This, I think (!), will be my last post for now on the Q source apparently used by Matthew and Luke for many of their sayings materials, a source that must at one time have existed (since Matthew and Luke appear both to have had access to it), that was written in Greek (otherwise Matthew and Luke could not agree word-for-word in places – in Greek — in their non-Markan sayings material), and that contained almost exclusively (or exclusively) sayings of Jesus.

There are many other issues that we could discuss about Q, but for now I would like to end by mentioning just one.  It is regularly and routinely maintained by New Testament scholars that one of the striking features of Q is that it contains a list of Jesus’ sayings and no passion narrative – no account of Jesus’ death and resurrection.  Scholars then draw a conclusion: the death of Jesus was not important to the community that produced the Q document.

I have to admit, I’m not completely convinced of this claim, even though I appear to be in the minority on this matter.   My view is that we can’t know whether this document copied by Matthew and Luke had a passion narrative.  How could we know, really?  The one and only access we have to this document, assuming it existed (as I do), is through passages that Matthew and Luke have in common that are not found in Mark.   Technically speaking, if either Matthew or Luke drew any of its material from Q and the other did not, then we would have no way of knowing whether that material in Matthew or Luke (but not both) came from Q or from somewhere else (M, L, or the author’s own imagination).

In theory it is possible…

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