{"id":61513,"date":"2026-03-26T21:00:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T20:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/?p=61513"},"modified":"2026-03-26T21:00:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T20:00:09","slug":"the-oral-and-written-tradition-on-jesus-before-the-gospels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/eng\/2026\/03\/26\/the-oral-and-written-tradition-on-jesus-before-the-gospels\/","title":{"rendered":"The Oral and Written Tradition on Jesus Before the Gospels"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-126333\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/fonti_pre_evangeliche.webp\" alt=\"oral tradition Jesus\" width=\"604\" height=\"317\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><i><strong>What sources<\/strong> did the Gospel writers rely on? A closer look at the <strong>written texts<\/strong> preceding the Gospels and the <strong>oral tradition<\/strong> concerning Jesus, addressing objections regarding its reliability.<\/i><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">What happened between the death of <strong>Jesus of Nazareth<\/strong> and the earliest written sources?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">We are referring to the <strong><mark>pre-Gospel traditions<\/mark><\/strong>, that is, the transmission of stories about Jesus and his sayings, passed on by eyewitnesses <strong>orally and in writing<\/strong> to the early Christian communities.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This topic has already been addressed by <strong>UCCR<\/strong> <strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/2022\/03\/23\/i-vangeli-sono-quattro-fonti-indipendenti\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">in the past<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, explaining why the four Gospels are considered <strong>independent sources<\/strong> from one another.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<h2>Written sources predating the death of Jesus<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">First, there is the issue of the <strong><mark>written sources<\/strong><\/mark> that precede the Gospels. According to renowned American biblical scholar <strong>J.P. Meier<\/strong>, this material concerning Jesus was recorded <i>\u201ceven <strong>before<\/strong> his death\u201d<\/i><sup class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote \" data-mfn=\"1\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513-1\">1<\/a><\/sup><span id=\"mfn-content-000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513-1\" role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"1\"><b>J.P. Meier<\/b>, <i>A Marginal Jew<\/i>, Vol. 1, Queriniana 2006, p. 157<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This point is confirmed by agnostic scholar <strong>B.D. Ehrman<\/strong> (University of North Carolina), who states that <i>\u201cstories about Jesus began circulating in oral or written form <strong>already during his lifetime<\/strong> and after his death\u201d<\/i><sup class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote \" data-mfn=\"2\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513-2\">2<\/a><\/sup><span id=\"mfn-content-000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513-2\" role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"2\"><b>B.D. Ehrman<\/b>, <i>How Jesus Became God<\/i>, Nessun dogma 2017, p. 75, 76<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">A well-known example of this kind of material is the one we <strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/2018\/06\/06\/la-prima-e-completa-fonte-su-gesu-di-nazareth-risale-al-30-d-c\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">have already discussed<\/a><\/em><\/strong>: <strong>St. Paul<\/strong> wrote down a concise core of Jesus&#8217; biography just <strong>20 years<\/strong> after his death, based on much older sources.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Again, <strong>B.D. Ehrman<\/strong> explains that <i>\u201cPaul met Cephas and James three years after his conversion, receiving traditions that he later included in his letters, around the mid-30s, say <strong>in 35 or 36<\/strong>. The traditions he inherited were, of course, older and probably date back to <strong>just a couple of years<\/strong> after Jesus\u2019 death\u201d<\/i><sup class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote \" data-mfn=\"3\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513-3\">3<\/a><\/sup><span id=\"mfn-content-000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513-3\" role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"3\"><b>B.D. Ehrman<\/b>, <i>Did Jesus Exist?<\/i>, HarperCollins Publishers 2012, p. 132<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Following Paul\u2019s letters, around <strong>40 years<\/strong> after Jesus\u2019 death, the Gospels appeared. Their content, Ehrman notes, <i>\u201c<strong>perfectly aligns<\/strong> with the writings of Paul\u201d<\/i><sup class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote \" data-mfn=\"4\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513-4\">4<\/a><\/sup><span id=\"mfn-content-000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513-4\" role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"4\"><b>B.D. Ehrman<\/b>, <i>Did Jesus Exist?<\/i>, HarperCollins Publishers 2012, p. 132, 133<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This <strong>remarkable consistency<\/strong> is due to Paul and the evangelists\u2019 use of <strong>written (and oral) sources<\/strong> that <i>\u201calmost certainly go back to Roman Palestine <strong>in the 30s AD<\/strong>\u201d<\/i><sup class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote \" data-mfn=\"5\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513-5\">5<\/a><\/sup><span id=\"mfn-content-000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513-5\" role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"5\"><b>B.D. Ehrman<\/b>, <i>Did Jesus Exist?<\/i>, HarperCollins Publishers 2012, p. 132, 133<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Regarding the ancient written sources, this refers in particular to the so-called <strong>Q source<\/strong>, a rather extensive collection of sayings of the Nazarene used by Matthew and Luke but not by Mark, the <strong>M source<\/strong> \u2013 material used exclusively by Matthew \u2013 and the <strong>L source<\/strong>, exclusive to Luke (which includes, for instance, the parable of the Good Samaritan, Mary\u2019s visit to Elizabeth, etc.).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">And then there\u2019s the independent source used by <strong>John<\/strong>. Contrary to what was long assumed, <i>\u201cJohn\u2019s <strong>independence<\/strong> from the Synoptics is taken for granted and sometimes he is <strong>more historically reliable<\/strong>\u201d<\/i> than the other three Gospels, writes <strong>J.P. Meier<\/strong><sup class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote \" data-mfn=\"6\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513-6\">6<\/a><\/sup><span id=\"mfn-content-000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513-6\" role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"6\"><b>J.P. Meier<\/b>, <i>A Marginal Jew<\/i>, Vol. 2, Queriniana 2003, p. 900<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><i>\u201cWithin just over a generation after Jesus\u2019 death,\u201d<\/i> the renowned American biblical scholar comments, <i>\u201call the most important facts and teachings from his life had been <strong>committed to writing<\/strong>\u201d<\/i><sup class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote \" data-mfn=\"7\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513-7\">7<\/a><\/sup><span id=\"mfn-content-000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513-7\" role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"7\"><b>J.P. Meier<\/b>, <i>A Marginal Jew<\/i>, Vol. 2, Queriniana 2003, p. 677<\/span>.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Stay updated by <strong>subscribing<\/strong> to our new channels:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.whatsapp.com\/channel\/0029VbBFa0m9hXF1g4wrUT0z\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-132039\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/whatsapp.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"74\" height=\"75\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/uccr_news\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-132040\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uccronline.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/telegram.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"74\" height=\"73\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<h2>The oral tradition about Jesus before the Gospels<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Let us now focus on the <strong><mark>oral tradition<\/mark><\/strong> concerning Jesus.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Though it may seem, at first glance, like an <strong>unreliable<\/strong> method of preserving memory, in reality, it was the most common and widespread way to transmit history at the time. The Jews of the period already practiced the <strong>art of memory<\/strong>, learning long prayers and sacred texts, such as the <i>Shema<\/i>, from childhood.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Linguists and oral tradition scholars like <strong>Birger Gerhardsson<\/strong> (Lund University) and <strong>Kenneth Bailey<\/strong> (Princeton University) have studied this phenomenon<sup class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote \" data-mfn=\"8\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513-8\">8<\/a><\/sup><span id=\"mfn-content-000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513-8\" role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"8\"><b>B. Gerhardsson<\/b>, <i>The Reliability of the Gospel Tradition<\/i>, Peabody 2001<\/span> <sup class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote \" data-mfn=\"9\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513-9\">9<\/a><\/sup><span id=\"mfn-content-000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513-9\" role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"9\"><b>K. Bailey<\/b>, <i>Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes<\/i>, InterVarsity Press 2008<\/span>, drawing parallels with rabbinic models and modern oral cultures.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The <strong>oral transmission<\/strong> of Jesus\u2019 story could occur in tightly controlled environments \u2013 with strict mnemonic training \u2013 as well as in informal settings, such as community gatherings, where the core narrative remained solid while allowing for dynamic details.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Culturally, memorisation was habitual, and transmission was faithful. During this period, Jesus\u2019 words and actions were strengthened into a <strong>\u201cshared heritage\u201d<\/strong> that would later take form in the Gospels about 40 years after his death.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The <strong>eyewitnesses<\/strong> of the \u201cJesus event\u201d gathered with others, <strong>spreading<\/strong> his life, deeds, and miracles. These stories were <strong>repeated and retold<\/strong> from memory for several years, solidifying a clear narrative structure within the early communities.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Jesus<\/strong> himself frequently emphasized the <strong>importance of remembering<\/strong> and orally transmitting his words, as seen in many instances:<\/p>\n<p><i>\u201cLet these words sink into your ears\u201d<\/i> (Luke 9:44);<br \/>\n<i>\u201cEveryone who hears these words of mine and acts on them&#8230;\u201d<\/i> (Matt. 7:24);<br \/>\n<i>\u201cGo therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you\u201d<\/i> (Matt. 28:19\u201320);<br \/>\n<i>\u201cHeaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away\u201d<\/i> (Mark 13:31)<br \/>\n<i>\u201cIf you abide in me, and my words abide in you\u201d<\/i> (John 15:7).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">It has also been suggested<sup class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote \" data-mfn=\"10\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513-10\">10<\/a><\/sup><span id=\"mfn-content-000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513-10\" role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"10\"><b>M. Licona<\/b>, <i>Are the Gospels \u201cHistorically Reliable\u201d? A Focused Comparison of Suetonius\u2019s Life of Augustus and the Gospel of Mark<\/i>, Religions 2019<\/span> that, unlike today\u2019s priests who compose new homilies every day or week, Jesus may have <strong>repeated a dozen core sermons<\/strong> countless times, often using easily memorable parables.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">His disciples thus heard the same ideas <strong>many times over<\/strong>, which \u2013 although radically new \u2013 became embedded in memory and were taught for decades after the Master\u2019s death.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<h2>Objection to Oral Tradition: Unreliable<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">It was by no means a matter of creatively inventing narratives, nor of mere mechanical repetition. As the renowned scholar <strong>James Dunn<\/strong> (University of Durham) explains, there was in fact <strong>active control<\/strong> over the content by key figures based in Jerusalem and in close contact with one another, ensuring fidelity to the actual events.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Paul himself, moreover, speaks of <strong>information that was \u201creceived\u201d and \u201cpassed on\u201d<\/strong> (using the Greek word <i>paradosis<\/i>) in his writings.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>The objection<\/strong> that oral traditions could have developed freely and independently, shaped from time to time to meet local or theological needs, has been <strong>challenged<\/strong> by scholars such as <strong>Richard Bauckham<\/strong><sup class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote \" data-mfn=\"11\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513-11\">11<\/a><\/sup><span id=\"mfn-content-000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513-11\" role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"11\"><i>Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony<\/i>, Grand Rapids 2017<\/span> and the aforementioned <strong>James Dunn<\/strong><sup class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote \" data-mfn=\"12\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513-12\">12<\/a><\/sup><span id=\"mfn-content-000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513-12\" role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"12\"><i>The Oral Gospel Tradition<\/i>, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company 2013<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">And telling <strong>the same story repeatedly<\/strong> from the moment of the event tends to <strong>refine<\/strong> rather than diminish memory. As <strong>Bauckham<\/strong> writes: <i>\u201c<strong>Frequent recall<\/strong> is a major factor in both preserving memory and preserving it accurately.\u201d<\/i><sup class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote \" data-mfn=\"13\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513-13\">13<\/a><\/sup><span id=\"mfn-content-000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513-13\" role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"13\"><b>R. Bauckham<\/b>, <i>Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony<\/i>, Grand Rapids 2017<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Group memory<\/strong>, that is, a shared narrative, also helps to maintain the stability of core storylines, even if certain nuances may naturally shift.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<h2>The Power of Evocative Memory<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In addition to the above, recent evidence from sociology and psychology has shed light on what is known as <strong>evocative memory<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Cognitive studies on memory reliability show that <strong>significant events<\/strong>, especially those that are emotionally intense or experienced in community, tend to be <strong>preserved in memory<\/strong> over the long term.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">A classic example is that everyone reading this article <strong>remembers clearly<\/strong> what they were doing when they first heard about the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on <strong>September 11, 2001<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Even though <strong>more than 20 years<\/strong> have passed (roughly the span between Jesus\u2019 death and Paul\u2019s first writings), and even though we were not present as <strong>eyewitnesses<\/strong>\u2014and thus less emotionally invested\u2014we can still recall exactly what happened around us that day.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This must have <strong>happened to the disciples<\/strong>, who spent one or two years living day and night with the Master, witnessing an extraordinary life that <strong>overwhelmed them so deeply<\/strong> that they left their families to follow him.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This is evident from the fact that the Gospel texts are often brief on major events but include <strong>precise and seemingly irrelevant details<\/strong>, such as the Fourth Evangelist\u2019s note about the <strong>time of day<\/strong> when Andrew and John first met Jesus: <i>\u201cIt was about four in the afternoon.\u201d<\/i> (Jn 1:39).<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Here is how the biblical scholar <strong>Richard Bauckham<\/strong> explains this:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><i>\u201c<strong>Eyewitnesses<\/strong> remembered events from the life of Jesus that were inherently memorable: unusual episodes that imprinted themselves on the memory, of great importance to those who experienced them, often true <strong>turning points<\/strong> that changed their lives. They did not need to recall peripheral details of the scene or the event\u2014which psychology tells us are less reliable in evocative memory and which, indeed, the Gospels rarely report\u2014but rather the <strong>central elements<\/strong>, those that carried deep meaning for the witnesses and were <strong>faithfully passed down<\/strong>. We can therefore conclude that the eyewitness memories of the story of Jesus <strong>highly satisfy<\/strong> the reliability criteria established by the psychological study of evocative memory.\u201d<\/i><sup class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote \" data-mfn=\"14\" data-mfn-post-scope=\"000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513\"><a href=\"javascript:void(0)\"  role=\"button\" aria-pressed=\"false\" aria-describedby=\"mfn-content-000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513-14\">14<\/a><\/sup><span id=\"mfn-content-000000000000321e0000000000000000_61513-14\" role=\"tooltip\" class=\"modern-footnotes-footnote__note\" tabindex=\"0\" data-mfn=\"14\"><b>R. Bauckham<\/b>, <i>Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony<\/i>, Grand Rapids 2017<\/span>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Thus, the early Christian narrative emerged from <strong>a combination<\/strong> of evocative memory, a communal framework, <strong>formalized oral tradition<\/strong> and, in parallel, <strong>sayings and written texts<\/strong> even before Jesus&#8217; death.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">It was a conscientious tradition, with deliberate mechanisms of oral and written transmission <strong>subject to verification<\/strong> by the Jerusalem community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What sources did the Gospel writers rely on? A closer look at the written texts preceding the Gospels and the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":61514,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":25,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1065,1371,1577,1578],"class_list":["post-61513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-christian-sources","tag-gospel-sources","tag-oral-tradition-jesus","tag-q-source"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Oral and Written Tradition on Jesus Before the Gospels - UCCR<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What sources did the Gospel writers rely on? 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