If Jesus is God, why didn't he teach..

[Elijah John]

If Jesus is God, why didn't he teach anyone to pray to Jesus? If he had, do you think his apostles would have been able to take him seriously?

If the notion of praying to Jesus was ridiculous in his own day, then isn't the notion that Jesus is God also ridiculous?

[ttruscott]

If Jesus is God, why didn't he teach anyone to pray to Jesus? If he had, do you think his apostles would have been able to take him seriously?

If the notion of praying to Jesus was ridiculous in his own day, then isn't the notion that Jesus is God also ridiculous?

Jn 14:13 And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.…

What is your proof this was not about prayer if He was absent or after He died? Are you privy that He told them it was NOT about prayer? In a praying culture, would not extrapolating this to prayer not be obvious? The notion might be ridiculous to you; we have no way of knowing it was ridiculous to them.

Is there any evidence anyone took Him up on this promise while He was alive? If not, it is just as likely that they accepted HE was talking about answering prayer after life.

[Jack]

[Replying to marco]

All of God the Fathers power comes from God, so if God the Sons power also comes from God the Father this doesn't prove Jesus isn't God. He was born of God the Father and of the Virgin Mary making Him true God and true man. The Bible testifies to that plainly.

A butler would be a hired hand , the Bible makes perfectly clear that Jesus isn't a hired hand but Gods actual son. Jesus Christ is true God and true Man.

[Elijah John]

If Jesus is God, why didn't he teach anyone to pray to Jesus? If he had, do you think his apostles would have been able to take him seriously?

If the notion of praying to Jesus was ridiculous in his own day, then isn't the notion that Jesus is God also ridiculous?

Jn 14:13 And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.…

What is your proof this was not about prayer if He was absent or after He died? Are you privy that He told them it was NOT about prayer? In a praying culture, would not extrapolating this to prayer not be obvious? The notion might be ridiculous to you; we have no way of knowing it was ridiculous to them.

Is there any evidence anyone took Him up on this promise while He was alive? If not, it is just as likely that they accepted HE was talking about answering prayer after life.

No, that is a good answer. But only in John, I would expect John to put that kind of statement on the lips of Jesus. Where, in the Synoptics does Jesus ever teach this, the "I will do it" in response to prayer?

Which is the real Jesus, that of the Synotics, or that of John?

And I would ask JWs who deny that Paul and John (in effect) call Jesus "God", how do you account for statements like this? If Jesus is not God, why does Jesus (in John) invite people to pray to him?

My solution is that I am quite skeptical of the Gospel of John, but how do you reconcile it?

[2timothy316]

If Jesus is God, why didn't he teach anyone to pray to Jesus? If he had, do you think his apostles would have been able to take him seriously?

If the notion of praying to Jesus was ridiculous in his own day, then isn't the notion that Jesus is God also ridiculous?

Jn 14:13 And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.…

What is your proof this was not about prayer if He was absent or after He died? Are you privy that He told them it was NOT about prayer? In a praying culture, would not extrapolating this to prayer not be obvious? The notion might be ridiculous to you; we have no way of knowing it was ridiculous to them.

Is there any evidence anyone took Him up on this promise while He was alive? If not, it is just as likely that they accepted HE was talking about answering prayer after life.

No, that is a good answer. But only in John, I would expect John to put that kind of statement on the lips of Jesus. Where, in the Synoptics does Jesus ever teach this, the "I will do it" in response to prayer?

Which is the real Jesus, that of the Synotics, or that of John?

And I would ask JWs who deny that Paul and John (in effect) call Jesus "God", how do you account for statements like this? If Jesus is not God, why does Jesus (in John) invite people to pray to him?

My solution is that I am quite skeptical of the Gospel of John, but how do you reconcile it?

It's not John I'm skeptical about. It's the translation of 'ask me'.

In the NWT John 14:14 is translated, "If you ask anything in my name, I will do it." So the word 'me' is not added. Even in the KJV it is rendered, "If ye shall ask any thing in my name." Again the 'me' is left out. The ASV leaves out "me" as well.

John 15:16 says in the NWT, "no matter what you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you." The KJV says the same, "that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you."

Is it clearer when we put these two scriptures side by side. John is not putting words in Jesus' mouth nor is there any indication that John thinks that people should be praying to Jesus. John 15:16 and 16:23 confirms that no one should be asking Jesus directly for anything. It appears to be either a copy error or a flat out bias in translation of John 14:14 so as to add some sort of support for the false trinity doctrine. Either way, the Bible's support that prayer should only be directed to Jehovah, Jesus' Father. Even made clear by the same writer who had no intentions of ever teaching a trinity doctrine.

If we look at the context of 14:14 Jesus' Father is the active one being spoken about in the way of a glorious connection. Thus the extra word 'me' would detach what was just said about 'the Father maybe glorified in connection with the Son.' To say, 'If you ask me' and 'I'll do it' leaves out his Father completely, that is not a connection. Yet asking the Father and the Son doing the request IS a glorified connection.

[ttruscott]

Which is the real Jesus, that of the Synotics, or that of John?
...
My solution is that I am quite skeptical of the Gospel of John, but how do you reconcile it?

Both the synoptics and John speak of the 'real' Jesus from different points of view. Both are correct and reconciliation is only requested by skeptics.

[Elijah John]

Which is the real Jesus, that of the Synotics, or that of John?
...
My solution is that I am quite skeptical of the Gospel of John, but how do you reconcile it?

Both the synoptics and John speak of the 'real' Jesus from different points of view. Both are correct and reconciliation is only requested by skeptics.

So advocates of Bibical infallibility see no discrepencies between the GoJ and the Synoptics? How do you account for such differences as:

-as just mentioned, Jesus teaches only prayer to the Father in the Synptics, but to himself in the GoJ.

-He teaches to pray "in Jesus name" only in the GoJ.

-He says that he is the "way the truth and the life, and that no one comes to the Father but by me" only in the GoJ.

-In the GoJ, Jesus claims shared glory with the Father, grasping, not so in the Synptics, where he directs all glory to the Father.

As well as other examples. Was John simply more enlightened than the others? Or was he more of a theologian who took poetic license in putting words on Jesus lips.

If not the latter, how did Matthew, Mark and Luke's source miss those statements? Were they asleep when Jesus said them?

[Jack]

[Replying to Elijah John]

I randomly opened the Bible and found examples of prayer in the form of asking Jesus for something. Matthew 8:2 "and then a leper approached, did him homage and said if you wish you can make me clean. He stretched out his hand touched him and said, "I will do it. Be made clean.

Matthew 8:25 They came and woke him and said Lord save us! We are perishing!

[Elijah John]

[Replying to Elijah John]

I randomly opened the Bible and found examples of prayer in the form of asking Jesus for something. Matthew 8:2 "and then a leper approached, did him homage and said if you wish you can make me clean. He stretched out his hand touched him and said, "I will do it. Be made clean.

Matthew 8:25 They came and woke him and said Lord save us! We are perishing!

Those are not prayers, they are requests from human beings, to another living human being, (Jesus) annointed as he may have been.

[Jack]

[Replying to Elijah John]


Matthew 28:9 and behold Jesus met them and said, hail and they came up to him took hold of his feet and worshipped him.

Worship is reserved only to God. The women would have been rebuked if in truth Jesus wasn't God.

In the synoptic gospels they pray to Jesus directly because God is among them. Like the Saints in Heaven do.

[2timothy316]

[Replying to Elijah John]


Matthew 28:9 and behold Jesus met them and said, hail and they came up to him took hold of his feet and worshipped him.

Worship is reserved only to God. The women would have been rebuked if in truth Jesus wasn't God.

In the synoptic gospels they pray to Jesus directly because God is among them. Like the Saints in Heaven do.

The Greek word prosekynēsan is mistranslated in the majority of trinity biased Bibles. There are some that translated it correctly though.

Matthew 28:9
Darby Bible Translation
And as they went to bring his disciples word, behold also, Jesus met them, saying, Hail! And they coming up took him by the feet, and did him homage.

Matthew 28:9
Douay-Rheims Bible
And behold Jesus met them, saying: All hail. But they came up and took hold of his feet, and adored him.

Matthew 28:9
New World Translation
And look! Jesus met them and said: “Good day!� They approached and took hold of his feet and did obeisance to him.

prosekynēsan - 4352 (proskyne�) has been (metaphorically) described as "the kissing-ground" between believers (the Bride) and Christ (the heavenly Bridegroom). While this is true, 4352 (proskyné�) suggests the willingness to make all necessary physical gestures of obeisance.]

Thus the Greek word prosekynēsan is not limited to only the translation of 'worship' as prosekynēsan is physical gesture at it's root. Like how those in Asian countries bow in respect or how a servant bows when they leave or enter a room. This is not worship but a paying of respect. This means that in Matthew 28:9 the people that met Jesus didn't do an act of worship but bowed low before him, apparently all the way to his feet, in respect.