• Questions From Readers
    The Watchtower—1960 | December 15

    • kathoráo. The New World Translation renders this verb kathoráo, as “are clearly seen,” meaning clearly discerned. Obviously the things clearly seen in this instance are things that cannot be seen with the naked eye but only discerned, namely, God’s invisible qualities: “For his invisible qualities are clearly seen from the world’s creation onward, because they are understood by the things made, even his eternal power and Godship, so that they are inexcusable.”

      In conclusion, note a scripture that proves that Jesus’ presence is to be discerned by the world only with the eyes of their understanding. It is found at John 14:19, which in the New World Translation reads: “A little longer and the world will behold me no more, but you will behold me, because I live and you will live.” The disciples, with their literal eyes, did get to behold Jesus on earth after his resurrection, and after being raised from the dead themselves they got to see Jesus literally as spirit creatures. Here it was not a case of their merely discerning him. So if, in their case, beholding meant to see Jesus with one’s literal bodily sight, then when Jesus, in the same connection, says the world will behold him no more, it means they will not see him any more directly with bodily sight, which is all they have, that of the flesh with the naked human eye. So we can see that the use of the Greek verb horáo cannot serve as an argument that at his second presence all men will behold him with their bodily, physical sight, their natural eyes.

      ● On page 129 of the book From Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained, it says that John was alone when Jesus came to him to be baptized. Why is this statement made?—J.B., U.S.A.

      There is no scripture that specifically makes this statement, but all the Scriptural evidence points in that direction. Jehovah God commissioned John the Baptist to introduce Jesus as the Lamb of God. That John would be able to identify the Messiah when he came and so convincingly introduce him to his fellow Jews, Jehovah God told John that whoever it was upon whom he would see the spirit of God descend would be the promised Messiah, the one baptizing with holy spirit.—John 1:29-34.

      It must follow, then, that since this was to be a sign given to John to qualify him to carry out his commission, others would not have witnessed it since they were not so commissioned. In fact, had a large crowd been there and seen and heard what took place—the holy spirit descending in the bodily shape of a dove and resting upon Jesus, and Jehovah’s own voice from heaven proclaiming, “This is my Son, the beloved, whom I have approved”—it would have created such a sensation that it would have been noised abroad at once, and all Galilee and Judea would have known about it. More than that, had such been the case, certainly at least one of the Gospel writers would have recorded the effect this miracle had upon the multitude that witnessed it. Therefore, while there is no specific Scripture text stating in so many words that John and Jesus were by themselves at the time of Jesus’ baptism, such is the logical inference from the Scriptural testimony bearing on the subject.—Matt. 3:16, 17.

      In this regard it is also of interest to note that when Jehovah again chose to bear like testimony about Jesus, Jesus took only three of his preferred apostles along to witness the miracle. This took place in the mount of transfiguration when Jehovah spoke similar words: “This is my Son, the Beloved, whom I have approved; listen to him.”—Matt. 17:1-5.