Where is the word of Jesus?

Question

I asked a similar question last night but did not receive many well thought out responses. Hopefully today I will have better luck.

Why didn’t Jesus write his own teachings down?

The New Testaments gives only second accounts of Jesus’ teachings via his disciples. How can we take these teachings as the absolute truth? As the saying goes there are three sides to every story yours, mine, and the truth. How are we to know that the accounts in each gospel are accurate and not embellished or inaccurate recollections?

The bible alludes that Jesus was in fact literate in the following passages:
Luke 4:16-17
“He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written…”

John 8:6-8

“But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning h

Answer 1

Hi. I am not entirely sure why he did not write down any of his teachings. But I do know that the gospels accounts that are in the Bible were ones written the soonest after Jesus walked the earth. That is why we can rely on them more than, say, the gospel of Thomas and others that are not in the Bible. Also, yes, there are multiple sides to every story, and I believe that is why we have four gospels and not just one. Each gospel is a bit different in their accounts of Jesus and the stories that they tell, but they all have the same basic message. And I tend to agree with the person who posted before me in that his words were so profound, as his miracles, so there was really no need for them to be written down by him. I think he knew that there would be written accounts by those who were his closest followers.

Answer 2

The words and teaching of most of the well known teachers of the ancient world, Plato, Socrates, Confucius, Lao Tzu, etc., were not written down by those men themselves, but were collected by their students, and published, often after their death.

No one doubts that Plato said what he is quoted as saying, and there are very few copies available to compare.

There are thousands of complete, and partial copies of the Old and New Testaments, and they are in agreement with each other.

The problem with Jesus' teachings is that people don't want to believe what He taught, or who He claimed to be. He challenges their personhood, and their choices.

No one questions Plato's words, because no one feels especially challenged by them.

Answer 3

I think that his verse holds the truth. John 5:31: "if I testify about muself, my testimony is not valid." The Holy Spirit testified and testifies about Jesus in many ways and this was and is important in giving credence to His teaching under the precepts of Jewish law. Testimony under Jewish law was not valid unless corroborated. Jesus taught, the Holy Spirit recalled His words to the memories of those around Him and a small number of those were moved to write them down.

Answer 4

He was a living example of how we show follow God. Many people write many guidelines that they don't practice. Christ practiced what He preached, and that was more compelling than anything that He could have written down. His ministry only lasted 3 years but look at the millions of followers that His actions have spoken to. You can tell someone that you love them. You can write to someone that you love them. But it is so much better to show someone that you love them.

Answer 5

God gave the writers of the Bible the words to write

Answer 6

it was not plan for Jesus to write his teaching.