Is Jesus My Mediator Or Not?

by Englishman 4 Replies latest jw friends

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  Englishman

  Since I left the JW's in '72, I was somewhat taken aback to learn that witnesses now teach that Jesus is only the mediator for the 144,000.

  Is this right? Also, when I was a JW, we were taught to always conclude our prayers by asking them in Jesus' name, or they would not be answered, is this still the belief?

  Just to clarify, we were taught that by praying in this manner, we were actually asking Jesus to intercede with Jehovah on our behalf, so surely he would then be a mediator to anyone praying in his name, not just the 144,000, has this changed too?

  Some insight would be gratefully received.

  Englishman.
• 

  TheApostleAK

  Since I left the JW's in '72, I was somewhat taken aback to learn that witnesses now teach that Jesus is only the mediator for the 144,000.

  True! Unfortunately.

  Also, when I was a JW, we were taught to always conclude our prayers by asking them in Jesus' name, or they would not be answered, is this still the belief?

  True! Actually i've heard prayers where it was said after the first line. I was taught it should go at the end.

  Just to clarify, we were taught that by praying in this manner, we were actually asking Jesus to intercede with Jehovah on our behalf, so surely he would then be a mediator to anyone praying in his name, not just the 144,000, has this changed too?

  The current teaching at the moment is that the mediator part and High priest part are separate.

  This is a gray area with JW and answers differ.
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  Amazing

  Hi Englishman: I recall that some years after the Society made it clear that Jesus only mediates for the 144,000, they came up with a plan. The Watchtower sometime in or about the late 1980s, came up with more than one covenant. Jesus mediates the New Covenant for just the Anointed 144,000 making them Co-Kings and Priests, and allowing them to become adpoted as sons of God. BUT ...

  They went into a long dissertation about the Abrahamic Covenant whereby the Great Crowd of Other Sheep are in a general covenant relationship through Christ, and are made Friends of God with a view to being children of God. When, at the end of the 1,000 years, they are brought to perfection and pass the Final test from the Devil, they will be Declared Righteous as are the Anointed 144,000 are today, and become fully adopted children of God.

  They will never be under the NEW Covenant with its special provisions for the 144,000, but they will directly benefit from it, and as a result are in some sense also under mediatorship of Jesus Christ by virtue of being in the Abrhamic Covenant.

  Go figure. Their rationalizations are very stretched at times just to cover their backsides. It has been a while since I studied this as a JW, so someone out there will have to check some old bound volumes from the 1980s and maybe into the 1990s to find this, and make any corrections needed. It is such a convoluted point that I think few JWs ever really understood it. BUT ... I was one of the Anointed, so I did not care as much since I would have an early exist and not have to work for 1,000 years to prove my righteousness. Sad view, but true. - Amazing
• 

  ozziepost

  G'day English friend,

  Since I left the JW's in '72, I was somewhat taken aback to learn that witnesses now teach that Jesus is only the mediator for the 144,000.

  This is a teaching, of which many JWs seem unaware. I can recall the look of disbelief when I brought this to the attention of Mrs Ozzie. "But I've always believed that Jesus was my Mediator!", she exclaimed. Yet it was in a Watchtower study article "Benefiting from "One Mediator Between God and Men"" (w79 11/15, page 24)

  So Jesus Christ in heaven is the Mediator between God and the spiritual Israelites, while these are still in the flesh as men and women.(paragraph 12)

  Later in the same study article the question on paragraph 25 reads:

  To keep in relationship with Jehovah God, the “great crowd” must remain united with whom, and why so?

  To which the paragraph answers

  To keep in relationship with “our Savior, God,” the “great crowd” needs to remain united with the remnant of spiritual Israelites

  This teaching was also discussed as a specific question in a Questions From Readers.(w79 4/1 page 31)

  Is Jesus the “mediator” only for anointed Christians?

  The term “mediator” occurs just six times in the Christian Greek Scriptures and Scripturally is always used regarding a formal covenant.

  Moses was the “mediator” of the Law covenant made between God and the nation of Israel. (Gal. 3:19, 20) Christ, though, is the “mediator of a new covenant” between Jehovah and spiritual Israel, the “Israel of God” that will serve as kings and priests in heaven with Jesus. (Heb. 8:6; 9:15; 12:24; Gal. 6:16) At a time when God was selecting those to be taken into that new covenant, the apostle Paul wrote that Christ was the “one mediator between God and men.” (1 Tim. 2:5) Reasonably Paul was here using the word “mediator” in the same way he did the other five times, which occurred before the writing of 1 Timothy 2:5, referring to those then being taken into the new covenant for which Christ is “mediator.” So in this strict Biblical sense Jesus is the “mediator” only for anointed Christians.

  The new covenant will terminate with the glorification of the remnant who are today in that covenant mediated by Christ. The “great crowd” of “other sheep” that is forming today is not in that new covenant. However, by their associating with the “little flock” of those yet in that covenant they come under benefits that flow from that new covenant. During the millennium Jesus Christ will be their king, high priest and judge.

  This same topic was raised by Younger Tom in his introductory post on April 7th when he asked

  My question to you is. Is Jesus the Mediator for everybody or just the annointed?

  I dare not ask this question at the Kingdom Hall but a recent interested person at the door asked the question.

  Some responded with a number of references to past issues of the Watchtower magazine.

  As you point out many are unaware of this. I can recall in recent times that a brother offering the prayer at the Service Meeting prayed "through our Mediator Jesus Christ". After the meeting he, too, was surprised to hear from me that as a member of the 'great crowd' Jesus is not his mediator.

  Witnesses 'lurking' on this thread may also be surprised by this, and should read the references given in this and previous posts to verify that, indeed, the Watchtower teaches that, not Jesus, but the F&DS is their Mediator.

  It's appropriate that this post should conclude with the Bible's words on the matter of the Mediator.

  Jesus said to him: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me - John 14:6

  Cheers
  Ozzie

  Freedom is not having to wear a tie.
• 

  Englishman

  Amazing and Ozzie,

  Many thanks for your kind assistance re whether Jesus is our mediator.

  It's quite a blow for any Xtian to have to accept a teaching like that, I guess it just enslaves people to the WT as part of its policy of making Jehovah's "Earthly Organisation" - try finding that term in the Bible, Hah! - indispensible to its accolytes.

  Englishman.