Did Jesus ever command (or even request) His followers to worship Him?
By ParaTed2k
@ParaTed2k (22940)
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
October 11, 2008 1:00am CST
Reading the Four Gospels in the New Testament, I notice that every time Jesus spoke of who should be honored in the Gospel he always deferred all honors to His Father.
Can anyone find a scripture where Jesus instructs His followers (and by extension all Christians) to worship Him?
We pray to The Father, in the name of Jesus Christ. We are saved by the atonement of Jesus Christ, but if we are to follow Christ's example, shouldn't we also defer all honors and worship to The Father?
After all, if we are to have no gods before The Father, wouldn't it be sacrilege to use Jesus' name and atonement to break that commandment? Especially if Jesus never did, nor did He instruct us to?
3 people like this
7 responses
@Adoniah (7513)
• United States
11 Oct 08
I believe that if you read Deuteronomy you will find that G'd said, He is G'd and only He is G'd and there are no gods before Him. All other gods are pagan gods. Now I know that a lot of christians want to disallow the Torah as obsolete, that is until it is time to twist it around and misquote it to prove that the christ figure is a god. But you cannot have it both ways. G'd said He is the only G'd and NO ONE is BEFORE HIM!!!! Get a grip.
Shalom~Adoniah
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
14 Oct 08
Right, so isn't it pretty much blasphemy to put God's son before God Himself?
@emarie (5442)
• United States
11 Oct 08
its true that Jesus wouldn't take credit for worship and i would assume he thought of himself more as a messenger. its the followers who claimed him as a savior for he was like a physical manifestation of God i would guess, but again its an assumption because i don't know what people back then though. he just wanted to spread of the word of God, which is why he was there more to lead, not to be worshiped. again, its us as humans who do place that label on them.
1 person likes this
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
11 Oct 08
Well, the question isn't about Jesus' deity, He was and is that. But I can't find anywhere in the New Testament where He says that we should worship Him, or place Him before The Father in any way.
That doesn't mean we shouldn't love and respect Him, or fail to be eternally grateful for his Atonement. But those don't translate to worship. We aren't even supposed to pray to Him, but to the Father in the Name of Jesus Christ.
1 person likes this
@visitorinvasion (7709)
• United States
12 Oct 08
As far as my 4 years of Christian Academy take me, I don't recall a single scripture where Jesus told His followers to worship Him. I do believe He said "Believe in me and ye shall not perish but have everlasting life."
Come to think of it, I don't recall any scriptures that instruct people to go forth and build great buildings to gather in His name and judge everyone who doesn't believe their ways either, but it's been going on for hundreds of years.
What I always got out of Jesus' message was to believe in Him, worship God, and love your fellow man regardless of his/her shortcomings. It doesn't mean that I claim to be 100% of all that, but that is what I got out of His teachings.
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@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
14 Oct 08
Exactly. Jesus is our Lord and Savior, but worship belongs to God the Father alone.
1 person likes this
@ClarusVisum (2163)
• United States
11 Oct 08
Well, he did tell people to follow him a whole lot in the Bible. Didn't he also tell people that they need to love him more than their own families to be worthy of him? Sounds like a call for worship to me.
Matthew 10:35-37
Luke 14:26
1 person likes this
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
14 Oct 08
I think worship goes beyond love. Yes, we should love and honor Christ, but worship is something that only The Father is worthy of, and Christ is the example of that.
@edgyk8inmomma (2157)
• United States
11 Oct 08
Jesus was the ransom for man's sins. He never told people to worship him. Instead, he always told his followers to direct their attention to the Father. The reason behind using His name in prayer, is his statement, that none can go to the father except through him. Does this mean only prayers spoke in his name make it to the father? No, it means that no one can enter the kingdom except through accepting his sacrifice. Before he came and went, Jews offered sacrifices to God to pay for their sins, Jesus called himself the lamb, that was sent by the father so no one would have to sacrifice anymore. Jesus taught us to pray to the father, not himself. Jesus taught us to worship the father, not him. Jesus taught us to live our lives to glorify the father, not him. Jesus referred to himself as a lamb for slaughter, as the servant to his father's children, as the word of his father. No where did he ever accept, let alone teach, people's worship.
1 person likes this
@awapak (1275)
• Pakistan
12 Oct 08
In fact,one God Almighty had sent all prophets to this world to preach monotheism,therefore there is no Prophet including Jesus who asked people to worship him.This would have been clear polytheism which is the only unforgivable and most heinous sin as per the last divine Book,the Holy Quran.Worshipping is only meant for one God Almighty and not for any other creatures including Prophets,priests,monks and idols.
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
14 Oct 08
I have read The Holy Qur'an and could believe it to be the word of God except for the fact that it says Christ is not the savior, which means it can't be the word of God, in fact, it can only be evil.