“Come to me...”—Matt. 11:28

Was that invitation valid only for two or three years? Only for Jews in Palestine? Or was Jesus telling mankind how to be saved?

So, can we accept Jesus’ invitation today? Or must we go to an organization instead?

Even a casual reading of the New Testament reveals that the thief nailed-up to die next to him was not the last person to turn to Christ. Addressing the Colossian Christians, who first heard of Jesus long after He ascended to heaven, the Apostle Paul wrote, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him...” (Colossians 2:6-7 NIV)

It was not in name only that Jesus was “the head of the body, the church.” (Colossians 1:18 NIV) Invisible to outsiders, the direct connection that believers had with Christ was “this mystery, which is Christ in you...” (Colossians 1:27 NIV) Paul’s prayer for each new believer was, “that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fulness of God.” (Ephesians 3:17-19 NIV)

Paul continued to “bend [his] knees to the Father” (Eph. 3:14) as he had done all his life, but now he also “entreated the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 12:8 New World Translation) Stephen still prayed to the Father, but he also prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” (Acts 7:59 NWT) And John likewise prayed, “Amen! Come, Lord Jesus.” (Revelation 22:20 NWT)

Speaking to Jesus in Prayer?

When addressing the risen Christ like that, were they really calling out to Jesus in prayer? Were they setting a pattern for future believers? Not according to the Watchtower Society. It tries to explain away these clear examples of prayer addressed to Jesus. Under the bold heading, “PRAY THROUGH, NOT TO, JESUS CHRIST”, it says:

So, The Watchtower tries to dismiss these Scriptural examples of prayer to Jesus as having no application to Christians today, by pointing out that Stephen, John and Paul saw visions. Since they were looking at a vision of Jesus, it was okay to speak to him. Therefore, the Watchtower argument implies, people today should not speak to the unseen Christ. But, is that really the case? What does the Bible say?

First of all, it should be noted that The Watchtower is taking Stephen’s prayer to Jesus out of context. Stephen had earlier seen a vision of Jesus—not at the time of uttering this prayer. The vision occurred when he was standing before the Sanhedrin council in Jerusalem, where he had just finished testifying. “But Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:55 NIV)

Stephen told the Sanhedrin about the vision, whereupon they shouted objections, covered their ears, and rushed at him. Then they dragged him out of the Sanhedrin hall. And, after that, they dragged him all the way outside the city of Jerusalem. There they proceeded to stone him, and it was at that point that Stephen prayed to Jesus. Although Acts tells the whole story in a few verses, it is obvious that a considerable amount of time and action separated the vision in the Sanhedrin hall from the prayer uttered later outside the city.

Yet, The Watchtower takes Stephen’s prayer out of context and implies that it was spoken while he was looking at Jesus in the earlier vision. Actually, there is no indication in Scripture that the vision was continued or repeated outside the city of Jerusalem when Stephen prayed to Jesus.

Besides taking the verses out of context, the Watchtower Society has also altered the words Stephen spoke. Most translations read essentially like this:

And as they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And he knelt down and cried with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”—Acts 7:59,60 RSV

It is clear that Stephen was speaking to Jesus throughout. But this is how the Watchtower’s New World Translation renders it:

And they went on casting stones at Stephen as he made appeal and said: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then, bending his knees, he cried out with a strong voice: “Jehovah, do not charge this sin against them.”

Although Stephen began both sentences with the Greek word Kurie (Kyrie=Lord), the Society translates it as “Lord” in the first instance but as “Jehovah” in the second. (No doubt they would have inserted “Jehovah” in both places, if Stephen had not unmistakably used the name “Jesus”.) The word for “Jehovah” does not appear in the Greek text, so there is no basis for the Society’s rendering. When read in the Greek or in any unbiased translation, it is clear that Stephen was praying to Jesus throughout.

But, what about Paul? Did the apostle speak to Jesus only while the risen Lord appeared to him miraculously on the road to Damascus, or did Paul continue to pray to Jesus afterward?

Well, what did Paul do when he was troubled by “a thorn in the flesh”? Scripture tells us that he “entreated the Lord” over the matter. Which “Lord”? The Lord who told Paul that “my power is being made perfect in weakness.” Paul then rejoiced that “the power of the Christ may like a tent remain over me.” So, the Lord that Paul prayed to was Christ. (2 Cor. 12:7-9 NW)

Paul classed himself among “all who everywhere are calling upon the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours”. (1 Cor. 1:2 NW) So, it was not as if Stephen and Paul were the only ones among the early Christians who called upon Jesus in prayer.

And no wonder, because Jesus invited people to “Come to me…”. (Matt. 11:28; John 7:37) If that invitation had been open only during the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry, very few out of mankind would have had the opportunity to ‘come to Jesus.’

Just before finishing His earthly ministry, Jesus told the disciples that He was “going to the Father” and said, “I will do whatever you ask in my name… You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” (John 14:12-14 NIV) (“If you make any request of me...”—Weymouth “If you ask Me anything...”—New American Standard Bible “if ever anything YOU should ask me...” Kingdom Interlinear Translation) The Watchtower’s New World Translation here leaves out the word “me”, even though their Kingdom Interlinear shows it in the word-for-word translation of the Greek.

For those who desire a personal relationship with the Son of God, Jesus promised, “whoever really loves me will be loved by my Father; yes, I will love him Myself and will make Myself real [footnote: will appear or show Myself] to him.…and my Father will love him, and both of us will come in face to face fellowship with him…”. (John 14:21, 23 C.B. Williams trans.) Even in the New World Translation the same passage says, “he that loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will plainly show myself to him....and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make our abode with him.”

Come to Jesus! He wants you to come.

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