The Gospel According to Jesus Christ

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Why Didn’t Jesus Write Himself?

It is only natural to wonder why the God who supposedly inspired the writings of Scripture did not write the Gospels Himself as God incarnate, Jesus Christ. Wouldn’t He have avoided the controversies and historical issues by simply writing Himself? The Gospel according to Jesus Christ… seems to fit much better than Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John.

There are plenty of reasons why Jesus decided no to write his autobiography.

But first, let’s ask a very important question… what does this question/objection attempt to prove? Hypothetically, if Christians thinkers failed to give any plausible responses as to why Jesus did not write about his own life, ministry, teachings, death and resurrection, what would this go to show? Would it show that the Gospels are therefore unreliable?

… Of course not.

The Gospels would still be written extremely early to the events in comparison to other ancient writings and their reported events, the Gospels would still be written by eyewitness or accounts of those who were eyewitnesses to the reported events, the Gospels would still have thousands of early manuscripts to ensure an accurate preservation of the original writings, and the Gospels would still meet other historical criteria that support its reliability (e.g., the criterion of embarrassment). There is no criterion that says in order for a historical account to be considered reliable, it must be written by the same person who spoke the words or performed the actions.

Therefore, this question/objection is not one of major consequence. Rather, it is an interesting question that warrants a reasonable response for those who are curious.

What are some these potential reasons?

1)     Jesus knew his life would be short-lived. He only had 33 years on earth. Would he rather spend his time teaching, doing miracles, and providing the grounds for salvation, or would he rather spend his time recording his own words and actions—a job that any literate person could do? Writing His autobiography is evidently not what Jesus came for. He came to fulfill His role as the High Priest, Messiah, Davidic King, Prophet of Prophets, Son of Man, and the sacrificial lamb who would be slain.

2)     Jesus writing Himself would have provided adversaries an opportunity to manipulate the writings of Jesus, to alter His account, and so lead believers into believing falsehoods about Him.

3)     Scripture emphasizes the importance of the apostolic message (the reportings of the apostles). Jesus knew He would leave this world and ascend into heaven. The evangelistic work would be left to the apostles and those who followed the apostles. Eyewitnesses accurately and carefully shared their experiences of Jesus’s ministry and His resurrection from the dead. This is the foundation for future belief. The apostolic message, which would later be written down, is the basis for which people come to believe in Christ today. An autobiography of Jesus is inconsistent with the biblical theological theme.