Did Jesus Really Say That?

                                                  Did Jesus Really Say That?

                                                  By Dr. Juan A. Carmona




One of the many things that makes our Christian faith a complicated issue, is our claim to believe in the sayings and teachings of Jesus as recorded in the Christian Scriptures (New Testament).  We claim that our lives and our faith are based His teachings.  We consider Him the final authority for faith and practice, and at the same time, claim that the Scriptures of the New Testament are the final court of appeal for faith and practice.  We seem not to be able to decide where the ultimate authority lies.

The major problem with our claim to be guided by the words of Jesus, is that the alleged words of Jesus were written by those who were familiar with Him and with His earthly ministry. And since, as has been mentioned before, they were not following Him around with a tape recorder, it raises the question as to whether they were actually able to retrieve His sayings and teachings successfully.  And since there was a time gap between the time of His earthly ministry, resurrection, and ascension to Heaven, on the one hand, and on the other hand, the time of the writing of the Gospel accounts, the issue is further compounded.
And to top it off, we no longer have the original autographs with us, and subsequently we rely on the manuscripts (hand-written copies) which differ among themselves as to content and style.

How, then, can we be sure that we have the original words of Jesus, given these complications?  We might attempt to undertake the enormous task of studying the language of the New Testament (Greek), and at the same time compare the various manuscripts to determine which one most likely reflects the contents of the original autographs. That, in and of itself, is a very difficult task.  And then, we still are not guaranteed to come up with the original words.  We might then, decide to take a step of faith, and trust that through the manuscripts and the various translations, we have His original words.  But then, that would just be an affirmation of faith, which to some extent, relies on a shaky foundation.

This essay was not intended to cast any doubt on whether or not we have the words of Jesus verbatim.
It was intended to stimulate our thinking in terms of how scholarship can help strengthen our faith rather than diminish it. I hope that this has given you ¨food for thought.¨

In the Name of the Creator, and of the Liberator, and of the Sustainer. Amen.

Rev. Dr. Juan A. Carmona