CHAPTER 10 - The Gospels’ Oral Sources
CHAPTER 10
The Gospels’ Oral Sources
“Only sayings and parables that can be traced back to the oral period, 30-50 C.E., can possibly have originated with Jesus.”
THE JESUS SEMINAR1
“. . . the tradition in the Gospels is not strictly a folk tradition, derived from long stretches of time, but a tradition preserved by believing communities who were guided by responsible leaders, many of whom were eyewitnesses of the ministry of Jesus.”
W. D. DAVIES2
“. . . many have sought to compile a narrative of the acts fulfilled in our midst, just as those who were eyewitnesses and servants of the message have from the beginning transmitted them orally to us.”
LUKE 1:1-2
We noted in ch. 7 that while Roman writers about the past often depended simply on written records, eastern Mediterranean writers about the past usually preferred consulting eyewitnesses and those within living memory of them, when this was possible. Written transmission was thus often secondary to oral transmission, which played an essential role in Greek circles and the primary role in later rabbinic circles.3 One philosopher reportedly reproved a friend who lamented losing his notes: “You should have inscribed them . . . on your mind instead of on paper.”4
Although we will survey the nature of oral transmission more generally, the observations below concerning disciples and teachers are paramount for the Jesus tradition. Few scholars doubt that Jesus had disciples, including close adherents that in ancient terms would have constituted his “school.” Yet students were normally quite trustworthy with their mentors’ teachings, even when they disagreed with these teachings. Why (except to negatively prejudice the discussion’s outcome) should we assume that Jesus’ disciples were distinctively incompetent in this regard? Moreover, these disciples were respected leaders and teachers in the Jesus movement during the critical period of oral transmission before written gospels appeared (cf. Gal 1:17-19; 2:1-2, 7-10; 1 Cor 15:5-7). Should this observation not have implications for our quest? Answers in the affirmative are increasing today, even more than when some of us were offering these observations more cautiously over a decade ago.