In my opinion, one of the worst things modern Christianity has produced is the red letter Bible. These are otherwise normal Bibles, but the words that physically came out of Jesus' mouth are highlighted in red text. The reason I find this so abominable is that it overemphasises the physical words of Christ, giving the impression that the rest of Scripture is somehow inferior.
This has lead to, or at the very least coincided with, a very strange form of idolatry. The kind that, at least on the face of it, worships the right God, but by overemphasising some of His words, shifts the worship to those little red letters. We are often told "Jesus never said...", but when Scripture is cited to the contrary, we're told "but that's not what Jesus said". Or worse, we are told what Jesus did say, as if it somehow overrules the rest of Scripture, rather than being entirely complementary to it.
This strange state of affairs coincides with a particularly self-centered culture that loves to play with words. We equivocate regularly, we chant catchy slogans, we make up new, less offensive terminology to describe old abominations, and we have many ways to insult people who do not believe as we do. We even recoil when we hear Biblical terminology. "Repent" is judgemental, "abomination" is bigoted, and woe betide you if you use the word "sin" to describe sin.
This makes it very easy to get away with declaring "Jesus never said anything about homosexuality, abortion, mass migration..." etc. No matter how Biblical a case one makes, a Liberal "Christian" - or even a non-believer - can always shut it down with "Jesus never said...".
But when you pay close attention to what Jesus did say, it becomes abundantly clear that He would never allow such abysmal logic to stand. To begin with, one thing Jesus did say is "“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." (Matthew 5:17). This does not mean we are still under the law, because Jesus did, in fact, fulfil it. But what it does mean is there is a fundamental distinction between fulfilment and abolition.
Now, if Jesus said He did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfil it, then Jesus has effectively said "believe the law". Therefore, what the Law says, Jesus has no reason to expressly reiterate. Yet, the majority of things "Jesus never said" can be found in this same Law Jesus said He came not to abolish, but to fulfil.
One of the reasons for this sorry state of affairs may be a fundamental misunderstanding of Christ Himself. See, we tend to believe Christ's one and only purpose for coming to the Earth is to save us. That He thinks of us "above all", as the song says. And the beautiful truth is His love for us is very real. But we tend to miss His greater calling. Let's go to John 5, starting at verse 19, and going to the end of the chapter:
"Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.
“If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true. You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light. But I have a greater witness than John’s; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.
“I do not receive honor from men. But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God? Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
This is a very Trinitarian passage. We see the Deity of Christ clearly and irrefutably here, because to honor a mere human being as we honor the Father would be blasphemy. But it actually goes deeper. It's not just "honor the Father and Son as each other", it's almost "the Father and Son are each other". Jesus can do, say, nor even think anything He does not receive from His Father.
And this is not the only place where this occurs. Specifically thinking about the words, we read:
"Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me."
- John 7:16
"Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things."
- John 8:28
"For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”"
- John 12:49-50
"Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works."
- John 14:10
If we take what Jesus says seriously, then ultimately, when we say "Jesus says", we're actually saying "The Father says". The Father gives to the Son, and the Son gives to us. But this isn't where the chain ends. Rather, this web of mutual divine testimony continues through the Holy Spirit. Of Him, we are told "“But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me." (John 15:26). Continuing a little further, we are told "“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you." (John 16:12-15).
From this, we see that just as Christ can only speak what He hears from the Father, the Holy Spirit can only speak what He hears from Christ. This points us to the greatest glory in all of existence: The Father's. What the Father says, we ought not dismiss. What the Father says, we cannot afford to diminish. What the Father says, our very lives depend upon. The word of the Father, whether it comes from the mouth of Christ, or the Spirit-guided pen of a prophet, is our daily bread. To abide in it is eternal life, but to stand opposed to it is destruction.
But the red letter approach is standing opposed to the word of the Father. As we have already seen, Christ affirmed the Law and the Prophets, but for obvious reasons, He also affirms His own Apostles. We read:
"He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me."
- Luke 10:16
"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.”"
- John 13:20
"And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning."
- John 15:27
"“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me."
- John 17:20-21
From this, we see that the Apostles were a continuation of the divine testimony. The Father gives to the Son, the Son gives to the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit gives to the Apostles, just as He gave to the prophets before them (2 Peter 1:19-21, 2 Timothy 3:15-17).
This ultimately means the "Jesus never said" approach is a step on the broad road to destruction of which Jesus spoke (Matthew 7:13). Every word in the Bible came from the same ultimate source: The Father. The Father of the Son. Jesus' Father. Our Father. The Father whom we cannot honor without honoring the Son, but also whom we can't honor the Son without honoring. If we are to put any stock into what Jesus said - and we should - then we need to drop this foolhardy attitude of "Jesus never said". Because here's what Jesus did say: "...It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”" (Matthew 4:4). And if that is the case, then whether He said it in black letters, red letters, or letters of every color in the rainbow, we who call ourselves Christians must obey the Scriptures.
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