THIS MIGHT SURPRISE YOU

"Q is the name for a lost collection of sayings that Matthew and Luke may have shared. By comparing the two Gospels, scholars can tell everything Q contained." Agree or disagree?

The answer

Disagree. Q, if it existed, is known only from what both Matthew and Luke chose to keep. It may have held material neither used, even a story of Jesus's death, and no one would ever know.

Why it’s interesting

What both have, like the Lord's Prayer, is counted as Q (Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4). But a saying only Matthew has could be Q material that Luke left out, so the edges of Q blur.

Open question

Learn the Bible.

Not just the stories, but the history, authorship, and scholarship behind it.