“Whom shall we go away from?” — The question that changes everything

The journey you’ve made

1.If you’ve come this far, you’ve done something extraordinary. You took your Bible — the New World Translation — and verified. You didn’t listen to rumors. You didn’t read “apostate material.” You opened the Scriptures and compared. You did exactly what the Beroeans did, who “carefully examined the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so” — and for this they were called “more noble-minded” (Acts 17:11).

2.You saw with your own eyes that the same medical procedure can go from “a sin that directly contradicts God’s law” to “personal conscience” — without a single Bible verse having changed. You discovered that Proverbs 4:18 speaks of the path of the righteous and the wicked, not of doctrines that change direction. You read that Matthew 24:45 is a parable within a sequence of parables. You met a different God — the God of the garden, who walked with his children in the breezy part of the day and who after sin does not strike with lightning, but clothes (Genesis 3:8, 21). You discovered what really happens behind the closed door of a judicial committee. And you opened the Bible to 2 Thessalonians 3:15 and read with your own eyes: “Do not consider him an enemy, but continue admonishing him as a brother.”

3.It hasn’t been easy. We know. We know because we’ve been through it.

4.And now you’re here with a question that weighs more than all the others. A question that perhaps wakes you up at night, that goes with you to the meetings, that tightens your chest when you close this site and return to your everyday life. The question is:

And now? Where do I go?

5.This question is not new. It was asked two thousand years ago, in a moment very similar to this one. Many disciples were leaving Jesus. They had heard words too harsh. They were going away. And Jesus turned to the twelve and asked: “You do not want to go also, do you?” (John 6:67).

6.Peter answered with a phrase that changes everything: “Lord, whom shall we go away to? You have sayings of everlasting life” (John 6:68). Notice what Peter said. He didn’t say: “In which organization shall we remain.” He didn’t say: “From which structure shall we go away.” He said: “Whom shall we go away TO.” Peter’s answer does not point to a place. It points to a Person. And that Person is Christ. This question is the key. Because it changes everything.

“From WHOM” — not “from WHERE”

7.When did the question “where do I go?” become more important than the question “to whom do I go?” When did we start looking for an organization instead of looking for a Person?

8.Let’s reread Jesus’ words: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6, NWT). He did not say: “The organization is the way.” He did not say: “The Governing Body is the truth.” He said: “I am.” The way is a Person. The truth is a Person. The life is a Person.

9.Do you know what the early Christians were called? They weren’t called “the organization.” They weren’t called “Jehovah’s Witnesses.” They were called “those of the Way.”We read it several times in the book of Acts: Saul searched for “all those whom he found belonging to The Way, both men and women” (Acts 9:2, NWT; see also Acts 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). The name came directly from Jesus’ declaration: “I am the Way.” The early Christians identified themselves with a Person — not with an institution.

10.And there is another verse to be reread carefully. Paul writes: “There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, a man, Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5, NWT). One mediator. Not two. Not eight. Not a committee. Christ.This means that the relationship with God passes through Christ — directly. No human organization can insert itself into that relationship.

11.Jesus himself reinforced this with a powerful image: “I am the door. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and that one will go in and out and find pasturage” (John 10:9, NWT). The door is Christ. Not a building. Not a card. Not a monthly report. Whoever enters through Christ — through Him, not through anything else — will find pasturage.

12. This is the heart of everything. The Way is not an address. It is a relationship. It is not a place to go. It is a Person to go to.And it is exactly what Peter had understood: “Lord, to WHOM shall we go away?”

“Where two or three are gathered”

13.There is a thought that frightens us: “If I don’t go to the Kingdom Hall, how do I worship God? Where do I gather? You need a worldwide structure, you need thousands of congregations, you need an organized program.”

14.Yet Jesus said something very simple: “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in their midst” (Matthew 18:20, NWT). Two or three. Not eight thousand. Not eight million. Two. The presence of Christ does not depend on the size of an organization. It does not depend on the number of adherents. It does not depend on a world headquarters. It depends on one thing alone: gathering in his name. Two friends who open the Bible in a living room have the same presence of Christ as an assembly of thousands of people.

15.But Jesus went even further. The Samaritan woman asked him where one ought to worship: on this mountain or in Jerusalem? It was the great dispute of the time. And Jesus dismantled it completely: “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. [...] Indeed, the hour is coming, and it is now, when the true worshippers will worship the Father with spirit and truth, for indeed, the Father is looking for ones like these to worship him” (John 4:21-24, NWT).

16.Let’s reflect on this. The woman asks WHERE to worship. Jesus answers: the where doesn’t matter. The mountain doesn’t matter. The temple doesn’t matter. The building doesn’t matter. What matters is HOW you worship — with spirit and truth. Authentic worship has no address. It has a spirit.

17.If Jesus himself demolished the question “where must one worship?”, how can it be taught that there is a single place — a single organization — where worship is acceptable? True worshippers are not recognized by the place where they gather. They are recognized by the spirit and truth with which they worship the Father.

“Whoever is not against us is for us”

18.In the Gospel of Mark we find an episode that deserves all our attention: “John said to him: ‘Teacher, we saw a man expelling demons by using your name, and we tried to prevent him, because he was not following us.’ But Jesus said: ‘Do not try to prevent him, for there is no one who will do a powerful work on the basis of my name and be able quickly to speak injuriously of me. For whoever is not against us is for us.’” (Mark 9:38-40, NWT).

19.Let’s observe the scene. The disciples see someone who works in Jesus’ name but is not part of their group. What do they do? They try to stop him. Why? “Because he was not following us.” They didn’t say “because he was not following you.” They said “because he was not following us.” They had replaced following Christ with following the group. Membership in their group had become, in their minds, the requirement for working in Jesus’ name.

20.And Jesus said no. He rejected the exclusivism of his own disciples. He didn’t say: “You’re right, only you can work in my name.” He said: “Do not try to prevent him.” And he added a huge principle: “Whoever is not against us is for us.” For Jesus, what matters is not whether a person is part of the group, but whether they do good in his name. Let’s stop seeing as “non-brothers” those who are of other religions: if they believe in Christ, they are our brothers (yes, even if they do things we consider wrong based on what we have learned).

21.And there is a detail that makes the scene even more meaningful. Just before, in the same chapter, the disciples had failed to expel a demon from a boy (Mark 9:18, 28). A stranger was succeeding — and they, who had failed, wanted to stop him. Jesus corrected their presumption with a lesson that still applies today.

22.And then there is John 10:16, where Jesus says: “I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; those too I must bring in, and they will listen to my voice, and they will become one flock, one shepherd” (NWT). Christ’s sheep are not all in the same fold.What unites them is not the sign on the door — it is the voice of the shepherd. Not the fold, but the listening. Not the organization, but the relationship.

The Holy Spirit: the true helper

23.Before he went away, Jesus made a promise to his disciples. He didn’t promise an organization. He didn’t promise a committee. He promised a guide: “The helper, the holy spirit, which the Father will send in my name, that one will teach you all things and bring back to your minds all the things I told you” (John 14:26, NWT).

24.And shortly afterward he added: “When that one comes, the spirit of the truth, he will guide you into all the truth” (John 16:13, NWT). Let’s read these words carefully. The holy spirit will teach you ALL things. Not “some things that a group of men will then explain to you.” It will guide you into ALL the truth. Not “the truth filtered through an organization.”

25.The function Jesus attributes to the holy spirit is precisely the one that is sometimes attributed to a group of eight men in Warwick, New York: to teach, to guide, to remind. But Jesus attributed this function to the holy spirit — not to an organization. And that promise applies to EVERY Christian. Not just to some.

26.Paul confirmed it writing: “All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, so that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17, NWT). “Fully competent.” “Completely equipped.” The Scripture — guided by the spirit — is sufficient. No Christian is left without guidance. The holy spirit is the teacher Jesus promised.

27. Where the spirit of Jehovah is, there is freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17). Not dependence. Not fear. Not control. Freedom.

Questions that deserve answers

34.Important questions have emerged in this journey. Questions that deserve a serious, honest, biblical exploration. We don’t claim to have all the answers. But we believe the answers are in the Scriptures — and the next articles will try to find them together with you, always with the Bible in hand.

35. Here are the questions we will examine:

1. Preaching the good news — is it required as we understand it? “Go and make disciples” — but with what method? With what frequency? Is preaching an obligation with a timer or a natural fruit of faith?
2. JW.org is the most translated website in the world — what does it prove? Over 1,000 languages. An impressive work. But is diffusion proof of truth? Is size proof of divine blessing?
3. The meetings — do we have to attend them? Hebrews 10:25 says not to forsake “our gathering together.” But which gathering? Where? With what structure? Do two people in a living room count?
4. “Whoever calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved” — what does the context really say? Romans 10:13 is a fundamental verse. But who is the “Lord” in the context of Romans 10:9-13? And does salvation depend on the use of a name or on exercising faith?
5. “Get out of her, my people” — what does it refer to? Revelation 18:4 commands us to get out of Babylon the Great. But what is Babylon? Just other religions? Or any system that teaches falsehoods and oppresses people?

36.These questions are not easy. But the Scriptures don’t ask us to ignore difficult questions. They ask us to seek — with an open mind, a sincere heart, the Bible in hand.

37.“Keep on asking, and it will be given you; keep on seeking, and you will find; keep on knocking, and it will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7, NWT).

38. In the next articles we will try to find answers to these questions. Together. Always with the Scriptures as the only authority. Apologizing if we make mistakes.

The Father’s hand

39.If you’ve come this far, perhaps you feel like someone who has walked a long time in the dark and starts to glimpse a light. Or you may still feel in the dark — and that’s okay too. You don’t need to have all the answers today. You don’t need to make any decision now. God is not in a hurry. He has never been in a hurry.

40.There is a verse in Isaiah we would like to leave in your heart: “For I, Jehovah your God, am grasping your right hand, the One saying to you, ‘Do not be afraid. I will help you’” (Isaiah 41:13, NWT). Jehovah is grasping your right hand. He has not let you go. He has not abandoned you because you are seeking the truth. He is not angry with you because you asked questions. It is He who gave you the desire to seek. It is He who placed in your heart the love for truth. It is He who is holding your hand — now, in this moment — while you read these words.

41.Do you remember the God of the garden? The one we spoke of a few articles ago? The God who walked with his children in the breezy part of the day (Genesis 3:8). The God who after sin does not strike with lightning, but calls: “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9). He wasn’t asking because he didn’t know where Adam was. He was asking because he wanted Adam to come back to Him. That God is still there. He still walks. And he is calling you with the same voice as always — not with anger, not with condemnation, but with that tenderness that only a Father knows.

42. You don’t have to go anywhere. You have to go to Someone. And that Someone is already here.

43. The Way is not an organization. The Way is a Person.And that Person is waiting for you. He has always waited for you. Before the organization, during the organization, and after the organization. The Father who walked in the garden has never stopped. He has never needed an organization to reach his children. He doesn’t need one now.

44.“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32, NWT).

Freedom is not an emptiness. It is a garden. And the holy spirit. And two or three people gathered in the name of Christ. And the Bible open on the table in the morning. And a prayer without formulas, like that of a child speaking to his Father. And the hand of Jehovah grasping you — now and forever.

One last thought, from brothers to brothers

We know it’s not easy. Stepping outside the mental framework of the organization — even just mentally, even while staying inside — takes time, patience and a particular tenderness toward yourself. For years we’ve been taught that the “world” is a dark, dangerous place, in Satan’s hand. That outside the walls of the congregation there is only fear. And that fear does not go away from one day to the next.

Precisely for this reason we have thought of gathering, in one place, everything that has helped many of us find a balance and a realistic vision of what the Bible calls “the world”: books, references, reflections and practical tools that helped us stop living in fear and rebuild a serene life of faith, with Jehovah at the center. It’s not a recipe. It’s not a list of things to do. It is a collection of resources — the ones that have helped us, and that we hope can help you too.

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear restrains us. Indeed, the one who is fearful has not been made perfect in love.”

The perfect love of Jehovah casts out fear. It does not repress it, does not ignore it: it casts it out. And we pray that Jehovah will free his 9 million children from every fear that does not come from Him — the fear of thinking, the fear of reading, the fear of living the life He himself has given us. If you wish, take a look. Without hurry. With the Bible by your side, as always.