Overview

In The Case Against Q, Mark Goodacre challenges the consensus in New Testament scholarship, arguing that the existence of the Q document (a hypothesized source used by Matthew and Luke) is not the best explanation for the double tradition passages (material present in Matthew and Luke, but absent from Mark). Instead, he breaks down the myriad of assumptions Q theorists bring to the table and shows how the Farrer theory (Luke’s use of Matthew) adequately explains the data just as well, and often better than the two-source hypothesis. Goodacre spends the bulk of the book responding to the claim that Luke’s order is inexplicable if the author used the Gospel of Matthew. Later, he discusses the major and minor agreements between Matthew and Luke to provide positive evidence that Q did not exist. He begins in chapter 1 by showing how the Farrer hypothesis is either unknown or misrepresented in modern scholarship. He continues this thought in chapter 2 by defending Marcan priority and that the Farrer hypothesis shares this belief with the two-source hypothesis. Chapter 3 is dedicated to the major reasons for defending the existence of Q; Goodacre provides quick responses to the supposed evidence and shows how Luke’s use of Matthew explains the data just as well. Chapters 4 and 5 focus on Luke’s order and how narrative criticism should be used in the Synoptic Problem. In a surprisingly insightful chapter 6, the author examines cinematic portrayals of Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount to show that modern movies use the material in a similar manner to Luke’s supposed inexplicable use of it. Chapter 7 argues that Luke’s “blessed are the poor” (Luke 6:20) is a redaction of Matthew’s “blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matt 5:3) and not a more primitive reading. Chapter 8 looks at the major and minor agreements between Matthew and Luke against Mark, which amounts to a strong case against a single document containing the double tradition material. Finally, Goodacre compares Q to the Gospel of Thomas, a 2nd century gnostic text of 114 sayings of Jesus, as a final thought experiment.

Critical Review

The Case Against Q should be the starting point for any proponent of the two-source hypothesis. Goodacre is convincing and fair-minded in his approach, pointing out the flaws of the Q theory and presenting the evidence for the Farrer hypothesis. The book is convincing in its argument against the existence of the Q document and its impact on the field is no surprise. While understandable given the book’s aim, it would have been helpful for neutral parties if he provided a section displaying segments of Matthew and Luke side-by-side devoted to visually showing how Luke’s use of Matthew makes better sense of the literary data than the postulated Q source. However, this is a minor quibble.

Church Application

Although many would contend that debates surrounding the composition and sources of the Synoptic Gospels are a discussion solely for the academy, this must not be so. The different views of the Synoptic problem actually have implications on the sources and knowledge we can obtain regarding the historical Jesus himself. For this reason, sermons and series’ which focus on Jesus and the Gospels would be remiss if they disregard the primitive history behind such topics. A short introduction to the Synoptic problem would highlight the strands of literary and oral traditions which discuss the life and miracles of Jesus and also the ways in which each Gospel author uniquely portrays the Messiah.