The Red-Letter Edition

THE RED LETTER EDITION

Brett A. Todd

THE RED LETTER EDITION: DID JESUS REALLY SAY THAT?  Years ago, Tony Campolo came out with a book, “The Red Letter Christians” in which he promoted the clever idea that Christians should focus on and live out the words of Jesus as found in the four Gospels, even over and above the letters of the Apostle Paul. It kind of makes sense, doesn’t it?  If Jesus really said what the four Gospels say he said, well, why not?  He is the son of God, right?

If you have a red-letter edition of the Bible, those red letters don’t guarantee that Jesus actually said those exact words. Rather, the words of Jesus in the Bible are what people remembered what others said Jesus once said.  They are the collected memories of the life and teachings of Jesus. Bear in mind, Jesus did not have a scribe following him around taking notes on his sermons or discussions with his disciples or with other individuals.  It is, for this reason, the author of the Gospel of Luke tells his readers that he and others before him, who shared the stories of Jesus’ ministry, received their information from others, who also received it from others.  They handed down memory stories of Jesus that came from eyewitnesses and servants of the word  (Luke 1:1-4).  It’s not that the author of Luke talked with or heard Jesus or one of his disciples himself.  Not at all, the stories in the Gospel of Luke were oral and sometimes written stories, stories passed down from one person to another within a span of at least 50 years or more.

It is important to understand what was passed down from one person to another were on most occasions oral stories.  More than likely the disciples and early followers of Jesus were illiterate and depended on memory and oral stories to keep Jesus’ life and teachings alive.  Keep in mind, the earliest Christian writings we have are from the Apostle Paul, but he said little of what Jesus said or did.  So, most of what we find in the four Gospels are stories passed down by word of mouth from one person to another.

Already you probably know where I’m going with this.  Stories passed down by word of mouth change and sometimes change a lot.  

Let me give you an example often discussed by Bible scholars.  In the Gospel of Mark, there is a story told about a leper who came to Jesus seeking healing who at the end of this story is healed (See Mark 1:40-41).  But here is the interesting part of the story.  In one Greek manuscript of Mark, we are told Jesus was “moved with compassion, but in another manuscript, we are told Jesus became “angry”.  Which one was it?  Was Jesus angry or compassionate?  It all depends on which Greek New Testament manuscript you read (See "Misquoting Jesus").  

What happened?  Why are there two different opposing words used in this story of the leper?  Most likely, as this memory story was passed down from one person to another by word of mouth, the story changed from Jesus being compassionate to Jesus being angry or vice versa.  As I said, stories passed down by word of mouth change and sometimes change a lot.

So, did Jesus really say that?  It all depends on which version of the story you read. This is not to say that the Gospel stories of Jesus are false, but it is to say the stories we read in the Bible are not exact.

In our next study, we will talk about how these stories sometimes get expanded, they get bigger and bigger and longer and longer.