Assuming that Jesus was literate, why didn't he write anything himself?

Question

He was, afterall, a religious teacher. One would assume therefore, that he could read the sacred texts of his day.

Answer 1

Maybe he did? We only recently have uncovered such texts as the Gospel of Thomas, who's to say Jesus didn't keep a journal? If he had there's no guarantee that it would have survived, and there's also no guarantee that people wouldn't have left it out intentionally.

Also, if you accept New Testament accounts, Jesus was literate because he did read from the scriptures at synogogue.

Answer 2

The problem was not a matter of being literate. The fact is that hardly anything was written down at that time due to cost and available writing materials. Since things were written on scrolls of papyrus and animal hides there was a long process in getting them ready to be written on. And then it was so costly because of the material and needing to have professional scribes transcribe what was said. You can't have just anyone writing on a costly scroll. And considering the fact that most traditions were oral in nature it only makes sense that he would spend all of his time preaching to the multitudes. Scrolls were read aloud in the temples so many could hear them and there were so few "copies" of the scrolls that they were protected in the synagogues. Only after the printing press came out did anything written down ever have a widespread effect. Jesus' teachings in his era were more effective spread orally than anything on a scroll could ever have done.

Answer 3

He "knew" the sacred text of "his day"

He was not a 'religious' teacher, but he was respected as one.

To write, one must isolate himself, and Jesus was a people person, not a loner.

another thing, maybe the mass of people may not have known how to read, or want to read. He reached thousands, just by speaking. It must have been amazing to see thousands gathered, traveling from all over, just to hear one man speak.

Jesus said, spread the word (vocally), not write it.

Answer 4

Jesus said if he honours himself it will mean nothing. The Jews said the same thing. Look, if you tell someone you got a high score on a computer game (for lack of better example) are they gonna necessarily believe you? Now if someone who saw you get the high score told them, wouldn't that seem more credible? Why would Jesus write a gospel? He didn't need to. His actions spoke louder than any claims he could have made.

Answer 5

Maybe he did and we just haven't found it yet. Or maybe he thought it would be unnecessary to add anything to the Jewish Tanakh.

But according to the canonical gospels, he usually didn't like to toot his own horn. He preferred to let other people talk about him. But even then, in some instances, he even forbids people from talking about him publicly.

Actually, I just thought of something he did supposedly write. In the Gospel of John, Jesus writes something on the ground whilst the adulteress woman is about to get stoned by the religious authorities. But John never says what it was that he wrote.

Answer 6

you lot are so special

1. jesus didnt write about his life he preached
2. the first hand accounts are his desciples matthew mark luke john
3. the bible was written after he died when the church was formed
4. the church is the people christians so dont go there
5.jesus was literate coz he taught in the temple with the pharises which would have ment he would have to be able too

Answer 7

We have to assume he was literate because he read in the temple at Nazareth and was rejected as a Mountebank (quack), and another time before he cast a spell to heal someone's eyes he carved a sigil into the earth to draw it's power. (It's funny nobody else reads that passage the way I do)
He didn't write things down because he knew how words could be used to create Pharisees. He knew it must happen, because it happened to the Jews in his time. Now, it's happened to the Christians who worship the bible and ignore God.

Answer 8

You are assuming that Jesus was literate, but you are also assuming that Jesus actually existed. There is a distinct possibility that he did not - and there's the answer to your question.

Answer 9

Because he didn't exist. That is not to say that everyone in history who was ever written about actually wrote things down themselves but being the son of God you should have the foresight to realize that people are gonna question things. Like why is the Virgin Birth, Dec 25 and the Eucharist all copied from pre existing religions?

Answer 10

Jesus was sent to earth to save the people by sacrificing himself on the cross so that people's sins are forgiven.. He was to be God in flesh so that people believe. Words of God existed before Jesus - but there are still non-believers so Jesus came in flesh to show how God would have lived on earth and so that people would believe God through Jesus.