Jesus: A Glutton and a Drunkard

Abstract

The familiar but somewhat puzzling designation of Jesus as ‘a glutton and a drunkard’ comes at the end of a sequence in the Q tradition which contrasts the respective roles of Jesus and John the Baptist. Perceptions of the force and import of this appellation are linked with the context in which one understands it to have been uttered. A currently vocal scholarly contingent of those engaged in the study of Q insists that the section which runs from Luke 7.18 to 35 is composed of a random assemblage of pericopes of various types, including chriae, parables, commentaries thereon, and random sayings. There is said to be neither a coherent representation of John and Jesus in Q as we have it, nor a consistent evaluation of their respective roles.