Does the Bible Contain All of Jesus’ Teachings?

Christian apologists like Apostate Prophet make the false claim that “we have all the things that Jesus said,” yet this goes against their own scripture, which states that there are many more teachings of Jesus that did not make it into their books.

The Gospels themselves say, in plain language, that they contain only a portion of what Jesus did and taught.

Start with the closing words of the Gospel of John:

But there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. (John 21:25)

A few verses earlier, the same author says the same thing:

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book. (John 20:30)

These two verses speak of deeds rather than words, but the author is telling the reader that his book is a selection, not a full record. The same Gospel then makes the point about teaching directly. Jesus says to his disciples:

I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. (John 16:12)

Mark says the same about Jesus’ public teaching:

With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything. (Mark 4:33-34)