Focus

Like many speeches, Q's sermon becomes more narrowly focused in the second half.  Two issues of behavior are spotlighted:

• criticizing others and
• following one's teacher.

Principles established in the first half of this sermon by the golden rule and the image of a tolerant God are developed here by a string of sayings that remind critics of the need to correct their own behavior.  This lecture is not expressly aimed at a particular audience. Like most wisdom teaching, the appeal is made on the basis of general principles. But Q's combination of sayings makes it clear that the author was addressing fault-finders who claimed to follow Jesus.

Edited Composition

Q's argument was composed from four clusters of sayings that are only loosely linked by pattern or theme:

a. criticism (Luke 6:37-38,41-42//Matt 7:1-5, 6:14-15)
b. leadership (Luke 6:39-40//Matt 10:24-25, 15:14)
a'. product quality (Luke 6:43-45//Matt 7:16-20, 12:33-35)
b'. obedience (Luke 6:46-49//Matt 7:21,24-26)

Q's editor probably created this sequence, since other sources (Mark, Thomas, etc.) set some of these sayings in other contexts. Matthew and Luke further modified Q's clusters. So the source of each element must be traced separately.

Standard of Judgment

Matt 7:1-2	Luke 6:37-38
1 "Don't pass judgment,	37 "Don't pass judgment,
so	and
you won't be judged.	you won't be judged;
2 Don't forget,
the judgment
you hand out
will be the judgment
you get back.		Mark 4
		24 "Pay attention
		to what you hear!
For the standard	[see Luke 6:38 below]	For the standard
you apply		you apply
will be the standard		will be the standard
applied to you."		applied to you
		and then some."
		Mark 11
		25 "When you stand
		to pray,
		if you are holding
		anything
Matt 6:14-15		against anyone,
14 "For if you forgive	forgive,	forgive them,
the offenses of others,		so
your heavenly Father		your Father in heaven
will also forgive	and you'll be forgiven.	may forgive
your offenses.		your transgressions."
15 And if
you don't forgive
others, neither will
your heavenly Father
forgive your offenses."
	38 Give,
	and it'll be given to you:
	they'll put in your lap
	a full measure,
	packed down,
	sifted and overflowing.
[see Matt 7:2 above]	For the standard you apply	[see Mark 4:24 above]
	will be the standard
	applied to you."

1 Clem 13:2	Polycarp, Philippians 2:3
2 For	3 Remember what
[the Lord Jesus]	the Lord taught
spoke like this:	when he said:
"Show mercy,
so you may be shown mercy;
forgive,
so you may be forgiven;
as you do,
so it will be done to you;
as you give,
so you will be given;
as you judge,	"Don't judge,
so you will be judged;	so you won't be judged;
	forgive,
	and  you will be forgiven;
	show mercy,
	so you may be shown mercy;
as you are kind,
so you will be shown kindness;
the standard you apply	the standard you apply
will be the standard applied to you;	will be the standard applied to you
	again."

Reinforced Pattern

The set of legal sanctions introduced here reinforce the principle of transactions which the golden rule expressed in broad generalities.  The pattern repeated in each saying is the same: an act or decision generates an equal and opposite reaction. The details of Q's original list, however, are blurred by the varied wording of this sayings cluster in current texts.  The brief warning about judging (Luke 6:37//Matt 7:1) was a sentence that reminded Matthew, Luke and other writers of all kinds of similar sentiments. So what belonged to the original collection of sayings (Q) needs to be distinguished from embellishments by later scribes.

Contents

At least two sayings on reciprocal action, and probably a third, were linked in Q, which often grouped sayings in pairs or trios. As is often the case, Luke here best preserves the sequence of the synoptic sayings source:

• on judging (Luke 6:37a//Matt 7:1)
• on forgiving (Luke 6:37c//[Matt 6:14])
• same standards (Luke 6:38c//Matt 7:2b)

The last aphorism is in the same place in every version of this list. But Luke and Clement, a late first-century bishop of Rome, recalled the first two in reverse order. Luke's link of the saying about set standards to the promise of forgiveness gives it a more positive ring than Matthew's presentation of it as an appendage to the threat of judgment. Clement and Polycarp independently confirm Luke's version by recalling the saying on standards as summation of even longer lists of advice encouraging social tolerance and generosity.

The pair of sayings in Matt 7:1-2 is surprisingly more concentrated than any parallel set. For elsewhere Matthew's insertions substantially inflate Q's sermon. Yet, brevity does not always mean literary priority, for editors often condense a text, especially if they have cited portions of it previously. The fact that Matthew echoed Mark's version of the saying on forgiveness just a few lines earlier (Matt 6:14) apparently led him to drop the middle injunction from this trio of Q sayings.

Forgiveness

On forgiving	%	Red	Pink	Grey	Black	WA	Print
Luke 6:37c Matt 6:14-15 Mark 11:25 1 Clem 13:2b PolPhil 2:3c		7 7 14 7 7	71 36 36 71 71	7 43 36 71 71	14 14 14 14 14	57 45 50 57 57	pink grey grey pink pink

Careful study shows that Jesus said something about those who forgive being forgiven. The wording of this principle varies in each of the gospels. But the core logic is radically distinctive and widely credited to Jesus.

Many Jewish and Christian authors urged forgiveness. But this Q injunction is unusual because it sets no prior conditions for forgiving. Instead, it makes granting unconditional forgiveness the single condition for oneself being forgiven. Other Jewish and Christian sources generally make forgiveness depend on the offender's change in attitude and behavior, which has traditionally been called "repentance." This saying, however, does not mention apologies or compensation for any offense. Rather, those who have been offended are simply told that if they excuse offenders, their own offenses will be excused. The mind that formulated this principle was obviously preoccupied with repairing relationships, rather than correcting other people's behavior.

Such blanket disregard for correcting offenses presents an implicit challenge to traditional standards of social and religious discipline, Jewish and Christian alike. For the bald command to forgive is designed to encompass even offenses against God, as the versions in Mark and Matthew make explicit. Notice that forgiveness of sins is here presumed to depend on demonstating tolerance of other sinners, rather than on participation in traditional acts of worship, such as uttering prayers or offering sacrifice.  Thus, the logic of this logion is not a likely brainchild of a typical religious leader.

Moreover, there are two pieces of circumstantial evidence that implicate Jesus as this saying's ultimate source. First, the same logic is found in a petition that is central to the popular Christian prayer which early scribes credited to "the Lord's" teaching ("forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors", Luke 11:4//Matt 6:12). This prayer appears in a later section of Q and will examined in detail below.

The second piece of circumstantial evidence is less direct but even better proof that Jesus was prone to ignore others' faults. Several gospel passages portray opponents criticizing him as a "crony of sinners" (e.g., Luke 7:34//Matt 9:19).  Such a slur is not apt to have been fabricated by Jesus' supporters, since the charge that he lacked moral discrimination in accepting associates damaged both his reputation and theirs. This criticism of Jesus is the focus of an extensive rebuttal later in Q and, thus, is subject to a fuller discussion elsewhere. But, for now at least, it supports tracking this unqualified advice to forgive offenders to Jesus in some form.

More than three quarters of the Fellows rated Luke's terse formula advising forgiveness at least pink, since dramatic brevity is typical of other genuine Jesus aphorisms. Matthew's version was rated somewhat lower because his antithetical pair of positive and negative statements is more typical of the style of that gospel than of Jesus or even Q. The synoptic writers' tendency to paraphrase Jesus' principle explains why no version of this saying attracted many red votes.

Judging

On judging	%	Red	Pink	Grey	Black	WA	Print
Luke 6:37a Luke 6:37b Matt 7:1-2a 1 Clem 13:2e PolPhil 2:3b		8 0 4 0 4	20 15 23 20 20	4 23 8 12 12	68 62 65 68 64	23 18 22 17 21	black black black black black

Surprisingly, Jesus cannot be proven to be the source of the saying to which Q linked his advice to forgive freely. Unconditional forgiveness obviously implies opposition to condemning offenders. But the historical question is whether Q's counsel to avoid judging others is something Jesus explicitly said or is just a logical inference generated by other minds. Jesus might have agreed in principle with the interpretation of his words by Greek Christian scribes. But historical honesty does not allow us to credit him with formulating an idea others were already prone to think.

Jesus was not widely identified as the source of this saying. It seems Q was the sole early source to credit him with a general statement about judging. But a survey of Judaic and Christian texts shows many other voices warning critics to be cautious in judging others.

A prime axiom of Hebraic scripture is that God is the ultimate judge of all judges. So, in a period of social chaos six centuries before Jesus this oracular warning was issued by the prophet Ezekiel (8:27):

I will deal with them in relation to their conduct;
and I will judge them in proportion to their judgments,
so they will know that I am the LORD.

The earliest collection of sayings in the rabbinic Mishnah credits the following aphorism to Hillel, a leader of the Pharisees during Jesus' youth:

Do not judge your fellow creature
until you are in the same position.
---Aboth 2.5

And Jewish Christian authors like Paul and James gave similar advice:

There is one law-giver and judge
that has the power to save or destroy.
So, who are you to judge your neighbor?
---James 4:12

So, when you judge, every human is without excuse.
For in judging the other person you condemn yourself.
For when you judge, you're doing the same things (they are).
---Romans 2:1

The fact that such logic could be invoked by Christian writers without even mentioning Jesus is a clear signal that it was not dependent on something he was generally known to have said.

About a quarter of the Fellows of the Jesus Seminar thought the terse formula in Matt 7:1 enough like genuine Jesus sayings in style and sentiment to be voted pink. But the limited attestation and lack of a really distinctive viewpoint of this aphorism on judgment prevented the great majority of Fellows from numbering it among those Q sayings that can be traced to Jesus with any degree of certainty.

Full Measure

Full measure	%	Red	Pink	Grey	Black	WA	Print
Luke 6:38ab 1 Clem 13:2d		0 0	15 12	19 20	65 68	17 15	black black

It is possible that Q contained a formula about giving similar to its balanced pair of corollaries on judgment and forgiveness ("give and it will be given to you"). For this saying is found in independent versions of this sayings cluster recorded by Luke and 1 Clement. But it is just as likely that these texts illustrate the natural tendency of the human mind to repeat and expand a familiar word pattern. For this addition is really irrelevant to the current issue of the proper reaction to offenders, but rather reinforces Jesus' advice about unlimited generosity in the first half of the sermon: "Give to everyone who begs from you" (Luke 6:30//Matt 5:42). Luke 6:38b alone provides the assurance that the giver will receive full compensation and then some. Clement's paraphrase, on the other hand, multiplies the list of reciprocal items to encompass virtually any kind of human behavior:

For (Jesus) spoke thus:
"Be merciful to obtain mercy.
Forgive to be forgiven.
As you do, so will it be done to you.
As you give, so will it be given to you.
As you judge, so will you be judged.
As you are kind, so will you be shown kindness.
Whatever standard you apply is what will be applied to you."
--- I Clement 13:2

As in music, this tendency to elaborate variations on a traditional theme is evidence of a derivative work by a later composer. Matthew's silence is reason to doubt that any of these sayings not directly related to judgment or forgiveness came from Q.

There is even less reason to trace any version of the saying about reciprocal giving to Jesus.  The logic here is basically the same as the ancient Latin saying, Do, ut des ("I give so that you will give"), that expresses the principle behind sacrifice in general.  The gift is offered to obligate the receiver to return the favor.  Jesus, on the other hand, probably advised giving without expecting compensation, as we noted in the prior section (Luke 6:60//Matt 5:42). The claim that generosity will be repaid could have come from anyone familiar with other Jewish and Christian wisdom sayings like:

Cast your bread on the the water
and in time it will return to you.
--Qoheleth 11:1

God loves a cheerful giver.
---2 Corinthians 9:7c

Thus, the Fellows cast no red votes.

Standards

Same standard	%	Red	Pink	Grey	Black	WA	Print
Luke 6:38c Matt 7:2b Mark 4:24b 1 Clem 13:2g PolPhil 2:3e		13 13 13 13 13	13 13 13 13 13	23 23 23 23 23	50 50 50 50 50	30 30 30 30 30	grey grey grey grey grey

This aphorism, like any abstraction, is ambiguous. The gray ranking by the Fellows indicates it cannot be confidently credited to Jesus, though it may reflect some of his thinking. Here the principle one's own action sets the standard for a reaction is formulated in even more generalized terms than the golden rule. The saying itself fails to specify who will reciprocate. So, like the other sayings in this cluster, this formula could refer to reaction either by a fellow human or by God. Such ambiguity in application produces ambiguity about a saying's origin.

The fact that the pattern of equal reaction is found both in common wisdom like the golden rule and in distinctive advice from Jesus ("forgive and you'll be forgiven") complicates tracking the source of this particular saying.  On the one hand, the idea of equal repayment is at least as old as this familiar rule of Hebraic justice:

When injury results, you are to pay a life for a life,
an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,
a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot,
a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a lash for a lash.
---Exodus 22:23-25

Such a rigid repetition of exact standards in not characteristic of genuine Jesus sayings on human interaction.  Matthew, at least, expressly set Jesus' advice to turn the other cheek in sharp contrast to this principle of compensation:

As you know, we once were told,
'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.'
But I tell you....
--- Matt 5:38-39a

Even if this formula is not traceable to Jesus himself, Matthew is correct in sensing that the case parodies in the first half of Q's sermon imply Jesus' opposition to an inflexible notion of equal retribution. Hence, half of the Jesus Seminar voted black on the saying about the use of standard measures.

On the other hand, Jesus clearly used the common Judaic notion of standard justice in at least one context: to support his call for unconditional forgiveness. The aphorism on setting standards is from the same logical mold as this genuine Jesus aphorism and was evidently invoked to reinforce it, in Q at least. So, some Fellows rated the second saying in this pair, like the first, pink or higher.

Mark's version, however, reinforced the gray vote by raising doubts about whether Q preserved the original sense of this saying.  While Mark 4:24 is evidence that the saying about equal standards was ascribed to Jesus outside of Q, it also shows that it was invoked as a warning unrelated to Jesus' advice on forgiveness.  As a floating principle that could be applied by any mind to almost any context, the aphorism about setting standards is too indistinct to be itself used as a measure of what Jesus probably said.