Jesus Remembered: Christianity in the Making, vol. 1

§8.4 The Tradition
Here too the same feature is evident as in the stilling of the storm: the variation
between the two versions is such that the hypothesis of literary dependence
becomes very implausible. A connection at the level of oral retelling is much the
more probable. Either Matthew knew the story through the tradition of oral performance
and drew directly from that tradition, or he himself retold Mark's story
as a storyteller would. We should note that it would be misleading to say that
Matthew knew a different version of the story. 206 For that would be to slip back
into the idiom of literary editions, as though each retelling of the story was a
fresh 'edition' of the story; whereas the reality with which we are confronted is
more like spontaneously different variations (retellings) on a theme (the identifiable
subject matter and core).
Hi. The Healing of the Possessed Boy
Matt. 17.14-18
14 And when they came to the
a man came up to him and
kneeling before him said, 15
'Lord, have mercy on my son,
for he is an epileptic and he
suffers terribly; for often he falls
into the fire, and often into the
water.
16 And I brought him to your
disciples, and they could not
heal him'. 17 And Jesus
answered, 'O faithless and
perverse generation, how long
am I to be with you? How long
am 1 to put up with you? Bring
him here to me'.
Mark 9.14-27
14 And when they came to the
disciples, they saw a great
crowd about them, and scribes
arguing with them. 15 And
immediately all the crowd,
when they saw him, were
greatly amazed, and ran up to
him and greeted him. 16 And
he asked them, 'What are you
discussing with them?' 17 And
one of the crowd answered him,
'Teacher, I brought my son
to you, for he has a dumb spirit;
18 and wherever it seizes him,
it dashes him down; and he
foams and grinds his teeth and
becomes rigid; and 1 asked your
disciples to cast it out, and they
were not able'. 19 And he
answered them, 'O faithless
generation, how long
am I to be with you? How long
am 1 to put up with you? Bring
him to me'. 20 And they
brought the boy to him; and
when the spirit saw him,
immediately it convulsed the
boy, and he fell on the ground
and rolled about, foaming at the
mouth.
Luke 9.37-43
37 On the next day, when they
had come down from the
mountain, a great crowd met
him.
38 And behold, a man from the
crowd cried,
'Teacher, I beg you to look
upon my son, for he is my only
child; 39 and behold, a spirit
seizes him, and he suddenly
cries out; it convulses him till he
foams, and shatters him, and
will hardly leave him. 40 And
I begged your disciples to cast it
out, and they could riot'. 41
Jesus answered. 'O faithless and
perverse generation, how long
am 1 to be with you and
to put up with you? Lead
your son here'. 42 While he
was coming,
the demon tore him and
convulsed him.
206. Characteristic of discussion dominated by the literary paradigm is the assumption
that variations between the two versions can be explained only in terms of conflation of
sources; see, e.g., V. Taylor, Mark (London: Macmillan, 1952) 347.
219