The question of who the demons recognize in Mark 1 when they call out, “What have you to do with us, ΙΣ?” reveals something profound about early Christian theology, especially when viewed through the lens of the Marcionite tradition. It is not as simple as accepting the name Ἰησοῦς (Jesus) at face value. In fact, the Marcionites, those early heretical Christians who influenced much of what would later become orthodox tradition, would have scoffed at such a simplistic interpretation.
The Marcionite Perspective: A Sky God, Not a Man
To begin, let’s dispel the notion that the Marcionite savior was ever conceived as an earthly figure named Ἰησοῦς. The Marcionites didn’t see their savior as a historical man at all, but as a heavenly figure, descending from the highest realm beyond the Creator’s domain. This divine being, a "stranger" from a higher realm, had nothing to do with the earthly messiah typologies so cherished by later Catholic tradition.
The idea that this celestial being could be named Ἰησοῦς, or even associated with a name like Joshua, is absurd when placed within the Marcionite framework. Marcionites rejected this notion outright, as attested by Tertullian and other Church Fathers who were constantly battling to align Marcion’s views with the emerging orthodoxy. They believed their savior was not the Jewish messiah, nor did he fulfill the typology of Joshua leading the people of Israel. For them, their god was beyond such earthly narratives and genealogies.
The Issue with the Name Ἰησοῦς
The name Ἰησοῦς fits neatly into a Catholic reinterpretation of the gospel, but it stands in opposition to the Marcionite worldview. The Marcionites were clear: their god wasn’t Ἰησοῦς. They understood the divine being they worshiped as something entirely separate from the Creator’s realm and the Jewish expectation of a messiah. If we force ΙΣ to be read as Ἰησοῦς, we risk imposing a later Catholic interpretation onto an earlier, distinct theological tradition.
Larry Hurtado and others argue that the name Ἰησοῦς was the initial nomen sacrum that led to the development of other sacred names. But the problem lies in this assumption: it presupposes that ΙΣ was always meant to be understood as Ἰησοῦς. The Marcionite manuscripts, the earliest we have, do not support this reading. They present ΙΣ as a sacred name that was not necessarily tied to an earthly figure but to a cosmic, divine man—a "stranger" whose identity transcends the limitations of earthly messianic figures.
The Stranger in Mark: A Clue to the Marcionite Interpretation
In the gospel of Mark, the demons identify ΙΣ as “the Holy One of God.” Now, if we accept the Marcionite interpretation, this is not the Jewish messiah but a higher being—an angelic figure who comes down as a stranger from the upper realms. The fact that he is called a "stranger" (foreigner) highlights the Marcionite understanding that their savior was not of this world; he was an otherworldly being who entered the Creator’s domain to save souls and lead them to the highest heaven.
This recognition by the demons is crucial. They know who ΙΣ is because they are aware of his heavenly origins. But what’s key is that the gospel never explicitly gives ΙΣ a name in the Marcionite version—only supernatural entities seem to recognize him, which suggests he is a being beyond human understanding. For the Marcionites, this made perfect sense: their god could not be named like an ordinary person because he was fundamentally not human.
The Role of איש (Ish) in the Marcionite Tradition
Let’s get to the root of the matter. The Marcionites identified ΙΣ not as a simple transliteration of Ἰησοῦς, but as a Greek representation of the Hebrew איש (Ish), meaning "man." This aligns perfectly with their theology: a divine "man" from the realm of forms, distinct from the earthly man, Adam. It fits the Marcionite understanding of the antithesis between the "heavenly man" and the earthly man found in 1 Corinthians.
In Marcionite belief, the figure known as ΙΣ was not tied to earthly typologies or names like Joshua. He was the true "man of God"—an angelic being hidden in the Pentateuch, intervening at key moments, as the Samaritans also recognized. The Samaritans referred to this angelic figure throughout their texts, and this shared tradition likely influenced Marcionite readings. For the Marcionites, ΙΣ was the fulfillment of this heavenly archetype, not a person walking around named Ἰησοῦς.
The Marcionite Manuscripts and the Nomen Sacrum
The insistence that ΙΣ should be read as Ἰησοῦς rather than as Ish ignores the evidence found in early Marcionite manuscripts. The Marcionites did not use Ἰησοῦς to describe their savior. In fact, the Catholic Church’s later efforts to force this reading onto the manuscripts reveal their struggle to reframe the Marcionite narrative. The process of expanding ΙΣ into Ἰησοῦς is a later interpretive move that fits Catholic theological needs but does not align with the Marcionite worldview.
Why Ἰησοῦς is a Non-Starter for the Marcionites
If we accept that the Marcionites held ΙΣ as their sacred name, then the question becomes: why did they reject Ἰησοῦς? The answer is simple: the name Ἰησοῦς aligns with the Joshua typology—a figure meant to fulfill Jewish expectations. The Marcionites, however, had no interest in linking their divine figure to Jewish messianic hopes. Instead, they saw their savior as a cosmic redeemer, the Ish of the Pentateuch who returns to deliver souls from the Creator’s domain.
Tertullian’s arguments against the Marcionite god reinforce this point. He criticizes the Marcionite interpretation precisely because it refuses to acknowledge the Jewish roots of the Christian savior. The Marcionites deliberately distanced their savior from the Jewish context, presenting him instead as an alien, a stranger whose mission was to save those trapped within the Creator’s flawed creation.
Demons, the Holy One of God, and the Ish Typology
The demons in Mark recognize ΙΣ as the "Holy One of God." This title is not a typical messianic designation but one associated with angelic and divine figures. In the Marcionite reading, ΙΣ aligns with the איש מלחמה ("man of war") in Exodus 15:3, the angelic figure leading Israel through the waters. The Marcionites interpreted this figure as a pre-existent entity, not an earthly messiah but a heavenly warrior who saves souls through the cosmic waters of baptism.
This interpretation ties ΙΣ directly to the divine man in Genesis—Ish, who exists before Adam. The Marcionite savior was understood as a redeemer who transcends the Creator’s world, a figure from the highest heaven who enters our realm as a "stranger."
Conclusion: The True Identity of ΙΣ in Marcionite Thought
The Marcionite interpretation offers a coherent and compelling framework for understanding the identity of ΙΣ in the gospel narrative. It refuses to dilute the cosmic nature of their savior by reducing him to a mere earthly messiah named Ἰησοῦς. Instead, they retained the heavenly identity of their savior, an angelic Ish who came as a stranger to redeem souls from the Creator’s flawed realm.
The effort to impose Ἰησοῦς onto the Marcionite manuscripts was part of a broader Catholic campaign to control the narrative and frame early Christian theology within Jewish expectations. But as scholarship continues to uncover these early heretical perspectives, the true nature of the Marcionite savior—and his divine name—will inevitably challenge the foundations of what we think we know about early Christianity.
