Why didn’t Jesus write his own Gospel?

Although the four gospels and Acts were purportedly written by the followers of Jesus, no other ancient writers mention Jesus with the exception of first century Jewish historian Josephus who briefly alluded to the origin of Christianity.  So why didn’t Jesus write a gospel setting down His teachings to guide our lives today?

The principal reason that scholars offer is that Jesus was illiterate (could neither read nor write) like 95 percent of the people in ancient Palestine. Some say it’s not surprising that a carpenter from Galilee didn’t have the education to put stylus to papyrus. I refuse to accept this conjecture because, according to John’s prologue, Jesus was God Incarnate.  It’s inconceivable that the Author of writing could not compose a book. 

The scriptures demonstrate that Jesus had the ability to both read and write. In Luke 4:16-21, Jesus went to the synagogue at Nazareth, opened a scroll and read from the book of Isaiah. In John 8:3-9, Jesus comes to the defense of an adulteress who had been sentenced to death by stoning.  Jesus wrote something on the ground that convinced the religious leaders to drop their stones and depart. What He wrote has been the subject of endless speculation. Evidence also exists in Luke 2:41-51 that Jesus was well educated. At the tender age of 12, Jesus’ parents found Him at the temple conversing with the learned teachers of His day. Further, Jesus lived in a primarily oral culture, so it is not surprising that He may not have written anything. If He did, it has been lost.

Supposedly, an ancient letter purports to have been written by Jesus. It is known as “The Letter to King Abgar.” Abgar reigned in what is in now modern-day Turkey. As the story goes, King Abgar wrote Jesus requesting the miracle of healing. Jesus sent His reply by courier, saying: “Blessed are you who has believed in me without having seen me.” According to Jesus’ letter, He declined Abgar’s invitation but sent one of His disciples to cure Abgar’s illness. Fourth century church Father Eusebius said that disciple was Thaddeus. Eusebius never doubted Jesus’ ability to write. 

We must remember that Jesus’ ministry was very short in duration, only three years, which was insufficient time to write a book and also conduct His ministry.  Also, could it be that Jesus did not wish to create a religion based on His book—a sacred book that would compete with the Bible for divine authority. Instead, Jesus wanted His disciples to transmit the gospel message. This thought is corroborated in the Great Commission when Jesus commanded His disciples: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” Jesus also promised the disciples that He would send the Holy Spirit who would “teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”

The wisdom of Jesus choosing not to write a book is clearly seen in the propagation of the gospel message over the past 20 centuries in which Christianity has spread throughout the world. Christianity today boasts of 2.1 million adherents worldwide —proof enough that Jesus didn’t need to write a book.