Olegs Andrejevs, «Reexamining Q2: Son of God Christology in Q’s Redactional Layer.», Vol. 97 (2016) 62-78
This essay analyzes three important Christological texts in the reconstructed synoptic sayings source Q: 4,1-13 (the temptation legend), 6,20b-49 (the Q sermon) and 10,21-22 (the thanksgiving of Jesus). According to the current consensus in Q studies, these texts belong to three different compositional strata and reflect different theological concerns. I coordinate them in the document’s redactional layer (Q2), demonstrating their compatibility on literary-critical and traditionhistorical grounds. My hypothesis is that these texts provide the necessary Christological framework for Q2’s depiction of Jesus as the messianic Son of Man and Lord by stressing his identity as God’s unique Son.
72 oLeGS ANdreJeVS
seems logical to coordinate both compositional units in Q2’s Christo-
logical framework.
It is necessary at this point to address Kloppenborg’s remaining
“pro-nomian” Q3 texts. Aside from the Torah’s use in 4,1-13, which,
as I hope to have shown, certainly does not appear to be the main pur-
pose of that text, Kloppenborg’s pro-nomian Q3 hypothesis rests on the
premise of a zealous scribe adding two glosses to presumably danger-
ous statements in 11,42c and 16,17. As shown by Ulrich Luz, how-
ever, Q 11,42c may not be quite as abnormal as Kloppenborg sees it 29.
The reading of Q 16,17 as secondary with respect to 16,16 is also
questionable. Here, it seems more likely that the author of 16,16-17
creates an intentional inclusio (employing no,moj in 16,16a and 16,17b)
to show that despite the struggle met by John and Jesus, viz. the king-
dom’s most recent envoys, God’s law ultimately endures unchanged.
If these arguments are correct, this leaves no further Q3 texts in Klop-
penborg’s compositional model and consequently no reason for that
stratum to exist. It therefore appears best to retain 11,42c in the Q2
compositional layer (where it belongs with the judgment speech
in 11,39b-52) and 16,16-17 in Q1 (where it belongs with the block of
sayings in 16,13-17,2).
III. Son of God Christology in 6,20b-49
I now turn to the document’s most elaborate portrayal of Jesus as
ku,rioj, the sermon in 6,20b-49. In the remainder of this essay it will
be shown that this portrayal relies on the concept of divine sonship
expressed in the Q2 texts 4,1-13 and 10,21-22. Along the way, I will
also highlight certain form-critical and polemical features which
6,20b-49 shares with Q2.
While I second IQp’s reconstruction of the sequence of 6,20b-
49 30, I arrange the Q sermon’s structure differently: (1) an exordium
consisting of the beatitudes and a command to love enemies (6,20b-
28), (2) the Imitatio Dei section (6,35c-d; 6,29-36), (3) an accusation
speech against a judging disciple (6,37-42b), (4) a parable illustrating
the lesson of the accusation speech (6,43-45), (5) another accusation
and a related parable illustrating the consequences of not following
Jesus’ commands (6,46-49). The opening section is programmatic; it
29
KLoppeNBorG VerBIN, Excavating Q, 212; Cf. U. LUz, Matthew 21–28.
A Commentary (Hermeneia; Minneapolis, MN 2005) 122-123.
30
roBINSoN – HoFFMANN – KLoppeNBorG, Critical Edition of Q, 44-101.