The 'Q' Source
If
you study the Bible at all, you have undoubtedly come across the Q Gospel. This
is the name given to a collection of sayings of Jesus. The name comes from the
German word ‘Quelle’, which means source. The Q Gospel is associated with the
Synoptic Gospels. These are the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, which all
share some aspects in common and are believed to have drawn from a common
source or sources.
The
Gospel of Mark is considered to have been the first written. It is believed
that Matthew and Luke both used Mark as a primary source for their writings. At
the same time, Matthew and Luke have several sayings and or teachings of Jesus
in common that are not found in the Gospel of Mark. This has led some scholars
to suggest there was another source used by both Matthew and Luke, which they
have named the Q Gospel.
It
is important to remember that the Q Gospel is strictly theoretical. There is no
mention of such a writing in any other texts. There are no known copies of the
Q gospel in existence, and no fragments have ever been discovered. This is in
stark contrast to the multiple copies of the other gospels, as well as partial
fragments. Some scholars have attempted to reconstruct the Q gospel based on
the similarities in Matthew and Luke, but many other scholars do not believe
such a document ever existed. They think other explanations can account for the
similarities in the gospels.
Interestingly,
most of those who support the theory of the Q gospel believe it was far
different in format than the other four gospels. It is thought that the Q
gospel was not a narrative of Jesus' life, but rather a collection of Jesus'
sayings.
Again,
there is no historical proof of such a document. The Q source is a hypothetical
document created by scholars to account for similarities in the three Synoptic
Gospels. If such a document ever existed, there has, to date, been no physical
evidence discovered to support its existence. This is not to say evidence may
not be found in the future, but it is considered unlikely by most scholars.
It
is curious that if such a document existed, Mark apparently did not use any of
its material in his gospel account.
Note: With
the Two-Source Hypothesis, it is believed that the Q gospel was the first
written. Mark was then composed second, followed by Matthew, and finally the
Gospel of Luke. The Gospel of John is considered separate from this group of
gospels.
It
should also be noted that early Christian historians/writers such as Clement of
Alexandria recorded that Matthew and Luke were written first. If this is
accurate, they could not have used the Gospel of Mark as a reference.
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