By F. D. Adkins
The other day, my friend and I were texting about the red letters in the Bible. My friend was telling me that she had recently heard on the radio the history behind the red-letter edition of the Bible. In her text, she shared how she remembered the first Bible that was given to her by her mother. It was the Red-Letter Edition of the King James Version. She said it was the red letters in the Bible that drew her in. The words written in red had power.
The words spoken by Jesus have not always appeared in red print. Early Bibles were printed in all black ink. According to an article by Crossway, “The Origins of the Red-Letter Bible,” the red letters were printed in New Testaments in 1899, and then the red-letter Bible was published in 1901. Crossway goes on to explain that the idea for the red letters came from Louis Klopsch, the editor of Christian Herald magazine, who thought of the idea after reading Jesus’ words in Luke 22:20. The article details how the words of this verse, “…This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you,” inspired Klopsch to use red for the words spoken by Jesus because red symbolized the blood that Jesus shed.
Today, as I was driving down the road, my mind was racing with the list of all the things that I wanted to do. Feeling overwhelmed, I turned on the song, “The Commission,” by Cain. I have listened to this song many times, but today I heard the words in a whole new light. I thought about the red letters in the Bible, specifically those in Mark 16:15 which say, “…Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” These are the words spoken by Jesus. When we open the Bible and read those red letters, we are reading words that came directly out of the mouth of our Savior. And He said, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” I realized that I am feeling overwhelmed because I am focusing on how to manage all that I want to accomplish. My focus should be on what He wants me to accomplish, and He said to share the gospel with the world. It is written in red.
Look at some of the other statements spoken by Jesus:
- “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 KJV
- “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33 KJV
- “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” Matthew 24:35 KJV
- “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14:3 KJV
Oftentimes, we find ourselves searching for our purpose in life… asking ourselves what it is that God wants us to do… what path does He want us to take. But I cannot help but think as I read these verses written in red that the answer is right there in our Savior’s words. This earth is temporary. He said that He has gone to prepare a place for us and that He is coming back to get us. This is His promise to us written in red… written in the blood that He shed for us. Until then, He tells us to “let our light shine” and “preach the gospel to every creature.”
Think about it. Those red letters… Jesus spoke those words.
Sources:
“The Origins of the Red-Letter Bible.” Crossway, 2006 March 23, https://www.crossway.org/articles/red-letter-origin/.
Bible Verse For This Week:
