The Gospel of Q

I am not going to get into the debate whether or not Q existed, I just want to explain what it is, because it is important in modern studies of the Gospels. I also would like to address it because Richard Horsley places so much stock in it being a political document.

So I would like to explain what it is and then see if the verses in question are as political as Horsley believes.

What is the Gospel of Q?

It is a hypothetical document or oral tradition that passed down many of the sayings of Jesus. Although there were few signs or miracles in Q, it was mostly sayings that Jesus spoke. According to many modern scholars, Q was a document that existed before all of the other gospels that we have in the Bible. Furthermore, Matthew and Luke copied much of Q and the book of Mark to write their own gospels.

Better explanations as well as cases both for and against the existence of Q is found throughout the internet. For this blog I am not going to commit to either side of the argument, I have already stated my belief that no matter how the Gospels were formed, God had his hand on the texts from start to finish.