, of Messiah’s executioners this psalm says: “Like a lion they are at my hands and my feet.” They even cast lots for his garments: “They apportion my clothing among themselves, and upon my garment they cast lots.”—Ps. 22:16, 18.

How disappointing all this would be to those Jews who would be looking for deliverance at the time of Messiah’s appearance! Many Jews would fail to see that the prophets foretold two comings of the Messiah, each for a separate purpose. At his first coming Messiah comes as a man; at his second coming or presence he comes as a glorious spirit creature to bring about fulfillment of the glorious prophecies concerning his everlasting rule. Many Jews would reject Messiah the man because of their thinking that he should have fulfilled those marvelous prophecies about his coming in glory at his first coming.

THREE STRIKING IDENTIFYING MARKS

It is estimated that there are three hundred or more references to the Messiah in the Hebrew Scriptures. Actually just three of them are enough to fix Messiah’s identity beyond doubt.

First, the one destined to be the promised Messiah would be born, by God’s power, of a virgin, even as Jehovah God foretold through Isaiah: “Look! The maiden herself will actually become pregnant, and she is giving birth to a son.”—Isa. 7:14.

Second, the Messiah, shortly after being put to death, would be raised from the dead by God’s power. This was foretold at Psalm 16:10: “For you will not leave my soul in Sheol.”

Third, Messiah must appear at an exact time. When? The angel Gabriel told Daniel, and this prophet tells us: “Seventy weeks are decreed upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy. Know therefore and discern, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the anointed one, the prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks.”—Dan. 9:24, 25, AS.

So “from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem” unto Messiah the prince would be sixty-nine weeks. How long are these sixty-nine weeks? They are not weeks of days but weeks of years, in harmony with the rule “each day for a year,” often found in Bible chronology.—Ezek. 4:6; Num. 14:34 AV.

When do these sixty-nine weeks of years, or 483 years, begin counting? They begin, as Daniel said, “from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem.” When was this? History tells us it was 455 B.C. That year King Artaxerxes decreed that Jerusalem and its wall be rebuilt. This is found at Nehemiah 2:1-8. So starting with 455 B.C., the 483 years would end A.D. 29. This is the exact time for Messiah to appear. He could not appear on earth either before or after that date.

Well, then, did Messiah appear A.D. 29? Indeed he did! Luke 3:1-4 says: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, . . . God’s declaration came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. So he came into all the country around the Jordan, preaching baptism of those repenting for forgiveness of sins.” About six months later Jesus of Nazareth came to John and was baptized, and at this baptism it was evidenced that Jesus became the Messiah, the Anointed One; for he was anointed with God’s holy spirit.—See Matthew 3:13-17, John 1:32-34 and Luke 4:17-19.

Jesus Christ alone met all the requirements fixed by the Hebrew Scriptures. He was born of the tribe of Judah, a descendant of King David. (Matt. 1:1-3; Luke 3:31, 33) He was born in Bethlehem. (Matt. 2:1, 5, 6) He was born of a virgin. (Matt. 1:22, 23) He made his entry into Jerusalem on an ass. (Matt. 21:4, 5) He was rejected by the Jewish people as a whole. (Mark 9:12; 12:10, 11; John 1:11; Acts 4:11) He was silent before his accusers; he was impaled on a stake. (Matt. 27:12-14; Mark 15:25) He was raised from the dead, there being more than five hundred witnesses of this. (Mark 16:6; Acts 2:31; 1 Cor. 15:6) Jesus was anointed as Messiah in the exact year foretold by Daniel—A.D. 29!

Jesus Christ is the Seed of God’s woman, the Seed of Abraham, the Prince of Peace, the promised Messiah. Now Messiah is King, having received the heavenly kingdom at the hands of his Father. Only those who listen to and obey Messiah’s words will survive into God’s new world, there to enjoy the blessing of everlasting life after this world and its god, Satan the Devil, are destroyed by the Seed of God’s woman. How vital to heed Moses’ warning: “Any soul that does not listen to that Prophet will be completely destroyed from among the people”!—Acts 3:23.

No Conflict with Science

Elmer Maurer, a research chemist, said: “I have found nothing in natural science, in chemistry, that conflicts with the Bible.”—The Evidence of God in an Expanding Universe.

Shepherding the Sheep with Skillfulness

“And he began to shepherd them according to the integrity of his heart, And with the skillfulness of his hands he began leading them.”—Ps. 78:72

1. What quality mentioned in Hebrews 11:6 is needed for one to be God’s minister, and so what does this cause us to ask?

THE reader may not be a religious clergyman, but have you ever thought about the responsibility that falls upon, not a mere clergyman, but a real minister of God? How strong or weak may his faith in his God be? One minister named Paul stated it plainly when he said: “Without faith it is impossible to win his good pleasure, for he that approaches God must believe that he is and that he becomes the rewarder of those earnestly seeking him.” (Heb. 11:6) Today one wonders how many clergymen have explicit faith in Jehovah God and his written Word and depend on it and how many are really seeking to win Jehovah’s good pleasure? How many ministers take on the full responsibility of doing the divine will?

2. How do the large majority of those in religious seminaries today view their faith? What does this cause honest truth seekers to think?

² In an article in the New York Times Magazine of November 30, 1958, under the subject: “Students in Search of Faith” the writer, Stanley J. Rowland, Jr., says that those who are going to “today’s seminaries are, by and large, skeptical but hope to find belief through experience and a sense of purpose through service.” Commenting on the young men who are taking religious training, he says: “They are—paradoxically—somewhat skeptical of a call by God and the strength of their own Christian beliefs. They are keenly exploring the basic values of existence. They want to involve themselves deeply in life.” Must we believe that these young men who are skeptical about a call by God and not too sure of their faith are to be the ministers for the Christians of the present generation? The writer goes on to quote the president of the Union Theological Seminary in New York, Henry P. Van Dusen, who said: “They cannot be understood. Many of them seem without joy, and I wonder if they really know what it means to be happy. They are on a religious search, an exceptional attitude twenty years ago, but the prevailing one in the student body today.”

3. What kind of faith did the founder of Christianity have, and were his disciples of the same attitude?

³ What a contrast their lack of faith presents in comparison with the leader of Christian ministers, Christ Jesus! His faith and devotion to his Father and his desire to do the divine will were unquestionable, and this is clearly set forth in the four accounts of his life. Jesus Christ was truly a minister of God, willing to take the responsibility. He was full of faith, and he taught his followers who were full of faith to be ministers just like himself. Those disciples of Jesus were not trying “to find belief through experience”; they were not without joy, but had the faith and joy of their Master. They were happy ministers, believing that God is the “rewarder of those earnestly seeking him,” and were not the kind of persons that were still “in search of faith.” They had faith in Jehovah God, His Son Jesus Christ and God’s Word. Anyone studying for the ministry today must have faith or be a complete failure as a Christian minister.

4, 5. (a) Is the ministry for a limited number of people? (b) What greater responsibilities fall on some?

⁴ The apostle Paul, a strong believer in the one God, Jehovah, and an untiring preacher of the Word of God, admonished the Galatian congregation: “Let anyone who is being orally taught the word share in all good things with the one who gives such oral teaching.” (Gal. 6:6) So anyone who has heard and believes should back up his teacher and then himself teach. Ministers of the gospel are not confined to the few individuals who decide to go to a seminary, or a theological school for training, but the ministry takes in a broad class of people. It takes in everyone who believes and has faith and who is being orally taught the Word of God, for such one, too, is to share the good things that he has learned with other men whom he meets. Paul was emphatic when he said: “‘Anyone that calls upon the name of Jehovah will be saved’. However, how will they call upon him in whom they have not put faith? How, in turn, will they put faith in him of whom they have not heard? How, in turn, will they hear without someone to preach?” (Rom. 10:13, 14) The world needs ministers full of faith, not ministers still looking for a faith.

⁵ The Bible, God’s Word, clearly shows that every professed Christian must preach the good news concerning God and his kingdom of righteousness. But when Peter spoke to the older men in the congregation of believers he showed that a greater responsibility falls upon the older men as overseers or the shepherds of the flock of God. While all who have dedicated themselves to God’s service are ministers, still from this group of faithful Christians some men are selected to direct the affairs of the entire congregation. Therefore Peter said: “To the older men among you I give this exhortation . . . : Shepherd the flock of God in your care.”—1 Pet. 5:1-4.

SPIRITUAL SHEPHERDING A SERIOUS WORK

6. Who qualify as shepherds in the congregation, and how should this work be viewed?

⁶ Reliable shepherds of the flock could be chosen only from those who are already ministers, individuals wholly devoted to Jehovah God and who want to help their brothers in the congregation. This certainly is a right kind of work for any mature Christian. Concerning those already full of faith and active in God’s service, Paul said: “If any man is reaching out for an office of overseer, he is desirous of a right kind of work.” (1 Tim. 3:1) Certainly those older ones in the truth should desire this kind of work, helping to shepherd the sheep in God’s fold. This is a responsibility to be taken on only by those who have faith and truly love God and who are already acquainted with and doing the divine will. It is not a work for a novice, a beginner, one who is new to Christian work.

7. (a) Why is it so necessary that an overseer be a student of God’s Word? (b) What qualities did the apostle Paul say he must have?

⁷ First of all, an overseer must be a student of God’s Word, believe it, and conduct himself according to its teaching. He must hold to the faith, being alert today to what Paul told Timothy: “However, the inspired utterance says definitely that in later periods of time some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to misleading inspired utterances and teachings of demons, by the hypocrisy of men who speak lies, . . . forbidding to marry, commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be partaken of with thanksgiving . . . By giving these advices to the brothers you will be a right kind of minister of Christ Jesus, one nourished with the words of the faith and of the right teaching which you have followed closely.” (1 Tim. 4:1-3, 6) For one to give good advice, an overseer must be “nourished with the words of the faith” and follow closely “right teaching.” Then he can shepherd the flock of God skillfully. “He that presides [acts as leader], let him do it in real earnest; he that shows mercy, let him do it with cheerfulness.” (Rom. 12:8, footnote) An overseer must “act as leader” if he is selected to preside over the congregation. He must follow these instructions: “Abhor what is wicked, cling to what is good. In brotherly love have tender affection for one another. In showing honor to one another take the lead. Do not loiter at your business. Be aglow with the spirit. Be slaves to Jehovah. Rejoice in the hope ahead. Endure under tribulation. Persevere in prayer. Share with the holy ones according to their needs. Follow the course of hospitality. Keep on blessing those who persecute; be blessing and do not be cursing. Rejoice with people who rejoice; weep with people who weep. Be minded the same way toward others as to yourselves; do not be minding lofty things, but be led along with the lowly things. Do not become discreet in your own eyes. Return evil for evil to no one. Provide the right things in the sight of all men. If possible, as far as it depends upon you, be peaceable with all men.” (Rom. 12:9-18) To be a helpful minister of the above description one must already have faith in God, not be “in search of faith.”

8. Were the Scriptures written for overseers alone? So what is the obligation of all the Christian congregation?

⁸ With such leadership on the part of the shepherds of the congregations an excellent example is set for all Christian members to follow. Furthermore, the Holy Scriptures were written, not only for the overseers, but for all the congregation, including the overseers. It is the divine will that sheep, after being gathered together, should be just like a good shepherd. Back in Paul’s day God arranged for shepherds to take care of sheep, and in the same manner today shepherds set the example. It is serious business, shepherding sheep. The time is here for the separating of the people of all the nations, and this separating work is being done by the preaching of the good news of Jehovah’s kingdom, not only by the overseers, but by all Christian ministers in the congregation.

9, 10. (a) Is a shepherd’s responsibility great? Whose is greater? (b) What work has the remnant been doing since 1919 especially, and how is their view like that of Christ Jesus the Greater David?

⁹ One’s being in the position of an overseer, however, places a much greater responsibility upon one as shepherd of the sheep. An overseer, however, always keeps in mind that Jehovah is the Great Shepherd, not himself. David said: “Jehovah is my Shepherd.” (Ps. 23:1) Jehovah is chiefly responsible, then, for the gathering of and caring for the sheep, but he does use men to do the shepherding. Since 1919 we see not only the remnant of the anointed “little flock” being gathered, but we also see a great crowd of “other sheep” being gathered in, particularly since 1935. (Luke 12:32; John 10:16) The remaining ones or remnant of the little flock were scattered during the cloudy and dark days of World War I, but now many of the remnant, having been gathered, are being used to do shepherding work. All of them as ministers of God have gone out with the good news of the Kingdom and they have been preaching it and have been doing the divine will during the past forty years. They have been hunting for the sheep and have been bringing them in and feeding them with the necessary spiritual food.

¹⁰ In other words, there must be a great ingathering. However, all these sheep, the little flock and the other sheep, Jehovah now has made into one co-operative company or flock, all being heirs of life in the new world of righteousness. Faithfully Jehovah has done everything he promised for his people, but there are some things that Christians must do for themselves, and especially overseers, who must be faithful shepherds of the flock, or congregation. Christ Jesus is the Greater David, and when on earth he took on the responsibility of a shepherd and set the right example for other overseers. Psalm 78:70-72 refers to Jesus when it says: “He [Jehovah] chose David his servant . . . He brought him in to be a shepherd over Jacob his people and over Israel his possession. And he began to shepherd them according to the integrity of his heart, and with the skillfulness of his hands he began leading them.” Just like that Christ Jesus was a skillful shepherd. His Father said to him: “You loved righteousness and hated lawlessness.”—Heb. 1:9.

ACQUIRING SKILLFULNESS

11. How does a shepherd acquire skillfulness?

¹¹ Skill means the ability that comes with knowledge and practice; aptitude. Jesus, the Right Shepherd, had knowledge of God’s Word. He practiced what the Word taught. He applied it to his own life, thus showing wisdom and understanding. He recognized Jehovah God as the Great Shepherd and he directed the minds of men toward Jehovah, his Father, not toward himself. He was chosen by God to be the right kind of shepherd. Undershepherds today must be like Jesus and not be interested in having the flock for themselves. With integrity-keeping hearts they must skillfully shepherd God’s flock. How necessary it is, then, for overseers to have knowledge and in wisdom put that knowledge to work! A shepherd is not an awkward, clumsy, careless overseer. He uses God’s Word skillfully in caring for the other sheep. When the Right Shepherd, Jesus Christ, by holy spirit made appointments of the apostles to do shepherding work, they were put in that work because they knew how to use the Word of God “for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness,” and they did this work skillfully. (2 Tim. 3:16) All undershepherds must use the Word of God in the same way. Today’s overseers in the New World society are shepherds too and must handle God’s sheep with skillful hands and lead them just as David did when looking after the children of Israel and as Christ did when looking after his disciples.

12. Can a shepherd afford to be careless in handling sheep, and how does the apostle Peter counsel on this point?

¹² The reward for faithful shepherding is not only saving oneself but saving others also, the other sheep. Remember, all are sheep, whether overseers or not. All are sheep under the Great Shepherd, Jehovah, and the Right Shepherd that he has chosen, Jesus Christ. Jesus himself said: “I am the right shepherd; the right shepherd surrenders his soul in behalf of the sheep.” (John 10:11) And again: “I am the right shepherd, and I know my sheep and my sheep know me.” (John 10:14) There is no reason, then, for one of the sheep, chosen to be shepherd, to get heady and to get careless in handling the Word of God. Peter, a sheep and an apostle of Jesus Christ, knew his own responsibility as an undershepherd when he was appointed as such by holy spirit. So to others Peter said: “Shepherd the flock of God in your care, not under compulsion, but willingly, neither for love of dishonest gain, but eagerly, neither as lording it over those who are God’s inheritance, but becoming examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd has been made manifest, you will receive the unfadable crown of glory.”—1 Pet. 5:2-4.

13, 14. Having agreed to do the divine will, how should an should not a shepherd feel about his responsibilities?

¹³ All overseers in the New World society, such as Branch servants of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, district servants, circuit servants, congregational servants and ministerial servants, should feel the weighty charge that Jehovah’s Word places upon them as undershepherds, overseers. At the time of their dedication overseers agreed to do the divine will, and now as overseers they must appreciate that one of the commandments given them in God’s Word is: “Shepherd the flock of God in your care.” Overseers, how are you doing it? Under compulsion? Out of a sense of being burdened because you were appointed to that position? Do you want to be free from that responsibility? Peter kindly says to all: ‘Do it willingly.’

¹⁴ Could there be some who do it for the love of dishonest gain? For the prominence one receives in the congregation? Personal pride probably? Or for the influence he holds over the flock of God? Peter cautions: ‘Do it eagerly,’ joyfully, have warm love for all in the congregation, recognizing that all the sheep belong to Jehovah God and that the congregation that you are associated with is truly God’s flock.

15. Why is an overseer’s self-examination so necessary?

¹⁵ Examine yourself. Are you an overseer who is “lording it over those who are God’s inheritance”? Do you bully sheep? Are you a superior shepherd that cannot be talked to? Always too busy? May that never happen, for that is not a good example. Peter so helpfully said: ‘Become examples to the flock.’ In what way? In faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, endurance, godly devotion, brotherly affection and love. “For if these things exist in you and overflow, they will prevent you from being either inactive or unfruitful regarding the accurate knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Pet. 1:5-8) An accurate knowledge and the proper way of life are so necessary for you as an overseer.

16. How does the New World Translation footnote of 1 Peter 5:3 stress the seriousness of a shepherd’s work?

¹⁶ Do you fully comprehend that you, having been appointed to the position of overseer, are a shepherd looking after God’s sheep allotted to you? The footnote in the New World Translation at 1 Peter 5:3 stresses that fact, saying: “Not lording it over those allotted to you.” In God’s great visible organization all these sheep are God’s sheep, but different groups of them are allotted to different shepherds. In the New World society in 1958 there were 17,878 groups or congregations of Jehovah’s witnesses world-wide. Peter counsels you overseers not to lord it over those allotted to you. So each shepherd should ask himself: “How am I handling God’s sheep? What example am I setting? How interested am I in their service meetings? Theocratic ministry school? Congregational book studies? House-to-house witnessing? Back-calls? Home Bible studies? Am I preaching this good news of God’s kingdom by these methods and helping all the sheep that have been allotted to me to do the same as I am doing, helping them to stay awake and to keep their ministerial garments on?”

17. What reward awaits the faithful shepherd of God’s sheep?

¹⁷ When an overseer follows the excellent counsel of Peter and shows love and hospitality toward the flock of God and to strangers, then when the chief shepherd has been made manifest, the overseer will “receive the unfadable crown of glory.” For one who belongs to the little flock the reward will mean joint heirship with Christ Jesus in heavenly glory. For the other sheep it will mean life in the paradise new earth. Those who are skillful and faithful in shepherding the sheep today will certainly be rewarded by being made, as it were, ‘rulers over many cities.’ If faithfulness is shown by them in small things, today’s overseers will be given greater things to do, just as the king in Jesus’ parable said: “Well done, good slave! Because in a very small matter you have proved yourself faithful, accept authority over ten cities.” (Luke 19:17) So, overseers, always appreciate your relationship to Jehovah God as well as to the flock that God has allotted to you and remember the commandment: “Pay attention to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the holy spirit has appointed you overseers, to shepherd the congregation of God, which he purchased with the blood of his own Son.”—Acts 20:28.

FULFILLING FEATURES OF A SHEPHERD

18. Appreciation of what facts is vital to a shepherd of the congregation?

¹⁸ Overseers must fully appreciate that the “flock” or “congregation” is God’s and that the appointment as shepherd is by God’s holy spirit. The flock is God’s by purchase. Let us never forget that! Paul, speaking to the anointed Christians at Corinth, asked: “Do you not know that the body of you people is the temple of the holy spirit within you which you have from God? Also, you do not belong to yourselves, for you were bought with a price. By all means, glorify God in the body of you people.” (1 Cor. 6:19, 20) There is still a small remnant of that “body of you people” on earth today, and many of these are in positions of overseers. But regardless of whether the overseer is of the remnant or of the other sheep class he still is God’s shepherd or overseer looking after God’s sheep, His purchase. Overseers must be doing the divine will among all God’s sheep within the New World society and among those still straying outside the society.

19. From whose authority does a shepherd want to turn the sheep, and why?

¹⁹ Christ Jesus used Paul to go to the nations outside as well as to comfort those in Israel. Jesus made himself visible to Paul in order to choose him as “an attendant and a witness . . . while I deliver you from this people and from the nations, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light and from the authority of Satan to God, in order for them to receive forgiveness of sins.” (Acts 26:16-18) Paul became an overseer and worked hard trying to turn the sheep away from the authority of Satan to the only true God. Overseers today should be doing the same. Then, after turning them to God, shepherds must help to keep them in the light. How much effort do you overseers put forth to do this? How much energy do you expend? How much love do you show toward everyone that has been “allotted to you” in your congregation? Undershepherds, be faithful and skillful in dealing with sheeplike humans, all of whom belong to Jehovah God!

20. (a) What are the essential features of a shepherd’s work? (b) Explain how one leads the sheep in imitation of Christ Jesus?

²⁰ What are the essential features of a shepherd? (1) To lead; (2) to feed; (3) to shepherd. Jesus showed true leadership because he himself submitted to being led by his Father, Jehovah, the Great Shepherd. In effect he said: “My soul he refreshes. He leads me in the tracks of righteousness for his name’s sake.” (Ps. 23:3) He wanted his Father, the Great Shepherd, to guide him in the right course. Jesus said: “I seek not my own will but the will of him that sent me.” (John 5:30) Like Jesus, faithful and skillful undershepherds will lead God’s sheep in the ways of righteousness too. They may not lead the sheep away from the truth set forth in God’s Word, for that Word is the divine will. An undershepherd must always be mindful of the divine will, asking himself, what does Jehovah want done? How did Jesus do it? What path did he walk? One must always lead the sheep God’s way. One who leads God’s sheep must have in mind the sanctifying of Jehovah’s name. Jesus put his Father’s name first when he taught all his disciples to pray: “Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified. Let your kingdom come. Let your will come to pass, as in heaven, also upon earth.” (Matt. 6:9, 10) He led the sheep in Jehovah’s name.

21. Where does an overseer skillfully and expertly use the Word of God, and why can he not hold back?

²¹ Paul, a shepherd, showed leadership qualities when he said: “I did not hold back from telling you any of the things that were profitable nor from teaching you publicly and from house to house.” (Acts 20:20) Where did Paul learn these profitable things? From God’s Word. And where did he preach them? Everywhere. An overseer today knows and will expertly and skillfully use the Word of God in going from house to house preaching the good news and engaging in back-call activity and in Bible study work, giving the true lead in training other ministers. Sometimes, however, the overseer in the congregation allotted to him thinks that the circuit servant is coming around soon and that leading is part of his work. So he relaxes in helping the irregular ministers, and the sheep get no leadership. But the whole organization of God must work together, each one doing his share. A good shepherd is anxious to see the sheep grow strong, healthy and hearty, and he does the things profitable so that later on some of the sheep will be able to become overseers themselves and lead sheep too. This work never lets up. There are plenty of new sheep making up new congregations needing new shepherds. Paul “did not hold back.” Do you?

A French Congregation Brings in the Sheep

IN France, where the work of Jehovah’s witnesses is definitely on the increase, the distance between their homes in some areas still remains a major problem in their ministry. For example, last year the group at Chauny in France was composed of thirty Witnesses, spread out over a distance of forty-five to fifty miles. They conducted home Bible studies with twenty-five persons of good will scattered through the villages. The problem was how to get them to the Kingdom Hall. But when time came for the Memorial of Christ’s death a special arrangement was made. A bus was chartered to make a round trip of more than a hundred miles to gather these persons and bring them to the hall.

Thus, on April 3 at 2:30 p.m., not the usual eighteen to twenty persons, but fifty-five were seated in the Kingdom Hall, some of whom were quite surprised to find that worldly acquaintances of theirs were likewise associating with the Witnesses. But the Memorial was not to be held until after sunset. What were these people now going to do? They were all invited to accompany Jehovah’s witnesses in their house-to-house ministry, and the Witnesses took the people with whom they had studied out into this field service.

The result? Ten new persons, including some who had been studying only a few weeks, became publishers of the good news of God’s kingdom, and then and there the congregation exceeded its goal of a 20-percent increase in Kingdom preachers for which it had been striving, and happily overcame the discouragement that its former transportation problem had produced.

Meeting Today’s Needs of the Sheep

1. How is a shepherd made to be skillful, and what questions might shepherds ask themselves?

JESUS said: “Feed my little sheep.” A good shepherd will lead sheep to tender grass and clear water. The Lamb of God further said, with regard to the sheep, that he would “guide [or lead] them to fountains of waters of life.” (Rev. 7:17) Will you men as overseers be anxious to do the same, feed the sheep on good food and guide them to waters of life? Did not someone lead you shepherds some years ago so as to drink of the water of life freely? Why not see to it, then, that other sheep can eat from the same pasture and drink from the same waters that were used to help you. Skillful leadership comes from having an accurate knowledge of the truth and an excellent acquaintance with the sheep themselves. Are you well acquainted with your congregation? And have you trained them to listen to the right voice? Give ear to what Jesus said: “The sheep listen to his [the shepherd’s] voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” (John 10:3) Jesus knew all his sheep by name. Do you know every member in your congregation by name? Do you talk to them? Are you anxious to meet new sheep and get acquainted with them when they come into the Kingdom Hall? Jesus was. Love the strangers. Get acquainted with Jehovah’s sheep by associating with them in the field service work and in the congregation meetings of God.

2. How are sheep being fed? Even so, what must shepherds do?

² Sheep need to be fed, not only led. How are they being fed? “The faithful and discreet slave whom his master appointed over his domestics to give them their food at the proper time” certainly is making ample provision. The governing body of Jehovah’s visible organization supplies plenty of good food for all the sheep, including the overseers. Are you shepherds encouraging the sheep to eat this food, leading them to it as it comes from Jehovah’s organization? How much time do you spend in bringing them to meetings if they are frequently absent? Do you help the weak sheep get to the food? How often do you take them in the field service or ask them to go with you? How much time do you spend with sick sheep or arranging for others to call on them? Doing the divine will in every respect is good food. Here is how Jesus put it: “My food is for me to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work.”—John 4:34.

3, 4. (a) What importance did Jesus attach to spiritual food? (b) To what did the apostle Peter liken God’s Word?

³ The material things of the world are not the most important things. These could starve a person spiritually. It is the spiritual food, God’s Word, that will keep one alive. “Man must live, not on bread alone, but on every utterance coming forth through Jehovah’s mouth.” (Matt. 4:4) Being acquainted with and understanding the divine will and doing it are really the only proper food. Everyone shepherding sheep needs to feed on God’s Word.

⁴ Jesus emphasized the fact that, when finding sheep, “make disciples . . . , teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you.” (Matt. 28:19, 20) A disciple is a learner, and one coming out of darkness has much to learn. Learning, or being well fed, is hard to accomplish amid moral badness, or among brothers harboring envy or strife. That is why Peter wrote: “Accordingly, put away all moral badness and all deceitfulness and hypocrisy and envies and all kinds of backbiting, and, as newborn infants, form a longing for the unadulterated milk belonging to the word, that through it you may grow to salvation, provided you have tasted that the Lord is kind.” (1 Pet. 2:1-3) Overseers know “the Lord is kind”; so they should want to see to it that the sheep “grow to salvation” by getting the “unadulterated milk belonging to the word.” Show the sheep how good it is for them to eat this food. It takes time, yes, but all sheep, novices and mature ones, hunger and thirst for righteousness. Both must keep eating or die from starving. Help them as shepherds should, seeing to it that the sheep get their hunger and thirst satisfied. “Happy are those hungering and thirsting for righteousness, since they will be filled.” (Matt. 5:6) Are you as an undershepherd taking good care of your responsibilities?

THE NEED OF FOOD AND DRINK

5, 6. Is there an abundance of spiritual food and drink available now, and so should overseers be stingy?

⁵ Do not put the sheep on a starvation diet. Overseers who feed the sheep with the truth of God’s Word will never need to worry about the sheep. They will grow on to maturity, because “whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty at all, but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water bubbling up to impart everlasting life.” (John 4:14) Keep that water bubbling. Keep the sheep drinking this water that imparts everlasting life. Jehovah provides good fruit, too, every month on “trees of life producing twelve crops of fruit, yielding their fruits each month.” (Rev. 22:2) An overseer with the proper spirit will see to it that the sheep of God are helped to get everything they need so as to serve Jehovah God for eternity.

⁶ All in the New World society, congregational ministers and shepherds, “Keep on saying ‘Come!’” “And let anyone hearing say, ‘Come!’ And let anyone thirsting come; let anyone that wishes take life’s water free.” (Rev. 22:17) Surely overseers cannot be stingy with such plenty. They, with God’s sheep, have received freely and they want to give freely. They know the truth of the wise man who says: “To my words do pay attention. . . . they are life to those finding them and health to all their flesh.” (Prov. 4:20, 22) Think of that! To give the other sheep the proper food and proper drink, which is the truth of God’s Word, means life for them. It means health to their flesh. Shepherds, look after the sheep so that they will never become hungry or thirsty!

7. What advice given in the Law of Moses is applicable today among God’s sheep?

⁷ Good sheep must be made conscious of their spiritual needs. Shepherds can help them in this. Young sheep cared for in a flock are just like little children wanting their parents. Young sheep must be wanting Jehovah God their Father and Jehovah’s motherlike visible organization. They will get better acquainted with both as they listen to God’s Word, just as it is written: “These words that I am commanding you today must prove to be on your heart, and you must inculcate them in your son and speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road and when you lie down and when you get up.” (Deut. 6:6, 7) Are we doing this for all the babies that come into Jehovah’s organization? If these new ones are properly taught the Word of God, they will never turn away but will stay awake, remain happy and contented in their newfound ministerial service of Jehovah.

PROVIDING PROTECTION

8. What does it mean to shepherd, and why in this time of the end must a shepherd be ever vigilant in shepherding work?

⁸ To shepherd means “to watch over carefully,” that is, tend, guard and protect the sheep. There must be real integrity shown on the part of a shepherd to do that. He must be a person looking after every one of the sheep in his care, protecting them from every danger. David took on the responsibility of being a shepherd, and it is written of him: “He began to shepherd them according to the integrity of his heart.” (Ps. 78:72) Jesus said to Peter for the benefit of all his disciples: “Shepherd my little sheep.” (John 21:16) Peter later said to overseers: “Shepherd the flock of God in your care.” (1 Pet. 5:2) Paul was very definite too when he said: “Pay attention to yourselves [overseers] and to all the flock, among which the holy spirit has appointed you overseers, to shepherd the congregation of God.” (Acts 20:28) So then, there is no question about some men being shepherds, having the responsibility of carefully watching over the sheep, tending them and protecting them. For the shepherd it is not just a matter of leading them and feeding them, but guarding them. There are so many things a shepherd must guard his sheep against. Listen to the shepherd Jude: “I found it necessary to write you to exhort you to put up a hard fight for the faith that was once for all time delivered to the holy ones. My reason is that certain men have slipped in who have long ago been appointed by the Scriptures to the judgment described below, ungodly men, turning the undeserved kindness of our God into an excuse for loose conduct and proving false to our only Owner and Lord, Jesus Christ.”—Jude 3, 4.

9. What can happen to an overseer who becomes proud and haughty, and why are such to be avoided?

⁹ Overseers must be on guard so that such ungodly men do not slip into the organization. Sometimes even an overseer becomes haughty and proud and thinks that he can get away with such a thing as written about by Jude! Being in the exalted position of a shepherd, rather than protecting the sheep he takes advantage of them and goes so far as destroying them with his immoral conduct. No matter what position an overseer holds within the congregation of God, that of Branch servant, district servant, circuit servant, congregation servant or ministerial servant, do not let him think for one minute that he can take advantage of his position by acting immorally. For such secret conduct God has already assigned him to judgment and his judgment is destruction. If such kind of person, no matter who he may be, slips into the congregation, see to it that he is disfellowshiped and have no association with him. God’s sheep do not want such person around the congregation, because they want a pure organization that will bring glory and honor to Jehovah God. They take heed to Paul’s words: “Quit mixing in company with anyone called a brother that is a fornicator or a greedy person or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard.”—1 Cor. 5:11.

10, 11. (a) What unpleasant task does an overseer sometimes face? Yet why can he not overlook trouble? (b) Where does the situation of God’s sheep make Jesus’ words at Matthew 10:16, 17 fitting?

¹⁰ When overseers are looking after the interests of the sheep they are going to give them all the necessary protection. It is not pleasant to get mixed in with trouble or to find it or to have to dig around looking for it when one knows it is there. But if a shepherd does not chase it down and root it out when it is in the flock, he might lose his whole flock. “Happy is the one that stays awake and keeps his outer garments.” (Rev. 16:15) He might even lose his own life because of being a negligent shepherd not on the watch.

¹¹ Where are God’s sheep? Right here in this old world. They are not in the new world yet, but they are in the New World society. However, that is not yet the new world of righteousness. Jesus said he was in this old evil world, but he certainly was no part of it. Jehovah’s witnesses are in the same position, in an old world as ministers, but not a part of it. That is why Jesus said: “Look! I am sending you forth as sheep amidst wolves; therefore prove yourselves cautious as serpents and yet innocent as doves. Be on your guard against men.”—Matt. 10:16, 17.

CARE FOR THE SICK SHEEP

12. What will a wide-awake shepherd do about sick sheep, and why is this necessary?

¹² Overseers do not have to wait until an overt act is performed before a person is spoken to or brought before the congregation’s committee and put on probation or before a person is disfellowshiped. If the overseer is a wide-awake shepherd he will recognize sick sheep, and he will try to give them the tender care or corrective measures that they need so that they will be brought to good mental, moral and spiritual health again before they get so sick that nothing will help them and they will only be fit for death. James wrote: “Is there anyone sick among you? Let him call the older men of the congregation to him, and let them pray over him, rubbing him with oil in the name of Jehovah. And the prayer of faith will make the indisposed one well, and Jehovah will raise him up. Also if he has committed sins, it will be forgiven him.” (Jas. 5:14, 15) Sometimes these sick sheep do not have good enough judgment to call on the older men, the shepherds in the congregation, to come in and pray over them. What must the overseer do then?

13. (a) Name some causes of sickness among God’s sheep? (b) Why is brotherly love so vital?

¹³ The shepherd should go to that sick one. A good shepherd will know who are absent from the congregation. Then, rather than wait until the sheep calls the shepherd, would it not be better for the shepherd to call on the sheep? The kind thing for a shepherd to do is call on the sick person. Maybe he lacked spiritual food. He may be in some trouble and needs advice, or someone may have offended him. Whatever it may be, he needs a shepherd to help him. Think of the joy an overseer will have if he helps one of these sick sheep to stay in the organization and regain health under the shepherd’s guidance because of his love. John wrote: “Do not marvel, brothers, that the world hates you. We know we have passed over from death to life, because we love the brothers.” (1 John 3:13, 14) John knew what real love meant. Jesus showed it in life and by death. The brothers in Jehovah’s organization can show this same kind of love too in so many ways. In their stand together against persecution, yes, but even more so among themselves by their unfailing love for one another in all kinds of difficulties. Sometimes this love shown for another is not appreciated by the receiver, but it must be expressed by the giver anyway.

14, 15. (a) What counsel of Paul is fitting for overseers to follow? (b) How many of the sheep allotted to a shepherd must he care for?

¹⁴ Therefore a shepherd must help the congregation to do as the apostle said. “Let all malicious bitterness and anger and wrath and screaming and abusive speech be taken away from you along with all injuriousness,” said Paul to the Ephesian congregation. “Become kind to one another, tenderly compassionate, freely forgiving one another just as God also by Christ freely forgave you.” (Eph. 4:31, 32) Overseers, remember you are God’s chosen ones to look after all the sheep, not only the healthy ones, not only the ones that go out with you in service, not only the ones that come to meetings, but all those who have dedicated themselves to do Jehovah’s will. By holy spirit you have been appointed to shepherd God’s flock.

¹⁵ You know that Jehovah God makes it rain upon the just and the unjust alike. The sun shines upon the wicked as well as the good. Jehovah is always on the giving side. He continually gives and gives of his undeserved kindness. Christ Jesus laid down his life willingly for the just and the unjust. So, then, overseers, shepherds of the sheep, how far will you go to lead, feed and shepherd the sheep? Jesus said it so simply: “These things I command you, that you love one another.”—John 15:17.

16. With the Great Shepherd looking after all the sheep, what can they say as spoken by David?

¹⁶ The Great Shepherd in heaven is looking after his sheep on earth, whether they be of the little flock or the other sheep. Appointed overseers on earth should be doing the same with real diligence and under all circumstances, for God is with them, too, in their heavier responsibilities. They, like all the rest of the sheep, say: “Jehovah is my Shepherd. I shall lack nothing. Even though I walk in the valley of deep shadow, I fear nothing bad, for you are with me; your rod and your staff are the things that comfort me. You arrange before me a table in front of those showing hostility to me. With oil you have greased my head; my cup is well filled. Surely goodness and loving-kindness themselves will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of Jehovah to the length of days.”—Ps. 23:1, 4-6.

THE SHEEP’S NEED OF SHEPHERDS

17, 18. (a) How can a shepherd keep the sheep in the fold? (b) Why was Jesus such a good shepherd of sheep, and are more shepherds required now?

¹⁷ Undershepherds, imitate the Great Shepherd. The sheep need you so much. They expect you to help them. God appointed you for that purpose. “Go on carrying the burdens of one another, and thus fulfill the law of the Christ.” (Gal. 6:2) God showed kindness to the sinner and the unthankful ones. Cannot shepherds do the same with skillfulness, always showing kindness with those who are in his charge? A good shepherd will keep the sheep in the fold. He may not neglect his work as a protecting shepherd and allow the sheep to get outside the flock. If any do, he will look for them and bring them back to safety.

¹⁸ Jesus built an organization and he kept the sheep in it. His Father gave them to him, for Jesus so acknowledged: “I make request, not concerning the world, but concerning those you have given me, because they are yours.” (John 17:9) He watched over them in every respect. He knew they belonged to his Father, but he was their shepherd appointed as such by his Father to lead them on to salvation, and that is why he further said in his prayer: “When I was with them I used to watch over them out of respect for your own name which you have given me, and I have kept them, and not one of them is destroyed except the son of destruction, so that the scripture has been fulfilled.” (John 17:12) Jesus kept the sheep together for their life. In Jesus’ day it was a small congregation. How the flock grew under shepherds like Peter, Paul and others! Now in these last days the great crowd, which no man is able to number, out of all the nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, is standing before the throne and before the Lamb as God’s congregation. (Rev. 7:9-15) Many more undershepherds are now needed. At the close of last year there were 17,878 congregations. Surely with sixty to seventy thousand more sheep coming into Jehovah’s organization yearly it will require many more shepherds to take on the responsibility of overseers. Cherish your blessed privilege, and may many others reach out for this right kind of work!

19, 20. Since more shepherds will be required, what questions arise, and what must all sheep continue to recognize?

¹⁹ Yes, more district servants, more circuit servants, more congregation servants and more ministerial servants will be needed. As this great crowd grows, more shepherds will be appointed to look after God’s flock. More persons will have to take on the shepherding. Will you be one of these? When that opportunity comes to you to look after your assigned part of the great flock of God, will you take on that responsibility willingly, eagerly, and be a good example to the flock?

²⁰ As new shepherds are appointed to these positions of responsibility, the more than 800,000 sheep must continue to recognize the organization that Jehovah God through his Son, Christ Jesus, has set up for their protection. Sheep look to the shepherd to lead them to green pastures.

21. How should those in the congregation view the overseers?

²¹ Likewise members of the congregation must have respect for those who are appointed as overseers, regardless of who the individuals may be. The undershepherd Paul said: “Be obedient to those who are governing you and be submissive, for they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will render an account, that they may do this with joy and not with sighing, for this would be damaging to you.”—Heb. 13:17.

22. What should overseers pray for?

²² Overseers, on your part continually pray to Jehovah your God to open your hearts and minds to the understanding of the divine will. “Turn down foolish and speculative questionings, knowing they produce fights. But a slave of the Lord does not need to fight, but needs to be tactful toward all, qualified to teach, keeping himself restrained under evil, instructing with mildness those not favorably disposed, as perhaps God may give them repentance leading to an accurate knowledge of truth, and they may come back to their proper senses out from the snare of the Devil, seeing that they have been caught alive by him for the will of that one.”—2 Tim. 2:23-26.

23. How does a shepherd care for himself, and in whose love does he keep the sheep?

²³ A good shepherd not only takes care of sheep, but he takes care of himself too. A shepherd eats. He needs refreshing water. He gets his rest. A skillful shepherd keeps himself healthy spiritually, physically, morally, so that he can be a true leader and guide for all the sheep that have been allotted to him in the congregation. He appreciates Jude’s counsel to the sheep and shepherd alike: “But you, beloved ones, by building up yourselves on your most holy faith, and praying with holy spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love, while you are waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ with everlasting life in view.” (Jude 20, 21) Shepherds, take care of God’s sheep and keep yourself in God’s love and active in Jehovah’s expanding organization. With skillful shepherding come joy and gladness and a love that surpasses all understanding. It is love such as Jesus the Right Shepherd had. He said: “No one has love greater than this, that someone should surrender his soul in behalf of his friends.” (John 15:13) It is such a love that loyally safeguards God’s sheep and that shepherds the flock to life everlasting in God’s righteous new world.

Witnesses Persevere Behind the Iron Curtain

IN SPITE of the relentless efforts of the Communist rulers to stamp out the work of Jehovah’s witnesses, this good news of the Kingdom is being preached behind the Iron Curtain. The following article, entitled “Cloud of Witnesses,” published in the Washington Post, March 21, 1959, gives evidence of the fact that Jehovah’s witnesses in Russia hold the same faith as their Christian brothers in other lands and that they are immovable in their devotion to Jehovah God and his new world of righteousness. It says:

“It is interesting to learn, by way of an extended denunciation in Pravda, that the sect of Jehovah’s witnesses has become almost as much of a headache to the rulers of Communist Russia as it was to the rulers of Nazi Germany. It seems that the Witnesses have been making converts all over the Soviet Union, even in such distant places as Siberia and Kurgan, and that they now constitute a formidable movement of underground resistance to the regime.

“The editors of Pravda affect to believe that the whole movement is being subsidized by ‘the most reactionary elements of American capitalism’ and that its purpose is to infect the Soviet masses with a spirit of meekness and resignation that will frustrate or delay the world-wide triumph of the revolutionary proletariat. The organizers of the movement are described as ‘former war criminals, Fascist collaborators and Gestapo informers’ who were indoctrinated and trained for the work in German concentration camps.

“The assertion that they were indoctrinated in concentration camps may not be without an element of truth. Nearly all survivors of these camps have testified to the courage and obduracy of the Witness prisoners and to their ability to withstand intimidation and even torture. It would not be surprising, then, if many Russian prisoners, who had hardly less reason than the German Witnesses to identify the state with the reign of antichrist and no less reason to accept an apocalyptic view of history, were much impressed by this example.

“At any rate the chiliastic doctrine of the Witnesses—who believe that the second coming of Jesus Christ has long since been an historical fact, that His invisible reign will soon be transformed into His visible kingdom on earth, and that all existing forms of the state are therefore satanic and doomed to perish in the approaching Battle of Armageddon—has had an immense appeal to people who live under the more totalitarian and tyrannous forms of government. Thus one can readily accept the estimate of the Witnesses themselves that the number of their converts beyond the Iron Curtain is more than 100,000. One can also believe the complaint of Pravda that in the collective farms and factories of the Soviet Union the Witnesses are resisting the coercive influences of communism and its propaganda with quite as much stubbornness as their brethren in the United States have shown in refusing military service and perfunctory homage to the flag.”

Another report, published in the April 1, 1959, issue of The Current Digest of the Soviet Press, while denouncing Jehovah’s witnesses and their activity, has the following to say:

“Do you know about the great calamity that is in store for all of us—the terrible and devastating war that may burst out upon the earth any day?

“It will be a war between God and Satan. Yes, yes—don’t laugh. The day will come when God finally tires of beholding the misdeeds of the Evil One and descends from heaven to engage him in a decisive and deadly battle. Oh, this will be a terrible day for mankind! In the holocaust of Armageddon will perish not only Satan but all those who are in league with him—in the first place, of course, the unbelievers, which means you and me, reader! But it will not stop at us. The majority of believers, since their faith is not the true one, are also doomed to mass destruction. The only ones who will be saved, and who will live in felicity on earth forever, will be the members of the religious sect of Jehovah, also known as ‘Witnesses of the Lord Jehovah,’ also known as ‘Students of the Holy Scripture.’ So that is what Armageddon means. Prepare yourselves, and tremble!

“Ivanna K., an eighth-grade pupil in a Lvov school, told me all about this with the most earnest face and with inspired conviction. If you imagine Jehovah’s witnesses as being ancient elders or emaciated, hysterical women with a feverish gleam in their eyes, you will probably find it difficult to imagine in this role an attractive, rosy-cheeked girl, an exemplary student, a model of modesty and an excellent singer.

“Ivanna and her little sister Yaroslava, a fifth-grade pupil in the same school, are growing up and studying like everyone else, and outwardly they are hardly to be distinguished from their classmates. It is true that, for some reason or other, no one had ever seen them wearing Young Pioneer kerchiefs, or met them at school evenings or the movies, but nobody imagined that there was anything hidden behind this. Such was the case, however. The schoolteachers and Young Pioneer leaders only thought that they were indoctrinating and educating Ivanna and Yaroslava; actually, the studies, reading habits and behavior of the K. sisters were being guided by quite different teachers and mentors. These it was who taught the sisters the friendly and quiet modesty that appears so commendable at school. These it was who inculcated in Ivanna and Yaroslava the constant fear of ‘God’s punishment’ and the unchildlike contempt for ‘everything that is of this world,’ as well as the ability to conceal their thoughts and to ‘keep lips buttoned up.’ . . . She doesn’t know any Witnesses. Every man is responsible before God for himself alone.”

Although the report continues with statements that are designed to turn others against Jehovah’s people, it does make it very evident that Jehovah’s witnesses in Russia are preaching and the people are hearing the truth. The constant pressure of the State to destroy their faith has not caused them to forsake their worship or fearfully refrain from telling others about God’s kingdom. With Jehovah’s spirit backing them up, they continue to “call out the year of good will on the part of Jehovah and the day of vengeance on the part of our God; to comfort all the mourning ones.”—Isa. 61:2.

How evident it is that they have taken to heart the inspired counsel of the apostle Paul, who said: “Only behave in a manner worthy of the good news about the Christ, in order that, whether I come and see you or be absent, I may hear about the things which concern you, that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one soul fighting side by side for the faith of the good news, and in no respect being frightened by your opponents. This very thing is a proof of destruction for them, but of salvation for you; and this indication is from God, because to you the privilege was given in behalf of Christ, not only to put your faith in him, but also to suffer in his behalf.”—Phil. 1:27-29.

Part 16—“Your Will Be Done on Earth”

In providing the “King for enforcing the supreme Will” Jesus was born of the Jewish virgin at Bethlehem to become the permanent heir of the covenant that Jehovah God made with King David for the everlasting kingdom. Jesus grew to manhood at Nazareth. When his forerunner, John the Baptist, began preaching that the kingdom of the heavens was at hand, then Jesus knew that it was God’s foretold time for him to present himself as the heir of the kingdom. He went, not to the capital city of Jerusalem, but to John at Jordan to be baptized There John baptized Jesus, not to symbolize that he was a sinner repenting from his sins against Jehovah’s law, but to symbolize that he had come to do God’s further will for him. After his baptism he continually exercised his will power in harmony with God’s will.

22. A sign of what was John’s baptism generally, but of Jesus’ particularly, and so in behalf of what was Jesus dedicating himself to God?

²² This soul-stirring fact must be held in our mind: The water baptism that God began by John was a sign that the kingdom of the heavens had drawn near! John’s baptism of Jesus was an indication that the kingdom of God had drawn near; in fact, that kingdom came into the midst of the Jews at the descent of God’s spirit upon Jesus after his water baptism. There God himself baptized his Son with holy spirit. Jesus’ coming to the baptismal spot to do God’s will and his symbolizing that dedication of himself by a water baptism was a step of Jesus toward God’s kingdom. He had turned his back on carpentering in Nazareth. He had now come to serve the interests of the kingdom of the heavens, which John was proclaiming. He had dedicated himself to the interests of God’s universal sovereignty which was represented in that kingdom.

23. In what way was the baptism that was begun in Jesus’ case different from John’s baptism for repentant Jews?

²³ The baptism that was begun in Jesus’ case was different from John’s baptism for the repentance of Jewish sinners against the Mosaic law. The water baptism that was begun in Jesus is the baptism of all believers in him and in his heavenly Father, believers who come in Christlike dedication to do the will of God. It is a baptism in recognition of or “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit.” (Matt. 28:19) It is a baptism symbolizing the believer’s dedication of himself to the Universal Sovereign Jehovah God, to do his will as revealed in connection with his kingdom. It is therefore not out of the right course of things that Jehovah God should now revive among his witnesses on earth the full water baptism, with the dipping of the believer’s whole person under the water, as a symbol of his dedication irrevocably to do the will of God in imitation of his anointed King Jesus Christ.

24. With what knowledge, and under the enlightenment of what did Jesus turn down Satan’s offer of the kingdoms of this world?

²⁴ From his water baptism and his spirit anointing onward Jesus, now Christ, lived for God’s kingdom of the heavens. Under temptation out in the Judean wilderness, Jesus refused the offer of Satan the Devil to give him all the kingdoms of this world and their glory if Jesus would fall down and do an act of worship to him as the “god of this system of things.” Jesus well knew he was the heir of the kingdom according to God’s covenant with David. He knew that he had just been anointed with God’s spirit to be the Heir of the kingdom of the heavens. So he turned down Satan’s cheap offer and commanded: “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.’” (Matt. 4:8-10) Jesus knew also, under the enlightenment of holy spirit, that he had been anointed to preach good news to the meek ones.—Isa. 61:1-3; Luke 4:16-21.

25. After John’s imprisonment, what did Jesus begin preaching, and what did he foretell as an evidence of the setting up of God’s kingdom?

²⁵ After John the Baptist had been imprisoned and restrained from preaching and baptizing, Jesus Christ began preaching openly the Kingdom, saying: “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.” (Matt. 4:12-17) He chose for himself twelve apostles whom he taught how to preach and whom he sent forth in twos to preach the good news of the Kingdom. He foretold the end of Satan’s world and the establishment of God’s kingdom, and foretold this as one of the evidences of of its establishment in heaven: “This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for the purpose of a witness to all the nations, and then the accomplished end will come.”—Matt. 24:14.

26. How was the kingdom issue made prominent at Jesus’ execution, and what occurred when he died?

²⁶ Finally Jesus Christ died as a martyr, a witness to God’s kingdom, faithful to his dedication to God’s will, faithful to his anointing to preach the Kingdom. Before the Roman governor Pontius Pilate many Jewish priests at the head of a mob had rejected Jesus, saying: “We have no king but Caesar.” And when Jesus died on the torture stake, there was posted above his head the notice: “Jesus the Nazarene the King of the Jews.” (John 19:15, 19) This occurred on Friday, Nisan 14, A.D. 33, in the middle of the seventieth week of years that had been foretold in Daniel 9:26, 27. At the moment of his death there occurred an earthquake and the heavy double curtain of the temple sanctuary in Jerusalem was rent in two, from top to bottom.—Matt. 27:51.

27. Why was it in vain that Satan thus bruised Jesus in the heel, and how was Jesus now declared to be God’s Son?

²⁷ That “original serpent,” Satan the Devil, had bruised the Seed of God’s woman in the heel; but in vain! Jehovah God could not break his covenant with David’s Heir, Jesus Christ, for the kingdom. He could not let his promise fail, that the Seed of His woman should bruise the Serpent in the head. He had also started Jesus toward spiritual life in the heavens by begetting him with holy spirit after his water baptism. He must yet bring his anointed Son to full birth in the heavens. Under no circumstances could God’s Son be held fast by death. At the exact foretold time, on the third day after his death, the heavenly Father raised him to life in heaven, “the firstborn from the dead,” so declaring him God’s divine immortal heavenly Son. “His Son, who sprang from the seed of David according to the flesh, but who with power was declared God’s Son according to the spirit of holiness by means of resurrection from the dead—yes, Jesus Christ.”—Col. 1:18; Rom. 1:3, 4.

28. To be what was Jesus made alive from the dead, and what did he then do?

²⁸ By God’s irresistible power Jesus was lifted up out of his baptism into death in order to be able to do his Father’s further will for him in heaven. He became a “new creation” in every sense. He arose as a spirit person, with a spirit body, “he being put to death in the flesh, but being made alive in the spirit.” (1 Pet. 3:18) Because of this spiritual resurrection he could ascend into heaven on the fortieth day after his resurrection to appear in the presence of God in behalf of all his believers and to sit down at the right hand of God as David’s “Lord.”—Heb. 9:24; 10:12.

CHAPTER 7

THE HOLY ONES WHO WILL GOVERN

1. How did Jesus get his first disciples, and what confessions did they make concerning him then?

JESUS CHRIST gathered his first disciples from among men and women whom John the Baptist had prepared for him. The angel Gabriel had said that John was to “get ready for Jehovah a prepared people.” (Luke 1:13-17) When the baptized Jesus came back from his forty days of fasting, studying and being tempted in the wilderness of Judea, John saw him coming and exclaimed: “See, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) The next day two of John’s disciples, Andrew and John the son of Zebedee, began to follow Jesus. Andrew found his brother Simon Peter and “said to him: ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which means, when translated, Christ).” Simon Peter learned this to be true and began following the promised Messiah or Christ. Later Jesus found Philip of Bethsaida and said to him: “Be my follower.” Eager to spread the good news, Philip found Nathanael. Jesus showed miraculous foreknowledge of this Nathanael, who then said: “Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are King of Israel.”—John 1:35-49.

2. What confession showed that Jesus’ apostles were of the same conviction toward the close of his ministry, and what did Jesus then say to Peter?

² It is evident that Jesus was recognized as the promised Christ or Messiah and as the Son of God by his disciples from the first. In fact, John the Baptist told his disciples there at the Jordan River that he had baptized Jesus and had seen God’s spirit descend in a visible manifestation upon Jesus, and he had thus been a witness to the fact that “this one is the Son of God.” (John 1:29-34) John’s disciples were believing this fact when John directed them to Jesus the “Lamb of God.” However, Jesus did not publicly announce himself to the people as being the Messiah or Christ, although he did speak of himself as the Son of God, with continual references to his heavenly Father who had sent him. Among the Jews who heard Jesus preach and saw his miracles, opinions differed as to who he was. But did his first disciples carry the same conviction concerning him as at the beginning? In the third year of his ministry, when up near Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked them: “You, though, who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus called Peter happy and told him that the heavenly Father had revealed it to him. Then Jesus added: “Also I say to you, You are Peter [Petros, Greek], and on this rock-mass [petra, Greek] I will build my congregation, and the gates of Haʹdes will not overpower it.”—Matt. 16:13-18.

3. Who is the rock-mass here mentioned as confessed by Peter himself?

³ Peter does not agree with Roman religionists who claim that Jesus here said that Peter was the “rock-mass” on which the spiritual house, the congregation, is built. In his first letter Peter disclaims being the rock-mass (petra) by referring to Jesus Christ and writing: “Coming to him as to a living stone, rejected, it is true, by men, but chosen, precious, with God, you yourselves also as living stones are being built up a spiritual house for the purpose of a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Pet. 2:4, 5) Peter was just a living stone in that spiritual house built on Jesus Christ. In this fact Paul agreed with Peter, saying: “All ate the same spiritual food and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they used to drink from the spiritual rock-mass [petra] which followed them, and that rock-mass [petra] meant the Christ.” (1 Cor. 10:3, 4) So Jesus Christ referred to himself as the “rock-mass” or petra; and it is upon himself as the “Christ, the Son of the living God,” that he builds his congregation, whom the gates of Haʹdes cannot overpower. Haʹdes, which is the common grave of mankind, did not overpower Jesus Christ himself, because, on the third day after dying and being buried, Almighty God raised him up to life.

4. What shows whether Jesus overthrew the synagogue in order to establish the Christian congregation upon himself?

⁴ Jesus did not overthrow the Jewish synagogue in order to found the Christian congregation upon himself as the symbolic rock-mass. He taught in many a Jewish synagogue. (Matt. 4:23; 9:35; 12:9; 13:54) After being betrayed to his enemies and when standing before the Jewish Supreme Court of Jerusalem under the charge of heresy and blasphemy, Jesus said to the chief priest Annas: “I have spoken to the world publicly. I always taught in a synagogue and in the temple, where all the Jews come together, and I spoke nothing in secret.” (John 18:19, 20) Consequently, before his impalement and resurrection from the dead, Jesus did not organize his followers as a congregation, as a spiritual house or sanctuary of God.

“THE LORD’S EVENING MEAL”

5. Where and when did Jesus celebrate his last Passover supper, and why did he dismiss Judas Iscariot from it?

⁵ It was Thursday night, Passover night, the night of Nisan 14 of 33 (A.D.), the anniversary of the original Passover of the Israelites under Moses down in Egypt just before their deliverance. Jesus gathered his twelve apostles to himself into a large upper room in Jerusalem to celebrate. At the table he said: “I have greatly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you, I will not eat it again until it becomes fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 22:14-16) That meant that this was the last literal Passover that he would eat as a natural Jew. In the course of this festival meal Jesus dismissed Judas from the room, thus freeing Judas to betray him that night.—John 13:21-31.

6. What new thing did Jesus start for his disciples to celebrate on Nisan 14 of each year, and how does Matthew describe it?

⁶ They finished eating the Passover lamb with loaves of unleavened bread and with wine, according to the requirements of Jehovah’s Law covenant with ancient Israel. Jesus now indicated that a new arrangement was to begin with Jehovah’s faithful worshipers. Jesus here mentioned to them a new covenant and a covenant for the kingdom, and he accordingly set up a new evening meal for celebration on Nisan 14 each year, Mosaic calendar. The apostle Matthew was then present and partook of this model meal, and he tells us what took place: “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; for this means my “blood of the covenant” which is to be poured out in behalf of many for forgiveness of sins. But I tell you, I will by no means drink henceforth any of this product of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in the kingdom of my Father.’ Finally, after singing praises, they went out to the mount of Olives.”—Matt. 26:26-30.

7. To what body did Jesus refer by his words over the loaf of bread?

⁷ When Jesus told those remaining eleven apostles that the loaf was or meant his body, the apostles correctly understood that it meant Jesus’ own personal body of flesh and bone. Jesus had never told them that the congregation that he was going to build upon himself as a rock-mass would be his spiritual “body,” over which he would be the heavenly Head. In the four life-accounts of Jesus written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, Jesus is reported using the word “congregation” or “church” only in Matthew 16:18; 18:17; but not saying that it was to be a spiritual body under him as Head. So in his words, “This means my body,” he did not refer to the coming spiritual body which is the Christian congregation under him as its Head. He referred to his own body that he had got through the virgin Jewess Mary and that God had miraculously prepared for him.

8. What was to be done with his human body, and for what purpose?

⁸ What was to be done with this body? According to Luke 22:19, Jesus said: “This means my body which is to be given in your behalf. Keep doing this in remembrance of me.” This meant that his human body was to be given in an unrecallable, unrepeatable sacrifice in their behalf and in behalf of all humankind that should believe on him and accept his sacrifice. In proof, Hebrews 10:10 states: “By the said ‘will’ [of God] we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time.” His human body was acceptable in sacrifice to God because it was perfect, sinless, it being symbolized by the bread loaf with no leaven in it, as leaven was a Bible symbol of sin. (1 Cor. 5:8; Heb. 7:26-28) In his own body Jesus acted as a sin bearer for those of imperfect, sinful mankind who should believe in the value and power of his sacrifice. Peter reminds Christians: “Christ suffered for you, leaving you a model for you to follow his steps closely. He committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth. . . . He himself by imputation bore our sins in his own body upon the stake, in order that we might be done with sins and live to righteousness. And ‘by his stripes you were healed’.”—1 Pet. 2:21-24.

9. What was to be done with Jesus’ blood, and why this?

⁹ This simple meaning of the unleavened loaf is upheld by the meaning that Jesus placed upon the cup of wine, the “product of the vine.” He handed it to them to drink, with these words: “This means my ‘blood of the covenant’ which is to be poured out in behalf of many for forgiveness of sins.” The wine thus was an emblem of his blood. While it was in the blood vessels of his human body it spelled earthly human life to him in its perfection. The Creator of Jesus’ body had said long ago: “The soul of the flesh is in the blood, and I myself have put it upon the altar for you to make atonement for your souls, because it is the blood that makes atonement by the soul in it.” (Lev. 17:11) Jesus’ blood being poured out would mean his death as a man. It was human sins that were here involved, and it was therefore necessary for the blood of a perfect human sacrifice to be splashed upon God’s altar, “for it is not possible for the blood of bulls and of goats to take sins away.” (Heb. 10:4) Jesus knew what he had to do with his blood, for he knew God’s rule: “Unless blood is poured out no forgiveness takes place.”—Heb. 9:22.

(To be continued)

Ancient Corinth—Prosperous and Licentious

THE ancient city of Corinth was famed for its wealth, luxury and licentiousness. In this respect it was not unlike modern Western civilization with its material prosperity and emphasis on sex. Information regarding Corinth helps us better to understand Paul’s letters to the Corinthians as well as to appreciate the timeliness of their counsel.

The first Corinth was a thriving metropolis when there still were kings sitting on the throne of Jehovah in Jerusalem. The city was situated on a narrow stretch of land toward the base of the Acrocorinth, a natural rocky fortress some 1,900 feet high. This narrow stretch of land between two seas connected the peninsula of Peloponnesos with the northern part of Greece and was termed “the bridge of the sea,” or isthmos, from which we get our modern term “isthmus,” meaning a narrow strip of land between two seas.

Corinth was favored with a seaport on each sea, one the terminus of Asiatic sea lanes, the other the terminus of those of Italy. Great quantities of goods were transported across the isthmus from one port to the other. Corinth became the wealthiest city of Greece. It also became “one of the most ancient cradles of art.” Corinthian columns were extremely ornate and widely imitated.

Corinth “possessed all the splendor that wealth and luxury could create.” “Not everyone can afford to sail to Corinth” ran a proverb. With its luxury went immorality, abetted by the worship of the “queen of heaven,” Aphrodite, the goddess of “love” and beauty, causing Corinth also to be known as the most licentious city of ancient Greece. At the sanctuary of this goddess a thousand hieroduli, or priestesses, offered their bodies to strangers in proof of their devotion to Aphrodite. Corinth’s hetaerae, or paramours, were notorious both for their fiendish beauty and the high price they charged for their favors. Corinthiázesthai meant “practicing the pander’s occupation.” Male and female libertines were known as “Corinthiasts” and “Corinthian girls.”

In 146 B.C., Roman General Mommius destroyed Corinth, plundering many of its art treasures for commercial reasons. A century later, in 46 B.C., Julius Caesar rebuilt the city and peopled it with Romans and Greeks. While “between the new Corinth and the old the site was the only bond of connection, yet the historical splendors of the place seem to have mastered the minds of the new inhabitants, who before long began to resume all the local cults, and to claim [its] past glory their own.” (Encyclopedia Britannica) Again Corinth became famed as a city both prosperous and licentious. It was this Corinth that Paul visited about A.D. 50, staying for eighteen months and establishing a congregation.

After that Corinth was repeatedly taken by the Turks, Franks, Venetians, etc., and was once leveled by an earthquake. Modern Corinth, Korinthos, lies six miles from the ancient city’s site and has a population of some 18,000. Like its two ancient namesakes, it is an important transportation center. In it are to be found two thriving congregations of Jehovah’s witnesses. Incidentally, on the original site lies Ancient Corinth, a town of about 1,000.

The foregoing facts throw light on Paul’s two letters to the congregation at Corinth that he established. They explain why Paul spoke so strongly about right conduct and pure worship, especially in chapters five through seven of his first letter. In fact, Paul mentions fornication oftener in these two letters than in his other twelve. It also explains why he counseled the Corinthians that it was better to marry than to be distracted by passion.

In view of Corinth’s prosperity we can well understand Paul’s censuring the brothers there for their lack of hospitality, why he stressed that each one should give according to what he has and why he reminded them that “he that sows sparingly will also reap sparingly.” While Paul’s counsel regarding generous giving and clean living is ever fitting and timely, it does have peculiar force to all such as may be living in places that, like the ancient Corinths, are prosperous and licentious.—2 Cor. 9:6.

Methodists, Take Note

In connection with our filler item published September 1, 1958, in The Watchtower, p. 528, it has been brought to our attention that John Wesley actually took a liberty in transposing verses 7 and 8 of 1 John chapter 5. Thus Wesley in reality contributed to perpetuating the spurious trinitarian text normally rendered as verse 7. We stand corrected and accordingly withdraw our commendation of Wesley in this matter. Nevertheless, it is good to note that a modern Methodist Bible Commentary repudiates 1 John 5:7 as a “gloss.”

“Some time in the fourth century or toward the end of the third, a Spanish Christian (probably), who wrote in Latin, formed a corresponding sentence: ‘there are three who bear witness in heaven, the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one.’ Perhaps he wrote this on the margin of his copy of 1 John and some later copyist thought it part of the text, but in any case these words were quoted as part of the Latin Bible in Spain at least as early as 380 A.D., on earth being added to v. 8 to balance the insertion. This ‘gloss’ (as such insertions are called) spread, and finally became so universal in Latin-speaking Christianity that it was even translated into Greek and was added to a few Greek MSS. From these it found its way into printed editions, and so into the first English versions. But R.V. and A.S.V. rightly omit all mention of it, as it has no claim to be considered to be John’s words.”—The Abingdon Bible Commentary, 1929, p. 1357, The Abingdon Press, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Questions From Readers

● In Isaiah 66:8 it is written: “Who has heard of a thing like this? Who has seen things like these? Will a land be brought forth with labor pains in one day? Or will a nation be born at one stroke? For Zion has come into labor pains as well as given birth to her sons.” What is the difference between the “land” and the “nation,” and how is this related to the foundation of the “new earth” in 1919?

Foundations are laid for what is to be built upon them, for something new in the way of a superstructure. In Isaiah 51:16 God tells what he will do regarding new heavens that are to be planted and a new earth that is to be founded. He says to his people: “I shall put my words in your mouth, and with the shadow of my hand I shall certainly cover you, in order to plant the heavens and lay the foundation of the earth and say to Zion: ‘You are my people.’” Those words to Zion show that God recognizes a people at a certain time, that he brings to birth a nation, a people under a government. Zion, when on earth, used to be the mountain where the “throne of Jehovah” was, on which the king of Jehovah’s nation sat.

In the year 1914 Jehovah God brought forth the heavenly government of his anointed Son, Jesus Christ, the Kingdom Heir. However, during World War I, which began in that year, Jehovah’s anointed witnesses on earth came into Babylonish captivity to the nations at war, through fear and misunderstanding. Their organization was invaded and quite broken up. They did not function as a nation with an independent government, in this case the established kingdom of God in the heavens. They became like the Jews in the land of Babylon during the seventy years when their capital city Zion or Jerusalem and its temple lay desolate and they had no reigning king.

In 1919, shortly after the close of World War I, Jehovah mercifully began to regather his scattered, disorganized people from all quarters of the earth and to increase their number. He got his anointed remnant into a well-organized arrangement and set them to functioning again. He deepened their appreciation of the fact that the Kingdom had been set up and put in operation in the heavens. Since there was still a remnant of Kingdom heirs on earth, not all those who were to be joint heirs with Jesus Christ in it were with him in the heavens, reigning with him as new heavenly powers over the earth, amidst Christ’s enemies. However, by bringing the Kingdom to birth through enthroning and crowning his Son Jesus Christ, Jehovah God planted the symbolic heavens of the promised new order.

Into the mouths of his delivered, liberated people on earth Jehovah put his words concerning the planting of the new heavens. Hence his people took up the preaching of the good news of the established heavenly government to which they owe supreme allegiance, God’s kingdom. By such dealings with his people at that time, Jehovah caused a nation, the remnant of his spiritual Israel, to be “born at one stroke.” To this spiritual nation a “great crowd” of sheeplike persons have come and united themselves.

Now, what is the difference between this recently born “nation” and the “land” that is “brought forth with labor pains in one day”? For a nation to exist it has to have a land of its own. For example, as long as the ancient Israelites were exiles on foreign soil, in the land of Babylon, they were not a nation having a recognized standing among the nations of the earth. As regards their homeland, the territory of Judah and Jerusalem, was it a land? No! It lay desolate without man and domestic beast. Passers-by shunned it in fear because of all the plagues that had come upon it from Jehovah. It had no capital; it had no cities teeming with people. These were all ruins haunted by creatures of desolateness. It was a wilderness, with jungle growths. But when the released remnant of faithful Jews reached this desolate place in the summer of 537 B.C. and re-established themselves on the locations of their former cities, cultivated the ground and rebuilt Jehovah’s altar on Mount Moriah, ah, then a land was brought forth, being occupied by a newborn nation, “in one day,” or in a short period of time, with a suddenness that surprised the enemies. That reconstruction of their land pictured how a “new order” land would be brought forth in 1919 (A.D.).

This land of the restored remnant of spiritual Israel is the earthly position they occupy on earth, in a renewed and approved standing before Jehovah as his witnesses. Said The Watch Tower as of October 15, 1919: “The Gentile times have ended. The old world is gone and is in process of disintegration. It can never return, and no one who has any conception of the grandeur which Christ’s incoming kingdom will bring to mankind and to his dwelling place, earth, can have any desire to see the old order reinstated as it was.” (Page 308, column 2) In September the first Cedar Point (Ohio) general convention was held, and with respect to it The Watch Tower as of December 15, 1919, said: “When the attendance was at high tide there were fully 7,000 persons present. Never had such a convention been witnessed by any in present truth; never such a harmonious spirit and keen desire to be a blessing one to another. . . . Indeed, it was good to be there, suggesting to one that such fellowship is a foretaste of the homecoming of the Lord’s people, for which they are longing and waiting.”

At that convention the publication of a new magazine The Golden Age was announced, to great applause, subscriptions were at once taken for it and it came forth in October of that year. The revived Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society sent out eighty-six traveling speakers (or “pilgrims”) during the year. These regular traveling representatives visited the congregations; they visited 6,330 towns and cities, traveling a total of 506,860 miles. They addressed 687 public meetings, the total attendance at which was 107,893. They also held 10,398 class or parlor meetings, with a total attendance of 479,311. (Page 373) At the world-wide celebration of the Lord’s evening meal on April 13, 1919, more than 17,961 celebrated.

As a further symbol that the remnant of Jehovah’s witnesses had been restored and reinstated in the “land” of spiritual Israel, as witnesses of God’s established kingdom, the Bethel home was restored at 124 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, New York, and it was refurnished and the offices were moved into it. There the international headquarters of Jehovah’s witnesses have continued to this glorious day in 1959. The present group of factory buildings is but the successor of the Society’s first factory, a small one, established at 35 Myrtle Avenue, Brooklyn, in 1920. Today all the world knows that a spiritual nation has been born and is flourishing in its God-given land so quickly brought forth in this day of Jehovah.

That reinstatement of the anointed remnant was the laying of the foundation of a new earth, as foretold in Isaiah 51:16. It is under Jehovah’s Right Shepherd-King, Jesus Christ. Markedly since 1931 he has gathered his “other sheep” to it, to make them “one flock” with the anointed remnant of Kingdom heirs under the “one Shepherd.” In this way the restoration of the anointed remnant to their God-given symbolic “land” on earth furnished the foundation for these hundreds of thousands of “other sheep” to be built on.

In this symbolic “land” of the spiritual Israelites these “other sheep” are as alien residents now. Already they outnumber the remnant of spiritual Israelites more than fifty times to one. This symbolic “land,” this earthly fold of the Right Shepherd-King, will not be desolated by the battle of Armageddon. It will continue on like a firm foundation into the coming order of the “new heavens and a new earth.” When the last of the surviving spiritual remnant has finished his earthly course and is taken into the heavenly government, then the symbolic “land” that was founded in 1919 will be completely occupied by these “alien residents,” the other sheep.

From this we can see the relationship between the birth of the restored nation of Zion’s sons, spiritual Israel, in 1919, and the laying of the “foundation of the earth,” a new earth, for the eternal occupancy of the ransomed and perfected “other sheep.”

Announcements

FIELD MINISTRY

During June Jehovah’s witnesses will continue to offer the new 256-page Bible-study aid From Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained and an informative Scriptural booklet, on a contribution of 75c. Return calls will be made on all interested persons with a view to starting home Bible studies.

1959 DISTRICT ASSEMBLIES

“When God Speaks Peace to All Nations” is the public talk that will be featured at all the Awake Ministers District Assemblies this summer. In view of threatening world conditions you will want to hear this revealing and thought-provoking subject as well as all the rest of the stimulating and educational Bible program arranged. Plan to attend. For details write to WATCHTOWER CONVENTION at the address of this magazine’s publishers.

“WATCHTOWER” STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

July 26: Shepherding the Sheep with Skillfulness, ¶1-15. Page 361.

August 2: Shepherding the Sheep with Skillfulness, ¶16-21, and Meeting Today’s Needs of the Sheep, ¶1-7. Page 365.

August 9: Meeting Today’s Needs of the Sheep, ¶8-23. Page 370.