Jesus Remembered: Christianity in the Making, vol. 1

THE QUESTION OF JESUS' SELF-UNDERSTANDING §15.7
second case, for those familiar with the battles of exorcism, is the apparent
attempt by the demoniac to put a spell on Jesus by calling on the power of
God (5.7). It would occasion no surprise to those familiar with exorcistic
technique that Jesus responded by asking for the demon's name (5.9). 286
4. 'The Holy One of God' (1.24) is hardly a common title for Christ, 287 so attribution
to later Christian faith is less obvious. And conceivably the
exorcistic power of one reputed to be a holy man might have occasioned
such an address. 288 Not so very different is the case with the phrase 'son of
God Most High' (5.7). 289 Theos hypsistos was a title which stretched across
cultural lines, 290 so one might wonder whether its unique appearance in the
Jesus tradition at this point is to be attributed to retellers of the Jesus tradition
recognizing its appropriateness for a setting in the mixed culture of the
Decapolis territory. 291 At the same time, the appearance of the phrase in
4Q246 indicates that it was quite 'at home' in a Jewish Palestinian milieu. 292
5. The command to silence (1.25) also functions less as the expression of a
'messianic secret' and more as part of the verbal duel. 293 The silencing of
the demoniac/demon 294 is a necessary preliminary to the successful exorcism.
286. PGM 1.160-62; 4.3037-39. Typically in the Testament of Solomon, Solomon asks
the demon's name (to gain a 'handle on' the demon — 2.1, 4; 4.3; 6.3, 5-7; 8; 9.2; 11.3-4, etc.)
and also ascertains the name of one who is stronger (title: 'what their authorities are against
men, and by what angels these demons are thwarted'; 2.4; 4.10, 12; 5.9, 13; 6.8; 8.5-10; 11.6;
13.3-7; 14.7; 15.3, 6; 16.6, etc.).
287. Apart from Mark 1.24/Luke 4.34, only John 6.69 and Acts 3.14.
288. The point depends more on a history-of-religions perspective, although we should
recall that Elijah was similarly challenged ('What have you against me, O man of God?' 1 Kgs.
17.18), Elisha is described as 'a holy man of God' (2 Kgs. 4.9) (see also Kollmann, Jesus 203-
204), and one of the two charismatic rabbis to whom Vermes has drawn particular attention,
Hanina ben Dosa, had something of a reputation for exercising authority over demons (Vermes,
Jesus the Jew 65-80, 208-209). Presumably 'the seven sons of the Sceva' traded on the sanctity
of Sceva's high priestly status to induce the same sense of the numinous in their role as itinerant
exorcists (Acts 19.13-14). Of the exorcists referred to in Matt. 12.27/Luke 11.19 and Mark 9.38
we know nothing.
289. Cf. Vermes, Jesus the Jew 202-203, 206-10. Since Solomon was the one to whom
the promise of 2 Sam. 7.14 originally applied, it is conceivable that a son of David who cast out
demons might be addressed as 'son of God'; but supporting evidence is lacking.
290. BDAG, hypsistos 2.
291. The only other two NT occurrences are Acts 16.17 (again on the lips of a demoniac
shortly to be exorcised) and Heb. 7.1.
292. See below, chapter 16 n. 15.
293. PGM 3.204; 5.321-29 (Theissen, Miracle Stories 140-41).
294. Literally 'be muzzled'. Examples of its use in the magical papyri in Twelftree, Jesus
the Exorcist 69-70.
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