Most of the sayings in Matthew and Luke that are often classed as "blessings" (or beatitudes) and "woes" were patterned on approximately twenty sayings in Q. Thomas has only three parallels, while Mark and John do not credit Jesus with such formal public pronouncements of favor or disfavor.

Sense of Occasion

In Greek each saying starts with a word that either suggests a state of unlimited bliss and well-being (μακάριος) or expresses absolute misery and distress (οὔαι). To give full force to these terms, Scholars Version translates them with enthusiastic expressions of unqualified celebration ("Congratulations!") or extreme discontent ("Damn!"). For these Q sayings presuppose the kinds of encounter that usually evoke such positive or negative exclamations.

Two Styles of Promoting Justice

In Hebrew scripture similar formulae were often used to announce God's justice.  People who followed the instructions of Yahweh were assured of prosperity in benedictions like one that greeted pilgrims to the temple:

Congratulations! All who revere the Lord, who walk in his ways!
You will eat the fruit of your manual labor!
You will succeed and for you there is good!
     -- Ps 128:1-2

Social ideals were advanced by similar commendations:

Congratulations to one who attends to the poor!
On the day of distress this person will escape.
     -- Ps 41:1

Conversely, injustice and arrogance were confronted by sentences promising punishment:

Damn crook! For you there's distress!
For what your hands deal will be dealt to you.
     -- Isa 3:11

Damn you who see yourselves as sages
and view yourselves as smart!
Damn wine-drinking champions
and drink-mixing strongmen,
who for a bribe acquit a crook
and dismiss a just person's rights!
     -- Isa 5:21-23

A survey of such pronouncements in Judaic scripture shows that formal commendation belonged primarily to the repertoire of sages, while condemnation was a hallmark of prophets.

Christian Prophets

This leads scholars to ask whether both kinds of sayings in Q came from the same person. Many sayings reveal Jesus' voice to be that of an uncommon Judaic sage. Prophetic voices were more common and harder to distinguish. Q credited John the Baptist with warnings of condemnation, like this:

You spawn of Satan!
who warned you to flee from the impending doom?
     -- Matt 3:7//Luke 3:7

Many prophets also emerged after Jesus' death to lead Christian groups as far away as Greece.  Paul told those at Corinth: "In the congregation God set apostles first, prophets second, teachers third..." (1 Cor 12:27); and he urged them: "Strive for spiritual goals, above all, to prophesy... I want you all...to prophesy" (1 Cor 14:1,5).  Prophets of the same God claimed inspiration by the same spirit; so Christian prophets, like the author of the book of Revelation, sometimes spoke for the risen Jesus. In such a social setting Jesus was inevitably seen as the model prophet and the source of any anonymous prophetic pronouncement.

Memory Magnets

When Q was composed, a word of congratulations or condemnation acted as a magnet, attracting or generating similar sayings. Related texts show that other scribes recalled the same sayings in different patterns.

1. Congratulations. Four of the seven (or so) congratulations from Q are clustered in Luke 6:20-22. Thomas recorded three parallels, but separately (Thom 54, 68) or paired (Thom 69).  Matt 5:3-12, on the other hand, has an even longer list of congratulations than Luke.

2. Condemnations. About half of Q's condemnations are in a pair of tandem clusters of three sayings each, which Luke 11:40-48 aims at distinct groups of opponents. Matthew 23 lumps them together, issuing eight condemnations. The form of these sayings was flexible, since sometimes Matthew has a "damn!" where Luke does not, and vice versa. The few parallels in Mark or Thomas are not formal condemnations. One is only an ironic retort about washing (Thom 89). The other two (Mark 12:38-40 and Thom 39) are advice to followers, rather than condemnation of foes.

The Jesus Seminar concluded that Jesus was more apt to congratulate than to condemn. Three of Q's congratulations were overwhelmingly voted red; but only one condemnation---aimed at people obsessed with their own public reputation---was barely weighted pink.

Matt 5:3-12	Luke 6:20-23	Thom 54
2 He then began to speak,	20 Then he would look
and this is what	squarely at his disciples
he would teach them:	and say:
3"Congratulations	"Congratulations,	"Congratulations
to the poor in spirit!	you poor!	to the poor!
The empire of Heaven *	God's empire *	For the empire of Heaven *
belongs to them.	belongs to you.	belongs to you."
4 Congratulations	[see Luke 6:22 below]
to those who grieve!
They will be consoled.
5 Congratulations
to the gentle!
They will inherit
the earth.
		Thom 69
6 Congratulations	21 Congratulations,	2 "Congratulations
to those	you	to those
who hunger	hungry!	who go hungry
and thirst for justice!		so the stomach
They will have a feast.	You will have a feast.	of the needy
		may be filled."
7 Congratulations
to the merciful!
They will receive mercy!
8 Congratulations
to those
whose motives are pure!
They will see God!
[see Matt 5:4 above]	Congratulations,
	you who weep now!
	You will laugh.
9 Congratulations
to those
who work for peace!
They will be called
God's children!
		Thom 69
		1 Jesus said:
10 Congratulations		Congratulations
to those who		to those who
suffered persecution		have been persecuted
for the sake of justice!		in their hearts:
The empire of Heaven *		They are the ones
belongs to them.		who truly know
		the Father!
		Thom 68
		1 Jesus said:
11 Congratulations	22 Congratulations	"Congratulations
to you when	to you when	to you when
they denounce you	people hate you	you are hated
and	and when
persecute you	they ostracize you	and persecuted;
		2and no place
		will be found where
		you were not persecuted.
and spread	and spread
malicious gossip	malicious gossip
about you	about you
	and scorn your name
	as evil
because of	because of
me.	the son of Man! **
12 Rejoice	23 Rejoice on that day
and be glad!	and jump for joy!
	Because, look!
	your reward is great
In heaven	in heaven.
you'll be more than rewarded.
Remember,	Bear in mind
that is how they persecuted	that their ancestors treated
the prophets	the prophets
who proceeded you.	in the same way.

* See cameo essay on the empire of God
** Greek: ὁ ὕιος τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (lit: "the son of the Human")

Jesus' first public words in Q were the four congratulations that open Luke's version of the sermon.  Matthew edited this list, switching Q's second and third congratulations in the process of adding others.  Matthew lists eight or nine congratulations, depending on whether one counts the verses concerning persecution (Matt 5:10-12) as one or two.  But only the four with parallels in Luke were definitely derived from Q.

The author of Q may have been the first to group these sayings. For outside of Q (and texts dependent on it), such congratulations circulated either separately or in other combinations.  Parallels to Luke's version of the first and second are recorded as isolated sayings in Thomas (54, 69). The first on Luke's list is also found fused with the eighth on Matthew's in a letter written by Polycarp, the bishop of the church at Smyrna in Asia Minor who became a famous Christian martyr in the early second century. Since the personal memory patterns of individual Christian scribes obviously shaped the way Jesus’ words were recalled, the Jesus Seminar voted on each saying separately.

Congratulations, poor!	%	Red	Pink	Grey	Black	WA	Print
Luke 6:20 Matt 5:3 Thom 54 PolPh 2:3		87 23 83 67	7 60 10 23	0 0 0 3	6 17 7 7	91 71 90 83	red pink red red
Congratulations, hungry!
Luke 6:21 Matt 5:6 Thom 69:2		70 27 20	10 47 43	7 3 13	13 23 23	79 59 53	red pink pink
Congratulations, mourners!
Luke 6:21 Matt 5:4		70 67	13 10	0 0	17 23	79 73	red pink

Social concerns

The first three congratulations in Q (and parallels in Thomas and Polycarp) focused on people in sad conditions: poverty, hunger, mourning. Matthew, however, added qualifying phrases to Q's commendations of the poor ("in spirit") and hungry ("for justice") that gave them a spiritualized interpretation. It is not likely that Luke dropped Matthew's extra themes from the list he got from Q, because elsewhere Luke focused on linking Jesus to both spirit and social justice. Commendation of social virtue was commonplace in Judaic and Christian tradition. Commendations of the needy, on the other hand, were and still are rare.

Matthew's four extra congratulations also concern virtue. Q was probably not Matthew's source for these sayings. For Luke certainly would not suppress commendations of gentleness, mercy and peacemaking.

Paradoxes

The first word in each of these sayings (Greek: μακάριοι) implies freedom from trouble and cares. Such announcements are usually offered only to those who are in position to be happy, prosperous, or powerful. People who are currently deprived certainly do not expect to be congratulated. Announcing that they possess what properly belongs to those in power, is a plain paradox.

The first of Q's congratulations inverts the normal perception of world order by declaring that people at the bottom of the political-economic ladder are heirs to the one at the top.  God was widely regarded as an absolute ruler (Greek: βασίλευς) who delegated control over his domain (βασιλεῖα) through subordinate powers from the top down. This is illustrated in the cameo essay on God's Empire.  The congratulations extended to those who hunger and weep are similar.  But these sayings promise a change in current conditions more explicitly than the congratulations of the poor.

The rhetorical power of all three Q sayings (Luke's version) comes from their juxtaposition of opposite conditions.  A pitiful condition is radically inverted, so that those who experience it are, ironically, in position to be congratulated.  Matthew's versions of these sayings appear designed to encourage morality more than to relieve the depressed.

Attribution

Jesus almost certainly formulated the Lukan (Q) version of these three sayings.  Each abruptly announces an altered circumstance that challenges common expectations. Q and Thomas independently agree that the brief congratulations of the poor and hungry came from Jesus; and the aphorism concerning grief is similar in form and content. Though Hebrew scripture advocated taking care of people in such conditions, no Judean or Christian speaker other than Jesus is said to have issued such striking congratulations.  In short, these dramatic sayings offer a memorable, coherent, and distinctive approach to traditional Judaic social concerns. The Fellows of the Jesus Seminar were almost unanimous in accepting Luke's congratulations of the poor as a model genuine saying of Jesus. It was among the top three sayings voted red; and Jesus' congratulations of the hungry and grieving were not far behind. Matthew's version of these sayings was rated only pink because of his modifications.  Most Fellows thought the congratulations that Matthew alone reports were not distinctive or incisive enough to be traced to Jesus.

Congratulations, persecuted!	%	Red	Pink	Grey	Black	WA	Print
Luke 6:22-23 Matt 5:10 Matt 5:11-12 Thom 68 Thom 69:1 PolPh 2:3		3 20 7 7 0 10	40 17 36 23 3 13	13 13 17 23 23 13	43 50 40 47 73 63	34 36 37 30 10 23	grey grey grey grey black black

Varied Pattern

The last congratulations from Q's list (Luke 6:22-23//Matt 5:11-12) also consoles people who are suffering. But it differs enough from the first three to be treated separately. It is not only longer, but less generalized, addressing those who are oppressed just for being associated with Jesus.  Matt 5:10 is a simpler, more general saying that echoes his version of the congratulations to the poor and hungry so closely that Polycarp equated these sayings. Thomas' two partial parallels to Matt 5:10 have different conclusions. Thom 68 is the only version that congratulates the oppressed without qualification.

Historical Perspective

Matt 5:11-12 and Luke 6:22-23 are independent paraphrases of a Q saying comparing abuse of Jesus' associates to mistreatment of former prophets. The situation resembles reports by Paul (1 Thess 2:14-15) and Acts (4:18, etc.) of the treatment of Christian preachers after Jesus' execution. Q's congratulations of the persecuted probably comes from this period. For there is no evidence that anyone was persecuted for associating with Jesus before his death.

The less developed parallels in Matt 5:10, Thomas, and Polycarp, however, raise the possibility that the Q saying was based on a saying that encouraged the oppressed in general. But the different conclusions of these sayings hinder identification of the original wording.

Attribution

It is hard to trace any of these sayings directly to Jesus, since each has been interpreted freely to fit the perspective of later writers. Thus, more than half the Fellows voted not to include any version in the data base of things Jesus probably said.

Still, oppression does not usually evoke congratulations; and the number of variants show that the idea that Jesus congratulated people whom others hated and rejected was early and widespread. The logic behind such a saying is enough like Jesus' other congratulations of people in distress to convince several Fellows that Jesus said something like this. The grey weighted average shows this tension between aspects of the saying that can plausibly be traced to Jesus and those that cannot.

 

Matt	Luke 6:24-26	Thom
	24 Damn you rich!
	You already have your consolation.
	25 Damn you who are well-fed now!
	You will know hunger.
	Damn you who laugh now!
	You will learn to weep and grieve.
	26 Damn you when everybody speaks well of you!
	Bear in mind
	that their ancestors treated the phony prophets the same way.

Source

Matthew's omission of this cluster of condemnations makes it uncertain that it came from Q. But Luke is more likely to have copied these sayings from a written source than to have created them as corollaries to Q's list of four congratulations. For Luke's other condemnations are based on a written source, Q in particular.  Elsewhere Luke has Jesus commend the prudent use of wealth and meals to attain eternal bliss, as in these sayings:

I tell you, make use of your ill-gotten gain to make friends for yourselves,
so that when the bottom falls out they are there to welcome you
into eternal dwelling places.
      -- Luke 16:9

When you throw a dinner party, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind.
In that case you are to be congratulated, since they cannot repay you.
You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.
      -- Luke 14:13-14

A prophetic denunciation of the upper classes is more typical of Q. Note that Q explicitly compared its audience to the ancient Hebrew prophets in its fourth formula of congratulations, which immediately precedes this cluster of condemnations. Criticisms of those currently in power were common in the Judaic prophetic tradition. So, these condemnations probably came from someone posing as a social prophet.

Damn you rich!	%	Red	Pink	Grey	Black	WA	Print
Luke 6:24		10	10	0	80	17	black
Damn you well-fed!
Luke 6:25a		13	7	0	80	18	black
Damn you laughers!
Luke 6:25b		7	10	0	83	14	black
Damn you well-liked!
Luke 6:26		10	10	0	80	17	black

Attribution

Such observations make it hard to trace these sayings to Jesus.  They are reported only by one later author (Luke) and appear designed to balance a sayings cluster found only in a single source (Q).  Moreover, the author of these sayings assumes the posture of an ascetic, which is more compatible with John the Baptist's public reputation than with that of Jesus. (This contrast will be explored more fully in the notes on a later Q sayings cluster: Luke 7:31-35//Matt 11:16-19.)  Accordingly, just as many Fellows voted black on these sayings as voted red on the first three congratulations.