Why Didn’t Jesus Write Anything Down?

Q: I was thinking about something you said in your commentary that Jesus wrote no books, letters or sermons that were preserved. Why would the Messiah have nothing written in his own hand when other religious leaders did?

A: I think there a few good answers to this question. First of all, the Bible makes it clear that Jesus did have the ability to write. Think of the example of Jesus in John 8, on the occasion when the religious leaders presented before Him a woman who had been caught in adultery. We read in John 8:6 that, “Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.” Now, it’s possible that the phrasing in the original language could simply mean that Jesus doodled or drew a little picture, but the most common and direct meaning of that phrase is that Jesus actually wrotesomething on the ground. So, that seems to indicate that Jesus could write.

But why don’t we have anything written from Him? Why didn’t He write a gospel or a letter? Well, remember that we do have some letters that were dictated by Jesus to John to deliver to churches, which are found in Revelation 2-3. Now, Jesus wasn’t the penman Himself. He didn’t physically write the letters to the seven churches in Revelation, but He dictated them for the apostle John to write. That’s about as close as we come to a writing by Jesus in the New Testament.

But I do think that if we had a letter or a gospel that was written in Jesus’ own hand, I think that people invariably make an idol out of that object. The thing that would concern me, and perhaps would concern the Lord even more, is that it’s possible we would think that it is more valuable than other passages of Scripture. Friends, we need to remember that allScripture is inspired by God. All Scripture is God-breathed. So, we shouldn’t think that there are some portions of Scripture that are more inspired than other portions of Scripture. There’s nothing more inherently inspired in the Gospel accounts than there are in the Minor Prophets, or the letters of the New Testament, or any other book. They are all equally God-breathed and equally inspired.

It’s possible for people to make this error when they consider the “red letters” of the Bible. Many editions of the Bible, including our new Enduring Word Study Bible, print the words of Jesus in red. I like a red-letter edition. I think it’s fine to draw attention to the words of Jesus, just as long as we do that with the understanding that it’s not more inspired than other portions of Scripture. I think that if we had a writing directly from the hand of Jesus, more than what we have in the letters to the 7 churches dictated by Jesus to John in Revelation 2-3, then we would invariably consider it to have a different level of inspiration. I think that would be harmful and incorrect to do so. We do it easily enough with the “red letters” of the Gospels. I think it’s okay to have a red-letter edition. I think that it has its place and it can be helpful, but not if it gives us the false impression that any portion of Scripture is more inspired than another.

We can be assured that Jesus Himself is the Word. Remember that great revelation in John 1, where the Apostle John talks about the logos being revealed to humanity. John 1:14 – And the Word [logos] became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. We really do have the assurance that Jesus Christ is the living word of God. That means that He has communicated to us through all the Scriptures, not just through some of the Scriptures.