John 17:20
John 17:2020I am not asking on behalf of them alone, but also on behalf of those who will believe in Me through their message,
Watchtower publications cite to anchor the perpetual relevance of Jesus' upper-room teaching: his prayer reaches forward to "those putting faith in me through their message" — every Christian since the apostles. The verse appears in JW devotional literature and as a connecting text in apostolic-succession discussions, often paired with the organisation's "channel of communication" framing.
Jesus' prayer extends explicitly to every believer who would come to faith through the apostolic preaching. The verse closes the door on a reading of his upper-room teaching that is restricted to the original twelve. Whatever Jesus has prayed for the apostles in vv.6-19 is here extended to the whole future church. Read with ("I am the vine, you are the branches"), the structure rules out an organisational tier between Christ and the believer: Jesus draws every Christian who comes to faith through the apostolic word into direct relationship with himself, not into a relationship mediated by an institution.
The NWT renders pisteuontōn eis eme as "those putting faith in me" — a periphrastic rendering of the simple Greek "those believing in me." Standard translations (ESV, NIV, NASB, KJV) read "believe in me." The NWT's "exercise faith / put faith" pattern across the New Testament reframes pisteuō as ongoing activity rather than the receptive trust the verb usually denotes. The shift fits a works-oriented soteriology where faith is something the believer continually does to maintain standing — compare , where Paul rebukes exactly that flesh-finishes-what-Spirit-started framing. The translation choice is consistent across the NWT, and consistent with the Watchtower's wider salvation theology.