What are the benefits of a red letter edition Bible?

Question

Red letter edition Bibles seem to be popular in the US. The difference to a plain Bible is that words of Jesus are printed in red. The first red-letter Bible was published in 1900, and the practice still seems mostly limited to the most major languages. I've only ever seen red letter editions in English.

I understand the benefits of a new Bible feature for the publisher, but I fail to see the benefits for the reader. It's usually very easy to find what is spoken by Christ and what by someone else, just by reading. The red letters do make it still a bit easier, but I don't understand why we would be optimizing for finding Jesus' words. Not all passages of Jesus' speech are very central to our faith. The important ones still aren't more important than some other passages in the New Testament, I think.

What then are the benefits of a red letter edition Bible supposed to be?

Answer 1

The original intention of red-letter Bibles seems to have been to aid in interpretation. According to Crossway, the publisher of the English Standard Version:

In the first red-letter Bible, the words “universally accepted as the utterances of our Lord and Saviour” were printed in red. So were Old Testament passages that Jesus quoted or that were directly related to incidents to which he referred (with the relevant cross reference also printed in red). Old Testament verses containing prophetic references to Christ were identified with red stars.

Lous Klopsch, who invented the concept, described its use thusly:

Here the actual words, quotations, references and allusions of Christ, not separated from their context, nor in a fragmentary or disconnected form, but in their own proper place, as an integral part of the Sacred Record, stand out vividly conspicuous in the distinction of color. The plan also possesses the advantage of showing how frequently and how extensively, on the Authority of Christ himself, the authenticity of the Old Testament is confirmed, thus greatly facilitating comparison and verification, and enabling the student to trace the connection between the Old and the New, link by link, passage by passage.— “Explanatory Note,” in The Holy Bible: Red Letter Edition (New York: Christian Herald, 1901)

This doesn't seem to far from the way some people mark up their Bibles for inductive studies. Only it's the publisher and not the reader who has done the analysis.

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In my reading and studying of the Bible, there is almost no reason to seek out or use a "red-letter" edition. Every once in a while, I find Jesus' words in an unexpected place:

In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”—Acts 20:35 (ESV)

But for the most part, I find the red-lettering disruptive.

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My guess is that part of the appeal of such editions is that they show reverence for Our Lord's words. It's a nice idea, but it doesn't seem to me to make any difference. God is more likely to be honored by us reading His Word in toto than by us owning a Bible with some of His words in red. (The Old Testament never gets this treatment anymore.) If the highlighting makes the Bible harder to read, I don't see how we gain anything.

Answer 2

For the Synoptic Gospels, it is more clear who is speaking immediately. It is just like why we have chapter and verse numbers -- they are easy references which were added later for clarity (I actually own a Bible which pre-dates the inclusion of verse numbers, it is very hard to find quotes in it).

In the Gospel of John, however, the words of Christ and the words of the narrator are so intermingled, that the red letters are somewhere between worthless and deceptive.

Answer 3

The words of Jesus are highlighted in red so that you can easily see that Jesus is speaking.

Red Letters are used to help the reader discern the actual statements or conversations which can be directly attributed to Jesus. The object is to make it clear when Jesus is being quoted, as opposed to someone speaking to or about Him. It is used as a reading enhancement, and an easy way to point more attention to Jesus. It is not the publisher's intent to somehow indicate that the red letters are more important, it is simply a reading study tool.

^{Squidoo - Red Letter Bible}

According to Crossway, red letter Bibles were "invented" by Lous Klopsch. The origin of red letters comes from Luke 22:20:

And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

Klopsch decided that, based on this verse, Jesus' words would be in red.

He also says

In the Red Letter Bible, more clearly than in any other edition of the Holy Scriptures, it becomes plain that from beginning to end, the central figure upon which all lines of law, history, poetry and prophecy converge is Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. He expounded in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself and the Divine plan for man’s redemption, and the Red Letter Bible indicates and emphasizes this Divine exposition and personal revelation at each successive stage, making them so clear that even the simplest may understand. It sheds a new radiance upon the sacred pages, by which the reader is enabled to trace unerringly the scarlet thread of prophecy from Genesis to Malachi. Like the Star which led the Magi to Bethlehem, this light, shining through the entire Word, leads straight to the person of the Divine Messiah, as the fulfillment of the promise of all the ages.

Answer 4

None. The red letter Bible are a good tool to highlight the word Jesus is speaking in the gospels. The downside, its that these words become more great then the rest of the Bible.

The benefit, tool to found when Jesus is speaking in the text.

Downside, makes words or section more spiritual or more deep then the rest of the Bible.