Joseph Prince’s Use of Half-Truth & Twisted-Truth to Cast a bad light on Jesus’ 12 Disciples & Discipleship – By Rev George Ong (Dated 23 June 2022)
In a weekly Sunday sermon aired on YouTube on 19 June 2022, last Sunday (not a live but pre-recorded sermon), 4 days ago, Joseph Prince said the following;
Please click here to view excerpts in the one-and-a-half-minute video:
“And intimacy is important because the disciples were with Jesus, 3 and a half years, and yet, remember, in the Upper Room, Philip would ask a question, ‘How do we know the Father?’ How do we know? And Jesus would turn to him and say, ‘You have been with me so long, and yet you ask me this question?’
Many a times, He would say that kind of thing. At the end, He would say to them, ‘I have many things to say unto you but you are not yet able.’ (Jn 16:12) Three and a half years!
And sometimes you have glimpses of a certain one here and certain one here; they were intimate with Jesus but they were not with Jesus like the disciples. So you can be a disciple and not be intimate with a heart and the thoughts of the Lord.
For example, the Centurion; he didn’t walk with Jesus the way the 12 walked with Him, day in day out. But he had an intimacy with Jesus. Now the 12, they had familiarity; they were familiar with the Lord but the Centurion had intimacy.
Somehow, the Holy Spirit penetrated into His heart. And he told the Lord, ‘You don’t have to come to my house to heal my servant. I know you; you only have to speak the word and my servant would be healed.’ Jesus was so impressed.
The Lord turned around to the crowd, the Jewish crowd and He says, ‘Truly I have not found so great faith, no not in Israel.’ (Matt 8:10) And the Roman Centurion is not a Jew. He is a Gentile, yet the Holy Spirit revealed to Him about Jesus. So it is more important to be intimate with Jesus.”
In the excerpt of the video, Joseph Prince has again cast a bad light on discipleship by comparing Jesus’ 12 disciples with the Centurion in Matthew 8:5-10.
He asserted that though the 12 had familiarity with Jesus, he strongly implied that they didn’t have intimacy with Christ as the Roman Centurion did.
Though this isn’t a major doctrinal point, it is pertinent for me to highlight this in order to expose Joseph Prince’s use of half-truth and twisted truth (which he resorts to very frequently and is infamous for) to support his grace doctrine and censure discipleship.
1. Joseph Prince’s Use of Half-Truth to Deceive
Yes, Jesus had said negative things about His disciples – the half-truths that Joseph Prince highlighted, but Christ had also said positive things about them – the other half-truths that Joseph Prince has hidden from you.
First, doesn’t the Apostle Peter possess a fair amount of intimacy with both the Lord Jesus and Father God that the Father had chosen to reveal such sublime and glorious truths about the Messiahship of Christ to him in Matthew 16:15-18 that many have still not seen yet as follows:
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
Peter, for all his impulsiveness, has at least a certain insightful and intimate knowledge (revealed by Father God Himself) about the real person and ministry of Christ, that many aren’t privy to.
Second, isn’t the Apostle John whose intimacy with Jesus is well-known and frequently taught by the multitudes of Bible teachers and written by the vast array of Bible commentators throughout the centuries of the Christian Church?
And what has happened to Joseph Prince’s own favourite disciple, John, whom he himself always used to illustrate and support his gospel of grace and love, and most of all, regarding John’s intimate love and his intimate relationship with Jesus?
Has Joseph Prince changed his mind about how John was intimate with Jesus, whom he has so often preached about in his sermons and written in his books?
One moment Joseph Prince says John is a disciple whom Jesus loved and one who is intimate with Jesus in his many sermons.
The next moment, he says the 12 disciples, including John, are only familiar with Christ and strongly implied that they are not intimate with Him.
You see the shameless self-contradiction in Prince’s teachings!
How on earth could people ever trust this fellow unless they themselves have chosen to be blinded and deceived?
2. Joseph Prince’s Use of Twisted-Truth to Mislead
Is the Centurion in Matthew 8:5-10 quoted by Joseph Prince praised by Jesus for being a man of faith or one who is intimate with Him?
5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.” 7 Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?” 8 The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.
After reading the passage, isn’t it crystal clear that Jesus didn’t commend the Centurion for being intimate with Him but for having great faith?
Never in the text of Matthew 8:5-10, nor the only parallel text in Luke 7:1-10, did Jesus ever say that the Centurion was intimate with him.
Yet, Joseph Prince has the audacity to twist God’s word to teach that the Centurion was intimate with Jesus as compared with the 12 disciples who were only familiar with Him.
What is worse is that in the video excerpt, Prince added that the Centurion said “I know you (Jesus)” – implying that the Centurion knew Jesus intimately in order to set this up for his twisted teaching:
“And he (Centurion) told the Lord ‘You don’t have to come to my house to heal my servant. I know you (Jesus); you only have to speak the word and my servant would be healed.’ Jesus was so impressed.”
The words, “I know you (Jesus)” were never reflected in Matthew 8:5-10 nor Luke 7:1-10.
Can you see the evil extent to which Joseph Prince would go to twist God’s word by daringly adding his own words to the scriptures in order to disparage discipleship by casting a bad light on Jesus’ 12 disciples vis-à-vis the so-called intimacy of the Centurion with Jesus?
Rev George Ong
This article was featured in conjunction with the following 3 Articles; Please click below to read them:
Joseph Prince’s False Dichotomy Between Sonship and Discipleship – By Rev George Ong
Joseph Prince Justifying His Holiday Based on the Lamest Reason – By Rev George Ong
(These 4 articles were also sent to Rev Dr Ngoei Foong Nghian, General Secretary, National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS) office, and for the attention of the Executive Committee Members.)