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Can we be certain that any teaching of Jesus recorded in our Bibles is an accurate record of what he said?  I think we can, but I think we need to be careful.

First of all, we need to remember that Jesus did not speak English.  This is important.  Jesus did not say, for example, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).  We can be certain he did not say these exact words because we know he did not speak English.  Jesus said something, probably in a language we call Aramaic, which was first handed down by word of mouth (by fallible human beings), then written down in 1^st Century Greek (by fallible human beings), then copied and copied and copied (by fallible human beings) and then, hundreds of years later, translated into modern languages (you guessed it, by fallible human beings).

So, if the handing down, and writing down, of Jesus’ words was all done by fallible human beings, how do I decide whether Jesus really said the things I read him saying in the New Testament?

For me, consistency is the answer.  Do we hear Jesus giving the same, or similar, teachings in other passages?  Is this teaching consistent with the rest of Jesus’ teachings?  Is this teaching consistent with the overall message of scripture found in the Old and New Testaments?

Hang on.  What is “the overall message of scripture”?

Good question.  The Bible contains many, many records of our loving heavenly Father speaking with his human children.  And, for me, there is a beautiful consistency in these accounts.  Most importantly there is a beautiful consistency in our Father telling us, his human children, how he wants us to live.  This is summed up in the two great commands of Jesus, quoted from the Old Testament, that we should love God and love others.  (He did give us more commands but I reckon those are just detailed instructions on how to obey the two major commands.  There’s a list of Jesus’ commands in the article “What does Jesus want his followers to do?” – link below).

Basically the overall message of the Bible and Jesus’ teachings is that we, his followers, should love.  So, if we are wondering whether a particular passage is a genuine teaching of Jesus, a good question to ask is: “Is this teaching promoting love?”.

Another good question is “Is Jesus talking to his disciples?”  We are disciples of Jesus so, when we read that Jesus gave a command to a group of his disciples, I think we need to pay attention – as long as the command promotes love.  But when we read that Jesus gave a command or instruction to an individual, or to people who were not his disciples, we should be careful.  Jesus commanded a blind man to wash in the pool of Siloam (John 9:1-7).  Does this mean he wants all his followers today to wash in the pool of Siloam?  I don’t think so.

I reckon it’s clear that some commands Jesus gave his disciples do not apply to us today.  But I reckon if Jesus is recorded as talking to his disciples, and his teaching promotes love, then we can take that teaching as being a genuine teaching that we should obey.  Here are two examples to illustrate what I’m talking about:

• “If you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.” is only found once (Luke 22:36).  Was Jesus talking to his disciples?  Yes, he was.  But is this teaching promoting love?  I don’t think so.  I reckon we can ignore this one.  We don’t need to sell our cloaks and buy swords.
• “Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.” is also only found once (Luke 6:37).  Was Jesus talking to his disciples?  Yes, he was (Luke 6:20).  Is this teaching promoting love?  Yes, I think it is.  And I think it is consistent with many other examples of Jesus’ teachings on how we should treat others.   So, for me, this is likely to be a genuine teaching of Jesus.

May our loving Father bless you and keep you safe.

Jesus is Lord.

Peter O

 

Related Articles

What does Jesus want his followers to do?

Who decided which writings would be included in our Bibles?

What did Jesus say about the Bible?

I love our Bible.

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