Jesus the Exorcist - Paperback

by Graham H. Twelftree (Author)

That the synoptic writers believed that Jesus cast out demons and that such a role figured prominently in the Synoptics' portrait of him can scarcely be denied. And yet, only scant scholarly attention has been focused on Jesus' role as exorcist. Even less consideration has been given to the significance of Jesus as exorcist for understanding the historical Jesus. Now, in a provocative and insightful study, Graham Twelftree helps New Testament scholars move beyond such myopia. Twelftree examines exorcists and exorcism in first-century Palestine, assesses the New Testament accounts of demons and their demise, and explores the implications and significance of the fact that Jesus was indeed an exorcist. The volume appeared originally in the noted German series Wissenschaftliche Unteruchmungen zum Neuen Testament.

Author Biography

Graham Twelftree was born in Lameroo, South Australia, into a family of wheat and sheep farmers. He studied history and politics at the University of Adelaide (BA hons.), theology at the University of Oxford (MA) and read for his PhD under James Dunn at Nottingham University. He has been a pastor in England and Australia and has taught New Testament at All Souls College of Applied Theology (London) and Regent University School of Divinity (Virginia, USA), where he is the Charles L. Holman Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity, and the Director of the PhD program.