Questions From Readers

● Is it to be taken as literally true that the clothing of the Israelites did not wear out during the forty years in the wilderness, or is it merely a way of saying that the clothing supply did not give out?—R. H., United States.

Deuteronomy 8:3, 4 (NW) shows that Jehovah continued “to feed you with the manna, which neither you had known nor your fathers had known, in order to make you know that not by bread alone does man live but by every expression of Jehovah’s mouth does man live. Your clothing did not wear out upon you, nor did your foot become swollen these forty years.” The provision of manna was a continuing miracle, and so was the provision of clothing that did not wear out. That is where the miracle comes in. If the supplies were merely renewed no miracle would be seen in that. It is literal relative to the clothing not wearing out, just as the account is literal about the feet not swelling during the forty years in the wilderness. No practical difficulty would be involved in using the same clothing for forty years, because as youngsters grew out of their clothes they would grow into larger sizes available, and their clothing would be handed down to younger children. Adults died, leaving their wardrobes behind. It is noted that the numbers of the Israelites were about the same at the end of the wilderness journeyings as at the beginning, so the original clothing supplies would be about right throughout the forty years’ sojourn.

● Was Judas present when Christ instituted the memorial celebration or not?—W. E., United States.

By comparing Matthew 26:20-25 with John 13:21-30 we learn that Judas was not present when Christ instituted the Lord’s evening meal. One Gospel account tells some details that the other one does not tell, but by harmonizing the two the complete picture can be obtained. Matthew tells us how a questioning arose as to who would betray Jesus. John tells us that before that subject was dropped the betrayer was identified by being given the morsel that Jesus had dipped, and immediately Judas went out into the night. Matthew goes on to describe how Jesus then served the remaining eleven apostles the emblems of the memorial, while John, who wrote his account after Matthew did his, does not repeat the procedure of the evening meal but instead gives some of the extended remarks Jesus made on that occasion, as recorded in chapter 13. Jesus’ discoursing and praying with his disciples, however, as recorded at John chapters 14 to 17, were not part of the Lord’s evening meal, but came after it.

Thus do these two apostles and eyewitnesses of the described events agree as to the time element, for John’s account in no way contradicts Matthew’s as to the time of departure of Judas. The account of Luke (22:14-23) is not to be taken as contradicting this time order either. Luke was not an eyewitness of the events. He tells of the same events, but he does not necessarily do so in the exact chronological order, as do the two who actually witnessed the occasion. Additionally, Luke 22:28-30 could not have included Judas, so he must have left prior to its being stated. See The Watchtower, January 15, 1951, pages 46 and 61.

Five-Dollar “Soul”

A church in Clarksville, Tennessee, recently held a revival with a visiting evangelist from Texas officiating. Each person attending was given a small part of a shoe sole as he entered. As the services began, the worshipers were informed that the shoe sole represented their soul and that if they valued their soul they were just to wrap their part of the shoe sole in a $5 bill and place it in the collection plate—another evidence that the false shepherds are busy fleecing the sheep today instead of feeding them.