The Holy Bible does not mention everything.

Our Lord Jesus Christs teachings go well beyond what has been captured in the Bible. Simply speaking, the Holy Bible does not mention everything. It does not cover everything the Lord said or did. The Evangelists chose parts of His work and recorded it based on their recollection and the work of the Holy Spirt in them. As explained below, it is clear from the apostles themselves that they were not able to record everything Jesus did or every teaching that came out of His mouth.

St. John the Apostle says “And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written” (John 21: 25) and also “…truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20: 30,31).

Many miracles were performed by our Lord and they were not recorded. St. Luke says “Now when the sun was setting, all those who had anyone sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them” (Lk.4: 40). Ask yourself how many were sick, and how many were healed. Did these people not go about the world preaching what Jesus had done for them? The point is, a lot of what Jesus did or said was never written, but passed down by believers and eyewitnesses from generation to generation.

Many times in the Holy Bible it is mentioned that Jesus went around teaching and preaching. Not everything he said or taught has been recorded. St. Mark says that “He went into the synagogue and “taught.” And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (Mark 1: 21,22). What did Jesus teach them? Jesus taught thousands from morning until late when he performed the miracle of the five loaves and two fishes. What did he teach these people all day long? It is not recorded in the Holy Bible.

After our Lord’s resurrection, the Lord met with two disciples, and “beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself” (Lk. 24: 27). The Lord also spent forty days with His disciples after his resurrection, speaking to them of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). What was Jesus teaching them. How would 40 days of teachings even all fit in one book? All these teachings and others were not recorded in the Gospels. But undoubtedly some of these teachings have reached us through Tradition, and Apostolic Entrustment.

Apostolic Entrustment

Without question, every word and teaching out of the mouth of Jesus Christ is important. It is recorded in the Holy Bible that Jesus had many meetings with his Apostles after His resurrection, but the details or the content of meetings is not in the Holy Bible. It is fair to assume that he most likely taught His disciples concerning the church they were to create and the leadership after his departure to heaven. In the last verse in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:18-20).

What was “everything” he commanded them? Is everything that he taught them during the years of His ministry recorded word for word in the Holy Bible? That would not make sense. So how did all the teachings and commandments of our Lord reach us then? With the exception of the Apostle Paul who was not one of the original 11 Apostles and was not in the meetings with Jesus after His resurrection, the 11 Apostles who spent forty days with Jesus after His resurrection wrote very little and what they wrote does not include all the Christian Orthodox teachings. Jesus’ teachings have reached us through Tradition, and what is known as the Apostolic Entrustment. The Church has been living these teachings according to the Lord’s saying: “The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (John.6: 63). The Apostles understood the spirit of the words and transcribed them into life, and these words have reached us in the life of the Church.

We can therefore understand that Tradition is the life of the Church. The Apostles entrusted this life together with everything that they learnt and received from the Lord. They did not write them all in the Epistles, but they left them as living practices and teaching in the life of the church. Among those teachings are the Church disciples, rituals and Sacraments.

It is unreasonable to think that the Sermon on the Mount is the only sermon the Lord gave over the course of His ministry. The Lord’s words are not lost, but the disciples kept them in their hearts and minds. They have brought them to us through tradition and The Apostolic Entrustment. The Holy Spirit taught them and reminded them of everything the Lord said according to His true promise “ But the, Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”(John 14:26).

– From Sermons and Writings of His Holiness Pope Shenouda, III.