Jesus Remembered: Christianity in the Making, vol. 1

§15.7 Who Did They Think Jesus Was?
rael celebrated two principal periods of wondrous happenings: the period of wilderness
and conquest and the period of Elijah and Elisha (1 Kings 17-19;
2 Kings 4-8). So any hope for a prophet like Moses or for Elijah's return might
well have included expectation of great natural wonders or amazing healings.
The former is certainly borne out by Josephus's account of the various 'sign
prophets', where two of the cases cited evidently expected a repeat of the miraculous
crossing of the Jordan and of the amazing collapse of Jericho's walls
(§15.6b).
In all this we should particularly note again 4Q521 with its expectation of
an 'anointed one' who would give sight to the blind, straighten the bent, heal the
wounded, and revive the dead (2.1, 8, 12). But we should also recall (§12.2c[3])
that the expectation of a supernatural new age characterized by healing and defeat
of evil could also be expressed without reference to any messianic figure.
It should not be forgotten that healings were often attributed to gods in the
ancient world (particularly Asclepius) 253 and that belief in the powerful effect of
amulets and spells was widespread. Within Judaism we may think especially of
exorcisms, of which the best known are the expulsion of a demon from Tobias's
bride (Tobit 6-8), Abraham's exorcism of Pharaoh (lQapGen 20.16-29), and
Josephus's report of the exorcism of a demon by one Eleazar in the presence of
Vespasian (Ant. 8.46-48). 254 We can probably assume that many of the spells and
incantations collected later go back to the first century, 255 not least because the
key formula, 'I adjure you by .. ,' 256 is quite well attested for the period. 257 Within
the NT itself we may note references to the activity of a number of exorcists. 258
In such a context it would hardly be surprising if exorcisms and other
mighty works were included in the 'checklist' by which many people in Galilee
and Judea attempted to assess Jesus' mission.
253. See, e.g., H. C. Kee, Miracle in the Early Christian World (New Haven: Yale University,
1983) ch. 3; W. Cotter, Miracles in Greco-Roman Antiquity (London: Routledge, 1999)
11-34; H.-J. Klauck, The Religious Context of Early Christianity (Edinburgh: Clark, 2000)
154-68.
254. Texts for these and other miracle stories from Jewish sources are provided by C. A.
Evans, 'Jesus and Jewish Miracle Stories', Jesus and His Contemporaries 213-43 (here 227-
43). The Qumran community knew the Tobit story well (4Q196-200).
255. H. D. Betz, The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation (Chicago: University of Chicago,
2 1992).
256. PGM, e.g., 3.10, 119; 4.1239, 3080.
257. Including the fragmentary text in 4Q560 2.5-6 ('I, O spirit, adjure ... I enchant
you, O spirit . . .'); Acts 19.13; Josephus, Ant. 8.47; PGM 3.36-37; 4.289, 3019-20, 3046;
7.242; and note T. Sol. 5.9; 6.8; 11.6 (14.8); 15.7; 18.20, 31, 33; 25.8 (BDAG horkizö; G. H.
Twelftree, Jesus the Exorcist [WUNT 2.54; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1993] 82-83). Note also
the data in § 15.6a.
258. Matt. 12.27/Luke 11.19; Mark 9.38-39; Acts 19.13-19.
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