Jesus Said 'Do Not Go From House to House'
The Bible commands Christians to preach 'from house to house.' Acts 5:42
and Acts 20:20 prove that the apostles went door to door, just as Jehovah's
Witnesses do today. This is a distinguishing mark of true Christianity.
Start with in the NWT — it creates immediate cognitive dissonance because Jesus explicitly tells his disciples 'Do not keep transferring from house to house.' This is the very passage that describes the preaching commission JWs cite. Then show the Greek distinction: Luke uses ἐξ οἰκίας εἰς οἰκίαν (out of house into house) in to describe sequential house-hopping, which Jesus prohibits. But in and , Luke uses a completely different construction — κατ' οἶκον (in each house) — describing the location of teaching, not a canvassing method. If Luke meant door-to-door in Acts, he would have reused his phrase. Then expose the NWT's inconsistency: the identical Greek κατ' οἶκον is rendered 'from house to house' at but 'in different homes' at . Why the difference? Because describes eating together, where 'in homes' is obviously correct — but is about preaching, and the Watchtower needs it to say 'from house to house.' Finally, note that Paul's actual method was public — synagogues (, 18:4, 19:8), marketplaces (), and lecture halls () — not cold-calling strangers.
Jesus explicitly prohibited house-to-house movement in — even in the NWT. The Greek of (κατ' οἶκον) describes where teaching happened (in homes / house churches), not a door-knocking method. The NWT itself proves this by translating the same Greek as 'in different homes' at .
The Greek κατά can mean 'from house to house' — it has a range of meanings.
True, κατά has a range of meanings, but three facts settle this: (1) the most literal translations (KJV, YLT, Literal Standard Version) render κατ' οἶκον as 'in every house' — locational, not directional; (2) the NWT itself translates the identical κατ' οἶκον as 'in different homes' at , revealing that even your translators know it means 'in homes'; and (3) Luke used a completely different Greek phrase (ἐξ οἰκίας εἰς οἰκίαν) when he actually described house-to-house movement in — where Jesus prohibits it.
Paul said he taught 'publicly AND from house to house' — those are two separate methods.
Two venues, not two methods. 'Publicly' means the temple and synagogues; 'κατ' οἴκους' means in private homes — the house churches. And notice who Paul was speaking to in : the Ephesian elders — existing Christians. He was describing where he taught believers, not how he evangelised strangers.
Jesus sent his disciples out two by two — just like we do.
Yes, and what did Jesus tell them to do? 'Find out who is worthy and stay at his house until you move on' (). Then in he explicitly says 'Do not keep transferring from house to house.' Jesus told them to find one receptive household and stay there — the exact opposite of moving from door to door through a neighbourhood.
We're just following the Great Commission to 'go and make disciples.'
says 'make disciples of all nations' — it says nothing about a specific method. The apostles used synagogues, marketplaces, lecture halls, riverside gatherings, and home fellowships. Jesus himself said 'I always taught in a synagogue and in the temple' (). Door-to-door wasn't a first-century method — it's a 20th-century organisational requirement from the Governing Body.
Don't get into an extended Greek grammar lesson at the door. Lead with Luke 10:7 in their own NWT — the plain reading is devastating enough. Use the Greek and Acts 2:46 inconsistency only if they push back.
Read and so you can describe what Jesus actually told the disciples to do: find one receptive household and stay there. Open the NWT and confirm that reads 'Do not keep transferring from house to house', then compare its renderings of ('from house to house') and ('in different homes'). Read to see that Paul was addressing the Ephesian elders. Practise the doorstep question aloud kindly, remembering your visitor is doing what they believe is right. Hold the Greek back unless they press the range of meaning in κατά.