The “Red Letters” in the title above refer to the words of Jesus found emphasized in some versions by printing them in red. I have often encouraged people to get a red letter edition of the Bible, so they could read them in the Gospels to see specifically just what Jesus said as it tends to bring some clarity to certain issues that may have been distorted over time by the influence of various religious institutions (there will be examples of this as we go through these lessons).
And to that purpose I have decided to write a series on the red letters, to put them in a somewhat chronological order (opinions on this can vary), translate them in a more contemporary, contextual form when necessary (if my translation is different in a significant way, I will explain why) and add some commentary to explain the historical, cultural or doctrinal significance of the verse or passage.
The first recorded words of Jesus are found in Luke 2:49. If you read Luke 2:39-52 (I encourage you to always read the passages cited in these lessons), you will see that His childhood was spent in Nazareth (verse 39). He grew strong in body (“waxed strong” is from krataioo, in the imperfect tense signifying linear action over time, literally, increased in vigor or strength – that is, He grew up strong and healthy) and strong in spirit (pneuma, here refers to a strong, perceptive mind or intellect); He was filled with wisdom (from sophia, the knowledge of God, compare Isaiah 50:4-5); and God’s grace (charis, favor or blessing) was with Him (verse 40).
Joseph and Mary went to Jerusalem every year for the feast of the Passover (verse 41) and in this particular account Jesus was with them when He was twelve years old (verse 42). Then after the Passover was ended and His parents were on their way back home, they realized after a full days journey Jesus was not with the caravan, so they returned to Jerusalem to look for Him (verses 43-45).
And after three days they found Him in the temple sitting with the teachers listening to them and asking them questions. And these men (who would have been considered the most knowledgeable and educated of their day concerning religious matters) were all astonished at His intelligence and understanding (verses 46-47). And when Joseph and Mary finally found Him, they asked why He had caused them such worry and distress (verse 48).
This brings us to His answer in verse 49, “Why are you looking for Me? Don’t you know that I must be engaged in the things of My Father?” Here, the adjective idios is translated “about My Father’s business” in the KJV and “in My Father’s house” in the RV. A literal translation would be more like “in the things of My Father” (idios being a neuter plural, better rendered “things”, in this context a general or non-specific word to indicate whatever was included in Jesus’ understanding of the will and purpose of the Father at this age – remember Isaiah 50:4-5 above).
Let’s look a little deeper at Jesus’ statement here. He’s been listening to these religion experts in the temple, asking them questions and they’re astonished (some translations say “bewildered”) at His answers. Let me insert here a different view of the “things” Jesus was talking to them about. He says in His statement “My Father”, meaning God is His Father and He is God’s Son! And this gives us some insight into what He knew and when He knew it regarding Who He was and His relationship with His Heavenly Father – unfortunately, something the translators of the KJV and RV knew little or nothing about.
I can’t leave this account before mentioning verses 50-52 that follow. Neither Joseph nor Mary understood what Jesus meant about being “engaged in the things of My Father” (verse 50). And since He was only twelve years old, Jesus continued to be the obedient son, submitted to their parental authority (as would have been expected). Yet Mary continued to retain these things (things that reminded her of the unique birth, childhood and eventual public ministry of Jesus that proved Who He really was – the Son of God) as she had been doing over time (verse 51). And as He continued to get older, Jesus learned more of His Father’s plan and gained more favor with both God and with those who knew Him (verse 52).
The next red letters are found in the account of Jesus’ baptism. Luke 3:23 tells us that at this point in time Jesus was “about thirty years old” (“about” is from hosei, used to indicate a degree of indefinite time – He may have been “nearly” thirty years old). Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee to the place where John was baptizing in the Jordan river (Mark 1:9).
We’ll look at the account in Matthew 3:13-17. It’s obvious from the text that Jesus went to John for the specific purpose of being baptized by him (verse 13). But John resisted, saying he needed, instead, to be baptized by Jesus (verse 14). Let me clarify something here. The KJV says John “forbade” Him. This is from diakoluo, the intensive form of koluo, to forbid in the imperfect tense indicating continuous action. So, a more accurate rendering of this verse should be something like “But John strenuously protested over and over, not wanting to baptize Him, saying, I need to be baptized by You, and yet You come to me?”
Here, John is referring the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, part of his message (verse 11). John was “filled” with the Spirit from his birth (Luke 1:15), where “filled” is from pimplemi, used to indicate John was guided or controlled by the Holy Spirit. But he could not be “baptized” with the Spirit, as that did not come until Christ was glorified (John 16:7; Acts 1:4-5, 8; 2:32-33). I won’t go into detail here, as it is not the subject at hand, but the baptism of the Holy Spirit is every believer’s full access to the ministry of the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-17, 26; 16:7-14).
This brings us to verse 15 and Jesus’ response to John’s protest “Allow this just now, because it is necessary for both of us to fulfill all righteousness. Then John relented.” Here, “righteousness” is dikaosune, anything that God commands or requires. In this we must remember that Jesus will eventually go to the cross as the sinless sacrifice to pay the penalty required to purchase forgiveness for the sins of mankind. He obviously understood the Father wanted Him to be baptized and His righteousness demanded obedience. And John understood this as well, so he agreed.
As it was with everything the Father required, there was a specific purpose in His command that Jesus be baptized. But let’s be clear, this baptism was not John’s baptism “unto (because of) repentance” (Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3) – the sinless Son of God had nothing to repent of.
And Jesus’ baptism was never meant to teach all future believers that they should follow His example and be baptized in water (or by water, as some practice water baptism by sprinkling). An honest examination of the Scriptures show that ritual water baptism was never anything the Lord intended for New Covenant believers to practice, even though most Christian denominations do (for an explanation of this, see the article “Ritual or Reality” on the website).
The purpose of His baptism was two-fold. First, when Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and there was a visible manifestation of the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus in the form of a dove (verse 16). This is probably when Jesus was given the Holy Spirit “without measure” (meaning, with no limitation) as described by the Baptist in John 3:34. This was to equip Him for ministry (soon we will see Jesus turn water into wine, take authority over unclean spirits, heal multitudes of sickness and disease, walk on water, etc.)
It was also His public identification and endorsement by the Father as a voice from heaven says, “This is my beloved Son, in Whom I delight.” (Verse 17, compare Matthew 17:5 and John 12:28). Don’t forget, there was a large crowd there following John, being baptized by him (Matthew 3:5), so John and Jesus were probably not the only ones who saw and heard what happened when Jesus came up out of the water. The Father is presenting His Son to Israel, but soon Israel will begin to reject Him.