Sanctification in the Jesus Tradition 161 goes far beyond even Ezekiel’s concept of contagious holiness. It is the fulfilment of the eschatological victory of the holy over the unholy as it is envisaged in Zech 14,20. This is in agreement with the view that the healings Jesus performs are messianic signs, which becomes evident in Matt 11,5 (par. Luke 7,22; cf. 4Q521 frg. 2, which applies Isa 29,18; 35,5-6; 26,19; 61,1-2 to the messiah, thus bearing witness to the expectation that the messiah will heal the sick). The synoptics stress that Jesus heals in messianic authority by reporting that the sick turned to him as the “Son of David” (Mark 10,47 parr.; Matt 9,27; 15,22; 20,31). In healing those whom the law would have expelled, Jesus indicates that he has come to fulfil the Torah with messianic authority. The Torah expelled the impure in order to witness to God as the God of life, wholeness and purity. Jesus witnessed to the same God by healing people, thus fulfilling the ultimate purpose of the Torah (24). It is therefore too weak to say that “Jesus was evidently remembered as one who sat loose to many of the purity restrictions, which regulated social behaviour”, as J.D.G. Dunn (25) puts it. Jesus’ actions are an immediate implication of his “prophetic-messianic” understanding of holiness. He took up the concept of holiness the Old Testament prophets had represented but claimed that the messianic time they had been looking forward to had dawned in his own coming. On the one hand people often take him to be a prophet (cf. Mark 6,15 par. Luke 9,8; Matt 8,28 parr.; Matt 21,11 and Luke 7,16). Jesus never refutes this identification (cf. Luke 24,19, especially). He can even compare himself to the prophets (Mark 6,4 parr. and Luke 13,33). On the other hand, he leaves no doubt that in him there is “more than Jonah” (Matt 12,41 par. Luke 11,32) and that he surpasses the prophets (26). Jesus claims that in order to perceive the whole truth about him, one must go on from the prophets and recognize that in him the messianic age they had announced has come (Mark 8,29 parr. and Mark 14,61-62 par. Matt 26,63-64). (24) Cf. G. WENHAM, “Christ’s Healing Ministry”, Studies in Christology. Presented to D. Guthrie (ed. H.H. ROWDON) (London 1982) 125. (25) “Jesus and Holiness”, Holiness. Past & Present (ed. S.C. BARTON) (London – New York 2003) 187. (26) Cf. J. SCHNIEWIND, Das Evangelium nach Matthäus (NTD 2; Göttingen 1977) 163; J. ÅDNA, Jesu Stellung zum Tempel. Die Tempelaktion und das 12 Tempelwort als Ausdruck seiner messianischen Sendung (WUNT 119; Tübingen 2000) 439, n. 21.