The Sayings Gospel Q

The Sayings Gospel Q is an archaic collection of sayings ascribed to Jesus, even older than the Gospels in the New Testament. In fact, it is the oldest Gospel of Christianity. Yet it is not in the New Testament itself. Rather, it was known to, and used by, the Evangelists of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, and then lost from sight. After all, Q is the Gospel of Jewish Christianity, which continued in Galilee to proclaim Jesus’ sayings, but the New Testament is the book preserving the ancient sources of Gentile Christianity, the oldest being the letters of Paul, for whom Jesus’ cross and resurrection, not his sayings, were central to the Christian message.

This is clearest in the case of Matthew. For this Gospel is oriented in Matt 3-11 primarily to vindicating the Jesus of Q, but then in Matt 12-28 simply copies out Mark, the Gentile Gospel. For the Q movement, limited to a mission to Jews, gradually died out, and its Sayings Gospel survived only as incorporated into the Gospel culminating in the Great Commission to evangelize of Gentiles.

During the second century, when the canonizing process was taking place, scribes did not make new copies of Q, since the canonizing process involved choosing what should and what should not be used in the church service. Hence they preferred to make copies of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, where the sayings of Jesus from Q were rephrased to avoid misunderstandings, and to fit their own situations and their understanding of what Jesus had really meant.

This validated the Narrative Gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, but not Sayings Gospels such as the Gospel of Thomas and Q. Indeed the Apostles’ Creed, which had been formulated in Rome during the second century as a baptismal confession, bypassed completely the sayings of Jesus, and hence provided no basis for canonizing Sayings Gospels, such as Q and the Gospel of Thomas.

The Sayings Gospel Q contains some of the most memorable of Jesus’ sayings. It is thanks to Q 11:2b-4 that we know the Lord’s Prayer. Q presents it in a more original form than what we use in our liturgy today. (We use Matthew’s revision of the Q Prayer: Matt 6:9-13). Q also preserves for us the certainty of the answer to prayer (ask, search, knock, for a caring Father does provide, Q 11:9-13), the beatitudes (Q 6:20-23), the love of enemies (Q 6:27-28, 35c-d), turning the other cheek, giving the shirt off one’s back, going the second mile, giving, expecting nothing in return (Q 6:29-30), the golden rule (Q 6:31), the tree known by its fruit (Q 6:43-45), indeed most of what we think of as the Sermon on the Mount—and more: storing up treasures in heaven (Q 12:33-34), free from anxiety like ravens and lilies (Q 12:22b-31), taking one’s cross (Q 114:27), losing one’s life to save it (Q 17:33), parables of the mustard seed Q 13:18-19), the yeast (Q 13:20), the invited dinner guests (Q 14:16-23), the lost sheep (Q 15:4-7), the lost coin (Q 15:8-10), the entrusted money (Q 19:12-26).

Particularly the first part of Q (Q 3-7) seems carefully structured, to prove the case that Jesus is the “one to come” prophecied by John (Q 3:16b-17). For in Q 7:18-23 John sends a delegation to ask if Jesus is indeed that “One to Come,” which Jesus promptly answers in the affirmative (Q 7:22), by listing his healings (for which reason the healing of the Centurion’s Boy immediately precedes in Q 7:1-10), climaxing in his giving good news to the poor (referring back to Q’s early draft of the Sermon on the Mount in Q 6:20-49).

Although Jesus’ mother tongue would seem to have been Aramaic, his sayings were very early on translated into Greek and collected into small clusters, which were brought together into the Sayings Gospel Q. For the high degree of verbal identity in the Q sayings of Matthew and Luke make it apparent they were working from a shared Greek text. Each could not have translated from Aramaic to Greek, independently of the other, into such highly similar, often identical, Greek language. This Greek text of Q, as shared by Matthew and Luke, dates from around the time of the war with Rome (since Q 13:34-35 seems to envisage the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E.).

At one place (Q 12:27) the fact of a written Greek text of Q is strikingly attested by the presence of a Greek scribal error: Whereas both Matthew and Luke (Matt 6:28b par. Luke 12:27), and hence Q, list as the three tasks that ravens and lilies do not perform, as rôle models for humans free of anxiety. But in the case of the lilies, “how they grow: They do not work nor do they spin,” the first is neither a negative statement, nor a verb naming a task in the process of making clothing. But a very slight change in the Greek lettering produces the meaning: They do not card, nor do they work, nor do they spin,” with the formulation “not card” faintly attested in an ancient manuscript of Matt 6:28b preserved at Mt. Sinai, and in the Gospel of Thomas, Saying 36.

The Sayings Gospel Q, though on the surface only reporting about Jesus, also reveals almost all we know about the Jewish Christianity of the first generation. For the New Testament, as we have it, is a collection of primary texts from Gentile Christianity, in which there are occasional passing references to Jewish Christianity. Paul gained acceptance for his non-Jewish mission from the “pillars” of the Jewish Christian church in Jerusalem (James, Cephas/Peter and John, Gal 2:1-10), though this amicable division of labor soon broke down (Gal 2:11-21), when the Jewish Christians sought to “judaize” Gentile Christians (Gal 2:14) . Paul withstood the claims of any other “Gospel” than his own (Gal 1:6-12), meaning no doubt the Jewish Christian preference for proclaiming sayings of Jesus.

Actually, the Jewish Christians of the Q movement do not seem to have been these Jewish Christian leaders stationed in Jerusalem, since they are not mentioned in Q, nor does Q make any reference to the problem of circumcision, which was the touchstone of that debate with Paul. The followers of Jesus who transmitted his sayings that were brought together into the Sayings Gospel Q would seem to be composed of those left behind in Galilee. They were largely overlooked in the Acts of the Apostles. For the description of the mission “from Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8), simply bypasses Galilee, with only one passing reference later in Acts (9:31) to a church in Galilee being built up. Nor can one find in Acts any attestation for a variety of religious experience consisting primarily of re-proclaiming Jesus’ sayings. The Sayings Gospel Q thus supplements in a very important way what we know of the first generation of Christianity from the book of Acts.

When there is considerable uncertainty as to whether a given word was in Q, it is put in double square brackets [[ ]]. If there is a still higher degree of uncertainty, the space is left blank, with three dots (…) indicating that there was some text here, but not of adequate certainty to include. Two dots (...) indicate that it is even uncertain whether anything at all was here, in which case the reference is enclosed in question marks.

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Allison, Dale C. 1997. The Jesus Tradition in Q. Valley Forge, Pa.: Trinity Press International.

Asgeirsson, Jon, Kristin de Troyer, and Marvin W. Meyer, eds. 1999. From Quest to Quelle: Festschrift James M. Robinson. BETL 146. Leuven: Peeeters.

Fleddermann, Harry T. 1995. Mark and Q: A Study of the Overlap Texts. BETL 122. Leuven: Leuven University Press; Peeters.

Harnack, Adolf. 1908. The Sayings of Jesus: The Second Source of St. Matthew and St. Luke. Trans. John Richard Wilkinson. New Testament Studies 2. London: Williams & Norgate; New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons.

Havener, Ivan. 1987. Q: The Sayings of Jesus. Good News Studies 19. Wilmington, Del.: Michael Glazier.

Jacobson, Arland D. 1992. The First Gospel: An Introduction to Q. Sonoma, Calif.: Polebridge.

Kirk, Alan. 1998. The Composition of the Sayings Source: Genre, Synchrony, and Wisdom Redaction in Q. Supplements to Novum Testamentum 91. Leiden: E. J. Brill.

Kloppenborg, John S. 1987. The Formation of Q: Trajectories in Ancient Wisdom Collections. Studies in Antiquity and Christianity. Philadelphia: Fortress.

—. 1988. Q Parallels: Synopsis, Critical Notes, and Concordance. Foundations and Facets: New Testament. Sonoma, Calif.: Polebridge.

—, ed. 1994. The Shape of Q: Signal Essays on the Sayings Gospel. Minneapolis: Fortress.

—, Marvin W. Meyer, Stephen J. Patterson, Michael G. Steinhauser, eds. 1990. Q Thomas Reader. Sonoma, Ca.: Polebridge Press.

—, ed. 1995. Conflict and Invention: Literary, Rhetorical, and Social Studies on the Sayings Gospel Q. Valley Forge, Penn.: Trinity Press International.

— and Leif E. Vaage, eds. 1991. Early Christianity, Q and Jesus. Semeia 55. Atlanta: Scholars Press.

— 2000. Excavating Q: The History and Setting of the Sayings Gospel. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark; Minneapolis: Fortress.

Mack, Burton L. 1993. The Lost Gospel: The Book of Q and Christian Origins. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco.

Neirynck, Frans, J. Verheyden, and R. Corstjens. 1998. The Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel Source Q: A Cumulative Bibliography 1950-1995. 2 vol.s BETL 140. Leuven: Leuven University Press and Uitgeverij Peeters.

Piper, Ronald A. 1989. Wisdom in the Q-tradition: The Aphoristic Teaching of Jesus. SNTSMS 1. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press.

—,. ed. 1995. The Gospel behind the Gospels: Current Studies on Q. Supplements to Novum Testamentum 75. Leiden: E. J. Brill.

Robinson, James M. and Helmut Koester. 1971. Trajectories through Early Christianity. Philadelphia: Fortress Press.

Robinson, James M., John S. Kloppenborg, and Paul Hoffmann, gen. eds. 1996-. Documenta Q: Reconstructions of Q through Two Centuries of Gospel Research. Ed. Stanley D. Anderson, Sterling G. Borndahl, Shawn Carruth, Robert Derrenbacker, Christoph Heil, Thomas Hieke, and Steven R. Johnson. Leuven: Peeters.

Robinson, James M., Paul Hoffmann, and John S. Kloppenborg, eds. 2000. The Critical Edition of Q: Synopsis, including the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, Mark and Thomas, with English, German, and French Translations of Q and Thomas. Managing editor, Milton C. Moreland. Leuven: Peeters; Minneapolis: Fortress Press.

Theissen, Gerd. 1992. Social Reality and the Early Christians: Theology, Ethics, and the World of the New Testament. Trans. Margaret Kohl. Minneapolis: Fortress Press.

Tuckett, Christopher M. 1983. The Revival of the Griesbach Hypothesis: An Analysis and Appraisal. SNTSMS 44. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press.

—. 1996. Q and the History of Early Christianity: Studies on Q. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark; Peabody, Mass.: Hendrichson.

Uro, Risto. 1987. Sheep among the Wolves: A Study on the Mission Instructions of Q. Annales Academiae Scientiarum Fennicae. Dissertationes humanarum litterarum 47. Helsinki: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia.

Uro, Risto, ed. 1996. Symbols and Strata: Essays on the Sayings Gospel Q. Suomen Eksegeettisen Seuran Julkaisuja. Publications of the Finnish Exegetical Society of Helsinki: Finnish Exegetical Society; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.

7 He said to the ·crowds coming to be‚ bapti·zed‚: Snakes’ litter! Who warned you to run from the impending rage? 8 So bear fruit worthy of repentance, and do not presume to tell yourselves: We have as «fore»father Abraham! For I tell you: God can produce children for Abraham right out of these rocks! 9 And the ax already lies at the root of the trees. So every tree not bearing healthy fruit is to be chopped down and thrown on the fire.

16b I baptize you ·in‚ water, but the one to come after me is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to ·take off‚. He will baptize you in ·holy‚ Spirit and fire. 17 His pitchfork «is» in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn on a fire that can never be put out.

·21‚ ·... Jesus ... baptized, heaven opened ..,‚ ·22‚ ·and .. the Spirit ... upon him ... Son ... .‚

1 And Jesus was led ·into‚ the wilderness by the Spirit 2 ·to be‚ tempted by the devil. And «he ate nothing» for forty days, .. he became hungry. 3 And the devil told him: If you are God's Son, order that these stones become loaves. 4 And Jesus answered ·him‚: It is written: A person is not to live only from bread.

9 ·The devil‚ took him along to Jerusalem and put him on the tip of the temple and told him: If you are God's Son, throw yourself down. 10 For it is written: He will command his angels about you, 11 and on their hands they will bear you, so that you do not strike your foot against a stone. 12 And Jesus ·in reply‚ told him: It is written: Do not put to the test the Lord your God.

5 And the devil took him along to a ·very high‚ mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor, 6 and told him: All these I will give you, 7 if you bow down before me. 8 And ·in reply‚ Jesus told him: It is written: Bow down to the Lord your God, and serve only him.

20 <…> And ·rais‚ing his ·eyes to‚ his disciples he said: Blessed are ·«you»‚ poor, for God's reign is for ·you‚. 21 Blessed are ·«you»‚ who hunger, for ·you‚ will eat ·your‚ fill. Blessed are ·«you»‚ who ·mourn‚, for · will be consoled‚.

22 Blessed are you when they insult and ·persecute‚ you, and ·say every kind of‚ evil ·against‚ you because of the son of humanity. 23 Be glad and ·exult‚, for vast is your reward in heaven. For this is how they ·persecuted‚ the prophets who «were» before you.

27 Love your enemies 28 ·and‚ pray for those ·persecuting‚ you, 35c-d so that you may become sons of your Father, for he raises his sun on bad and ·good and rains on the just and unjust‚.

29 ·The one who slaps‚ you on the cheek, offer ·him‚ the other as well; and ·to the person wanting to take you to court and get‚ your shirt, ·turn over to him‚ the coat as well. ·29?30/Matt 5:41‚ ·«And the one who conscripts you for one mile, go with him a second.»‚ 30 To the one who asks of you, give; and ·from the one who borrows, do not ·ask‚ back ·«what is»‚ yours.

32 .. If you love those loving you, what reward do you have? Do not even tax collectors do the same? 34 And if you ·lend «to those» from whom you hope to receive, what you < have>?‚??? Do not even ·the Gentiles‚ do the same?

37 .. Do not pass judgment, «so» you are not judged. ·For with what judgment you pass judgment, you will be judged.‚ 38 ·And‚ with the measurement you use to measure out, it will be measured out to you.

39 Can a blind person show the way to a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?

40 A disciple is not superior to «one's» teacher. ·It is enough for the disciple that he become‚ like his teacher.

41 And why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye, but the beam in your own eye you overlook? 42 How «can you say» to your brother: Let me throw out the speck ·from‚ your eye, and just look at the beam in your own eye? Hypocrite, first throw out from your own eye the beam, and then you will see clearly to throw out the speck «in» your brother’s eye.

43 .. No healthy tree bears rotten fruit, nor ·on the other hand‚ does a decayed tree bear healthy fruit. 44 For from the fruit the tree is known. Are figs picked from thorns, or grape·s‚ from thistles? 45 The good person from «one's» good treasure casts up good things, and the evil ·person‚ from the evil ·treasure‚ casts up evil things. For from exuberance of heart ·one's‚ mouth speaks.

47 Everyone hearing my words and acting on them .. 48 is like a person who built ·one’s‚ house on bedrock; and the rain poured down and the flash-floods came, ·and the winds blew‚ and pounded that house, and it did not collapse, for it was founded on bedrock. 49 And ·everyone‚ who hears ·my words‚ and does not act on ·them‚ is like a person who built ·one’s‚ house on the sand; and the rain poured down and the flash-floods came, ·and the winds blew‚ and battered that house, and promptly it collapsed, and its ·fall‚ was devastating.

1 ·And it came to pass when‚ he .. ended these sayings, he entered Capernaum. 3 There came to him a centurion exhorting him ·and saying: My‚ boy · doing badly. And he said to him: Am I‚, by coming, to heal him? 6b-c And in reply the centurion said: Master, I am not worthy for you to come under my roof; 7 but say a word, and ·let‚ my boy ·be‚ healed. 8 For I too am a person under authority, with soldiers under me, and I say to one: Go, and he goes, and to another: Come, and he comes, and to my slave: Do this, and he does «it» . 9 But Jesus, on hearing, was amazed, and said to those who followed: I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith. ?10? <..>

18 And John, on hearing .. ·about all these things‚, 19 sending through his disciples, ·said‚ to him: Are you the one to come, or are we to expect someone else? 22 And in reply he said to them: Go report to John what you hear and see: The blind regain their sight and the lame walk around, the skin-diseased are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised, and the poor are given good news. 23 And blessed is whoever is not offended by me.

24 And when they had left, he began to talk to the crowds about John: What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? 25 If not, what did you go out to see? A person arrayed in finery? Look, those wearing finery are in kings' houses. 26 But «then» what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, even more than a prophet! 27 This is the one about whom it has been written: Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your path in front of you. 28 I tell you: There has not arisen among women's offspring «anyone» who surpasses John. Yet the least significant in God's kingdom is more than he.

·29‚ ·«For John came to you» .., ... the tax collectors and ... «responded positively»,‚ ·30‚ ·but «the religious authorities rejected» him.‚

31 .. To what am I to compare this generation and what like? 32 It is like children seated in ·the‚ market-place·s‚, who, addressing ·the others‚, say: We fluted for you, but you would not dance; we wailed, but you would not cry. 33 For John came, neither eating nor drinking, and you say: He has a demon! 34 The son of humanity came, eating and drinking, and you say: Look! A person «who is» a glutton and drunkard, a chum of tax collectors and sinners! 35 But Wisdom was vindicated by her children.

57 And someone said to him: I will follow you wherever you go. 58 And Jesus said to him: Foxes have holes, and birds of the sky have nests; but the son of humanity does not have anywhere he can lay his head. 59 But another said to him: Master, permit me first to go and bury my father. 60 But he said to him: Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.

2 He said to his disciples: The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. So ask the Lord of the harvest to dispatch workers into his harvest.

4 Carry no ·purse‚, not knapsack, nor sandals, nor stick, and greet no one on the road.

5 Into whatever house you enter, ·first‚ say: Peace ·to this house‚! 6 And if a son of peace be there, let your peace come upon him; but if not, ·let‚ your peace ·return upon‚ you. 7 ·And at that house‚ remain, «eating and drinking whatever they provide», for the worker is worthy of one’s reward. ·Do not move around from house to house.‚ 8 And whatever town you enter and they take you in, ·«eat what is set before you»‚. 9 And cure the sick there, and say ·to them‚: The kingdom of God has reached unto you.

10 But into whatever town you enter and they do not take you in, on going out ·from that town‚, 11 shake off the dust from your feet. 12 I tell you: For Sodom it shall be more bearable on that day than for that town.

13 Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the wonders performed in you had taken place in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, in sackcloth and ashes. 14 Yet for Tyre and Sidon it shall be more bearable at the judgment than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, up to heaven will you be exalted? Into Hades shall you come down!

16 Whoever takes you in takes me in, ·and‚ whoever takes me in takes in the one who sent me.

21 At «that time» he said: I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for you hid these things from sages and the learned, and disclosed them to children. Yes, Father, for that is what it has pleased you to do.

22 Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, nor ·does anyone know‚ the Father except the Son, and to whomever the Son chooses to reveal him.

23 Blessed are the eyes that see what you see .. . 24 For I tell you: Many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see, but never saw it, and to hear what you hear, but never heard it.

2b ·When‚ you pray, ·say‚: Father — may your name be kept holy! — let your reign come: 3 Our day’s bread give us today; 4 and cancel our debts for us, as we too have cancelled for those in debt to us; and do not put us to the test!

9 I tell you, ask and it will be given to you, search and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks will it be opened. 11 .. What person of you, whose son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 12 Or again when he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 13 So if you, though evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, by how much more will the Father from heaven give good things to those who ask him!

14 And he cast out a demon «which made a person» mute. And once the demon was cast out, the mute person spoke. And the crowds were amazed. 15 But some said: By Beelzebul, the ruler of demons, he casts out demons! 17 But, knowing their thoughts, he said to them: Every kingdom divided against itself is left barren, and every household divided against itself will not stand. 18 And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? 19 And if I by Beelzebul cast out demons, your sons, by whom do they cast «them» out? This is why they will be your judges. 20 But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then there has come upon you God’s reign.

·21‚ ·«A strong person’s house cannot be looted,»‚ ·22‚ ·«but if someone still stronger overpowers him, he does get looted.»‚

23 The one not with me is against me, and the one not gathering with me scatters.

24 When the defiling spirit has left the person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting-place, and finds none. ·Then‚ it says, I will return to my house from which I came. 25 And on arrival it finds «it» swept and tidied up. 26 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and, moving in, they settle there. And the last «circumstances» of that person become worse than the first.

16 ·But‚ some .. were demanding from him a sign. 29 But .. ·he said‚ ..: This generation is an evil .. generation; it demands a sign, and a sign will not be given to it — except the sign of Jonah! 30 For as Jonah became to the Ninevites a sign, so ·also‚ will the son of humanity be to this generation.

31 The queen of the South will be raised at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and look, something more than Solomon is here! 32 Ninevite men will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it. For they repented at the announcement of Jonah, and look, something more than Jonah is here!

33 No one light ~~a lamp and puts it ·in a hidden place‚, but on the lampstand, ·and it gives light for everyone in the house‚.~~

34 The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is generous, your whole body ·is‚ radiant; but if your eye is jaundiced, your whole body «is» dark. 35 So if the light within you is dark, how great «must» the darkness «be»!

?39a? .. 42 Woe for you, Pharisees, for you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and ·give up‚ justice and mercy and faithfulness. But these one had to do, without giving up those. 39b Woe to you, Pharisees, for you purify the outside of the cup and dish, but inside ·they are‚ full of plunder and dissipation. 41 ·Purify‚ .. the inside of the cup, … its outside … pure. 43 Woe to you, Pharisees, for love ·the place of honor at banquets and‚ the front seat in the synagogues and accolades in the markets. 44 Woe to you, ·Pharisees,‚ for you are like indistinct tombs, and people walking on top are unaware.

46b ·And‚ woe to you, ·exegetes of the Law,‚ for ·bind‚ ... burdens, ·and load on the backs of people, but‚ selves do not ·want «to lift»‚ your finger ·to move‚ them. 52 Woe to you, ·exegetes of the Law,‚ for you shut the ·kingdom of from people‚; you did not go in, ·nor‚ let in those «trying to» get in. 47 Woe to you, for you built the tombs of the prophets, but your «fore»fathers killed them. 48 «Thus» ·you‚ witness ·against yourselves that‚ you are ·sons‚ of your «fore»fathers. ..

49 Therefore also .. Wisdom said: I will send them prophets and sages, and «some» of them they will kill and persecute, 50 so that «a settling of accounts for» the blood of all the prophets poured out from the founding of the world may be required of this generation, 51 from «the» blood of Abel to «the» blood of Zechariah, murdered between the sacrificial altar and the House. Yes, I tell you, «an accounting» will be required of this generation!

2 Nothing is covered up that will not be exposed, and hidden that will not be known. 3 What I say to you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear «whispered» in the ear, proclaim on the housetops.

4 And do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. 5 But fear .. the one who is able to destroy both the soul and body in Gehenna.

6 Are not ·five‚ sparrows sold for ·two‚ cents? And yet not one of them will fall to earth without ·your Father's‚ «consent». 7 But even the hairs of your head all are numbered. Do not be afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows.

8 Anyone who ·may‚ speak out for me in public, ·the son of humanity‚ will also speak out for him before the angels .. . 9 But whoever may deny me in public ·will be‚ den·ied‚ before the angels .. .

10 And whoever says a word against the son of humanity, it will be forgiven him; but whoever ·speaks‚ against the holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him.

11 When they bring you before synagogues, do not be anxious about how or what you are to say; 12 for ·the holy Spirit will teach‚ you in that .. hour what you are to say.

33 «Do not treasure for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and gnawing deface and where robbers dig through and rob,» but treasure for yourselves treasure«s» in heaven, where neither moth nor gnawing defaces and where robbers do not dig through nor rob. 34 For where your treasure is, there will also be your heart.

22b Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you are to eat, nor about your body, with what you are to clothe yourself. 23 Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing? 24 Consider the ravens: They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet God feeds them. Are you not better than the birds? 25 And who of you by being anxious is able to add to one's stature a .. cubit? 26 And why are you anxious about clothing? 27 ·Observe‚ the lilies, how they grow: They do not work nor do they spin. Yet I tell you: Not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed like one of these. 28 But if in the field the grass, there today and tomorrow thrown into the oven, God clothes thus, will he not much more clothe you, persons of petty faith! 29 ·So‚ do not be anxious, saying: What are we to eat? ·Or:‚ What are we to drink? ·Or:‚ What are we to wear? 30 For all these the Gentiles seek; ·for‚ your Father knows that you need them ·all‚. 31 But seek his kingdom, and ·all‚ these shall be granted to you.

39 But know ·this‚: If the householder had known in which watch the robber was coming, he would not have let his house be dug into. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Humanity is coming at an hour you do not expect.

42 Who then is the faithful ·and‚ wise slave whom the master put over his household to give ·them‚ food on time? 43 Blessed is that slave whose master, on coming, will find so doing. 44 ·Amen‚, I tell you, he will appoint him over all his possessions. 45 But if that slave says in his heart: My master is delayed, and begins to beat ·his fellow slaves‚, and eats and drinks ·with the‚ drunk·ards‚, 46 the master of that slave will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him to pieces and give him an inheritance with the faithless.

·49‚ ·«Fire have I come to hurl on the earth, and how I wish it had already blazed up!»‚ 51 ·Do you‚ think that I have come to hurl peace on earth? I did not come to hurl peace, but a sword! 53 For I have come to divide son against father, ·and‚ daughter against her mother, ·and‚ daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

·54‚ ·«But he said to them:» When evening has come, you say: Good weather! For the sky is flame red.‚ ·55‚ ·And at dawn: Today «it's» wintry! For the lowering sky is flame red.‚ ·56‚ ·The face of the sky you know to interpret, but the time you are not able to?‚

58 ·While‚ you «go along» with your opponent on the way, make an effort to get loose from him, lest ·the opponent‚ hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the assistant, and ·the ‚ throw ·you‚ into prison. 59 I say to you: You will not get out of there until you pay the last ·penny‚.

18 What is the kingdom of God like, and with what am I to compare it? 19 It is like a seed of mustard, which a person took and threw into his ·garden‚. And it grew and developed into a tree, and the birds of the sky nested in its branches.

20 ·And again‚: With what am I to compare the kingdom of God? 21 It is like yeast, which a woman took «and» hid in three measures of flour until it was fully fermented.

24 Enter through the narrow door, for many will seek to enter and few ·are those who it‚. 25 When the ·householder has arisen‚ and locked the door, ·and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door,‚ saying: Master, open for us, and he will answer you: I do not know you. 26 Then you will begin saying: We ate in your presence and drank, and «it was» in our streets you taught. 27 And he will say to you: I do not know you! Get away from me, ·you who‚ do lawlessness!

29 ·And many‚ shall come from Sunrise and Sunset and recline 28 with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of God, but ·you will be‚ thrown out ·into the‚ out·er darkness‚, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.

34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her nestlings under her wings, and you were not willing! 35 Look, your house is forsaken! .. I tell you, you will not see me until ·«the time» comes when‚ you say: Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

·11‚ ·Everyone exalting oneself will be humbled, and the one humbling oneself will be exalted.‚

16 A certain person prepared a ·large‚ dinner, ·and invited many‚. 17 And he sent his slave ·at the time of the dinner‚ to say to the invited: Come, for it is now ready. 18 «One declined because of his» farm. ?19? «Another declined because of his business.» ?20?? .. 21 «And the slave, these things to his master.» Then the householder, enraged, said to his slave: 23 Go out on the roads, and whomever you find, invite, so that my house may be filled.

26 ·‚ does not hate father and mother not my ; and ·‚ son and daughter cannot be my disciple.

27 .. The one who does not take one's cross and follow after me cannot be my disciple.

33 ·The one who‚ finds one’s life will lose it, and ·the one who‚ loses one’s life ·for my sake‚ will find it.

34 Salt ·is good‚; but if salt becomes insipid, with what will it be ·seasoned‚? 35 Neither for the earth nor for the dunghill is it ·fit‚ — it gets thrown out.

13 No one can serve two masters; for a person will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon.

16 .. The law and the prophets «were» until John. From then «on» the kingdom of God is violated and the violent plunder it.

17 ·But it is easier for‚ heaven and earth ·to‚ pass away ·than for one iota or‚ one serif of the law ·to fall‚.

18 Everyone who divorces his wife ·and marries another‚ commits adultery, and the one who marries a divorcée commits adultery.

1 It is necessary for enticements to come, but woe «to the one» through whom they come! 2 It is better for him ·if‚ a millstone is put around his neck and he is thrown into the sea, than that he should entice one of these little ones.

4 Which person «is there» among you «who» has a hundred sheep, ·on losing‚ one of them, ·will‚ not leave the ninety-nine ·in the mountains‚ and go ·hunt for‚ the ·lost one‚? 5a And if it should happen that he finds it, 7 I say to you that he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.

·8‚ ·«Or what woman who has ten coins, if she were to lose one coin, would not light a lamp and sweep the house and hunt until she finds?»‚ ·9‚ ·«And on finding she calls the friends and neighbors, saying: Rejoice with me, for I found the coin which I lost.»‚ ·10‚ ·«Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels over one repenting sinner.»‚

3 If your brother sins ·against you‚, rebuke him; and if ·he repents‚, forgive him. 4 And if seven times a day he sins against you, also seven times shall you forgive him.

6 If you have faith like a mustard seed, you might say to this mulberry tree: Be uprooted and planted in the sea! And it would obey you.

·20‚ ·«But on being asked when the kingdom of God is coming, he answered them and said: The kingdom of God is not coming visibly.»‚ ·21‚ ·«Nor will one say:» Look, here! or: «There! For, look, the kingdom of God is within you!»‚

23 If they say to you: Look, he is in the wilderness, do not go out; look, he is indoors, do not follow. 24 For as the lightning streaks out from Sunrise and flashes as far as Sunset, so will be the Son of Humanity ·on his day‚.

26 .. ·As it took place in‚ the days of Noah, so will it be ·in the day<>‚ of the Son of Humanity. 27 ·For as in those days‚ they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark and the flood came and took them all, ?28-29? .. 30 so will it also be on the day the Son of Humanity is revealed.

Q 17:34-35 One Taken, One Left 34 I tell you, there will be two ·in the field‚; one is taken and one is left. 35 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one is taken and one is left.

12 .. A certain person, on taking a trip, 13 called ten of his slaves and gave them ten minas and said to them: Do business until I come. 15 .. ·After a long time‚ the master of those slaves comes and settles accounts with them. 16 And the first ·came‚ saying: Master, your mina has produced ten more minas. 17 And he said to him: Well done, good slave, you have been faithful over a pittance, I will set you over much. 18 And the ·second‚ came saying: Master, your mina has earned five minas. 19 He said ·to him: Well done, good slave, you have been faithful over a pittance,‚ I will set you over much. 20 And the other came saying: Master, 21 ·I knew‚ you, that you are a hard person, reaping where you did not sow and gathering from where you did not winnow; and, scared, I ·went and‚ hid ·your mina‚ in ·the ground‚. Here, you have what belongs to you. 22 He said to him: Wicked slave! You knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather from where I have not winnowed? 23 ·Then you had to invest‚ my money ·with the‚ money·-changers‚! And at my coming I would have received what belongs to me plus interest. 24 So take from him the mina and give «to» the one who has the ten minas. 26 ·For‚ to everyone who has will be given; but from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.

28 .. You who have followed me 30 will sit .. on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

"Q" (from the German word "Quelle," which means Source), is a figment of the imagination of liberal "Christian scholars" who seem to have problems acknowledging that the New Testament could possibly be the inspired Word of God. It has absolutely no basis in fact.

If it had a claim to being an authentic document, surely at least one of the Early Fathers would have mentioned it; it would be inconceivable that not even one Christian writer of the Second Century refers to it, even obliquely. Yet, such is the case.

Further, not even a fragment of something resembling "Q" has ever been found. Yet it seems that, among the "progressives" who condescend to self-identify as Christians, there often seems to be more faith in Q than in the overwhelming manuscript testimony of the four extant Gospels themselves! How curious, that!

"Q" is a construct of those who refuse to believe that the Gospels are inspired. It is championed by the likes of the so-called "Jesus Seminar," who, in the ultimate exercise in self-importance, vote on "truth" with colored balls. It is the handmaid of those who seek to discredit the moral, religious and historical usefulness of the Gospels' testimony via the innuendo that the writers of the various true Gospels were simply engaging in a four-way cribbing exercise, and God had nothing to do with it.

"Q" is nothing but a steaming crock.

“Q” is an invention of secularist, German researchers in the late 19th century, based on the false presumption that the gospels were not written for generations after Christ. It’s a theory to explain that the Synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) have similarities, and even verbatim passages among them, while containing clear differences.

The need for “Q” was based on several false beliefs: The theorists believed the gospels wrong on several points, so much so that they believed the authors had to be wholly unfamiliar with Palestine. And they believed that the colloquial, familiar styles of Greek indicated that had to be written by Greeks, not Hebrews.

Since then, scholars have found that they were the German researchers who were wrong about what Palestine was like. We’ve also learned of religious sects among the Jews who were immersed in Greek (Essenes, Qumran) and were evry closely related to Jesus and his disciples. No serious scholar places the origins of any gospel in the second century or later.

This makes it quite baffling to me why “Q” is still discussed. It’s like this:

Picture that some testimony existed that so-and-so traveled from Dallas to Scranton each day for work. Then imagine that defenders of this theory created some preposterous explanation for why and how so-and-so could have traveled so far every day: he must somehow have afforded to own and maintain a private jet and hidden airports in each of the two cities. No-one ever saw such a jet, and it sorta defies common sense, but that must be the explanation, right?

Then we find out that so-and-so lived in Dallas, PENNSYLVANIA, which is just about a half an hour from Scranton. So why would you still believe in the private jet?

If there’s a scratch of truth to the “Q” theory, it might this:

John was written by the disciple, as it clearly attests, although there’s a chance of some minor page shuffling there were some edits. Luke was written by 64 AD, and Mark by 50 AD, but Matthew’s origins are more mysterious. According to ancient sources, Matthew wrote a gospel in Aramaic, but vast portions of our gospel of Matthew seem unlikely to be translations from Aramaic. Luke witnessed much of what he wrote of, but wrote of more than he witnessed, so it’s even possible that Luke used this Aramaic gospel as one of his sources.

At some point, it does appear that some Greek author made sure that the wording of vast portions of Matthew and Mark were identical, including most of the passion narrative. Why would someone do this?

The portions of Matthew which are not in Mark are demonstrations that Jesus is the fulfillment of ancient prophecies (i.e., the infancy narrative), various teachings of Jesus, and historical but symbolic miracles. Such things would be treasured by an early Christian community, but would be incomplete as a gospel. It seems possible that an ancient Christian community which spoke Greek based a gospel on a translation of Matthew’s Aramaic gospel, but then completed it using Mark’s gospel. This makes particular sense, given that Mark’s gospel probably is the recollections of Peter. (John Mark was Peter’s secretary.)

The alternative — that Mark is a condensation of Matthew — seems simpler, but doesn’t explain why the language of Mark is much more internally consistent, while Matthew seems to be a hodgepodge of Greek and Palestinian styles. Or why Matthew’s and Mark’s unique portions are those which suggest the most intimacy with Jesus’ background. Or why Mark seems closest to Luke, rather than Matthew, when Luke seems to be based on Matthew. Or why Mark is closest to Matthew precisely when another source (Luke) covers the same material, but uses language which varies considerably from Matthew when no other source would be available.

But make no mistake: the supposition that Luke was based on a “lost” Aramaic gospel of Matthew is in no way what the theory of “Q” is about.

I’ve never seen a Catholic bible refer to “J”, “E”, “P”, or “D”... but I certainly have seen them cite theories which stem from authors whose works seem indebted to such notions.

The difference is that “Q” is an inherent dismissal of the historicity of the gospels. (In fact, “Q” negates the explicit text of the gospel of John.) Contrarily, nothing the Pentateuch states that Moses received solely and directly from God knowledge of the historical events which comprise Genesis.

Therefore, a Catholic scholar could accept certain evidence asserted by the proponents of “J”, “E”, “P”, and “D”, while dismissing any conclusions which are contrary to the Christian faith. It’s one thing to insist on oral histories as sources, when we have copies of the ancient documents which are our sources. It’s much less to suggest that Moses, guided by the Holy Spirit to accept or reject content, and empowered with prophecy in his authorship, could have had oral histories as possible sources of events he could not have witnessed (i.e., Genesis).

That said, many Catholic scholars who feel religiously obliged to defend the literal historicity of the New Testament read certain portions of the Old Testament as allegorical, particularly Genesis 1-11.

So are J, E, P, and D

Agreed.

but most Catholic scholars swear by them

That would be an overstatement. Many do, especially in Germany and the English speaking part of the Church. But a surprising number, even here in the US, do not. To the extent that they do, it is more a reflection of their own opinions than official Church teaching. If fault is to be found, it would be with the fact that these guys are not reined-in quickly or decisively enough. But, as many Catholics here can attest, even though "the wheels of the Church grind slowly, but they grind to powder," they seem to be grinding a bit faster under Benedict than they used to.

(which is why it's taught in the commentary and notes in most Catholic bibles).

Again, this is something of an overstatement. Nothing along these lines is found at all in Douay-Rheims commentary, of course, and nothing of the sort is found in the RSV-CE, either. The New American Bible certainly has this slant to it, but all of us orthodox Catholics know that a cabal of modernist Americans has gotten in on the commentary of that version, anyway. The copyright holders, in league with the translators and commentators for this version, have no intention of changing things in the near future, alas. However, there's the observation of the "wheels" to be considered again... Finally, the Jerusalem Bible and the New Jerusalem Bible, while they have some other excellent observations in the commentary, seem infected with this JEPD stuff, too. But, it should be noted that this version, while textually rather sound, was the result of a collaboration of liberal-tending Dominicans with mainline Protestants, particularly noticeable in the commentary, and even more particularly in the updated "New Jerusalem Bible" version.

One must wonder, though, why you seem so obsessed with these things as they pertain to Catholicism. As an apostate from Catholicism, going over to the Noachides, the matter of how Catholics or other Christians understand, rightly or wrongly, the formulation of the Pentateuch would seem to be of no concern to you. No more so, at least, than internal squabblings among Hindus over the fine points of the Vedic scrolls. I trust you leave them, at least, to their own devices. Yet you harp on this theme constantly on these threads. Since you have apostatized from Christianity, it would seem to me that all Christian-specific themes (Jesus' divinity, for starters) would be equally prone to incurring your wrath, yet, plainly, this is not reflected in your postings here. I'm honestly curious regarding this fixation of yours on liberal Catholics and their take on biblical inerrancy and inspiration, and I'm honestly perplexed about your assumption that their stance is a reflection on Catholicism as a whole.

Do you believe that every line of the Old Testament is literally true? Please answer this part, at least, because I have a follow-up on that.

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