--- title: Jesus Said 'Do Not Go From House to House' url: https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/luke10-house-to-house/ markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/luke10-house-to-house.md type: argument perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching topics: [Practice, Authority] challenges: [The Governing Body Is God's Sole Channel of Communication, Salvation Requires Works and Organisation Membership] verses: [Luke 10:7, Acts 5:42, Acts 20:20, Acts 2:46, Acts 17:17, Acts 19:9, Acts 20:17, Matthew 10:11, Matthew 28:19, John 18:20, Acts 18:4, Acts 19:8, Luke 10:1] strength: Very Strong tone: Good attribution: Greek lexical analysis / NWT internal inconsistency added: '2026-04-04' last_reviewed: '2026-04-04' index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt --- # Jesus Said 'Do Not Go From House to House' *Luke 10:7 / Acts 5:42 / Acts 20:20* ## Doorstep Question > "You've come to my door as part of your house-to-house ministry, citing Acts 5:42. But have you noticed what Jesus says in Luke 10:7? Even in the New World Translation it reads: 'Do not keep transferring from house to house.' That's Jesus giving instructions for this very preaching work — and he explicitly prohibits what you're doing right now." ## JW Claim 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. ## Strategy Start with Luke 10:7 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 Luke 10:7 to describe sequential house-hopping, which Jesus prohibits. But in Acts 5:42 and Acts 2:46, 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 Luke 10:7 phrase. Then expose the NWT's inconsistency: the identical Greek κατ' οἶκον is rendered 'from house to house' at Acts 5:42 but 'in different homes' at Acts 2:46. Why the difference? Because Acts 2:46 describes eating together, where 'in homes' is obviously correct — but Acts 5:42 is about preaching, and the Watchtower needs it to say 'from house to house.' Finally, note that Paul's actual method was public — synagogues (Acts 17:17, 18:4, 19:8), marketplaces (Acts 17:17), and lecture halls (Acts 19:9) — not cold-calling strangers. ## Key Insight Jesus explicitly prohibited house-to-house movement in Luke 10:7 — even in the NWT. The Greek of Acts 5:42 (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 Acts 2:46. ## JW Responses & Counters ### Response 1 **JW says:** "The Greek κατά can mean 'from house to house' — it has a range of meanings." **Counter:** 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 Acts 2:46, 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 Luke 10:7 — where Jesus prohibits it. ### Response 2 **JW says:** "Paul said he taught 'publicly AND from house to house' — those are two separate methods." **Counter:** 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 Acts 20:17-20: the Ephesian elders — existing Christians. He was describing where he taught believers, not how he evangelised strangers. ### Response 3 **JW says:** "Jesus sent his disciples out two by two — just like we do." **Counter:** Yes, and what did Jesus tell them to do? 'Find out who is worthy and stay at his house until you move on' (Matthew 10:11). Then in Luke 10:7 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. ### Response 4 **JW says:** "We're just following the Great Commission to 'go and make disciples.'" **Counter:** Matthew 28:19 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' (John 18:20). Door-to-door wasn't a first-century method — it's a 20th-century organisational requirement from the Governing Body. ## What to Avoid 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. ## Homework Read Luke 10:1-12 and Matthew 10:11-14 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 Luke 10:7 reads 'Do not keep transferring from house to house', then compare its renderings of Acts 5:42 ('from house to house') and Acts 2:46 ('in different homes'). Read Acts 20:17-21 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. ## Next Moves - [The Governing Body — Eleven Men in New York](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/governing-body.md)