ABSTRACT
Erasmus found the chains in the Old Testament. Erasmus was completing what is told by Mark. That vital detail was provided by the prophet Ezekiel. Erasmus was put on to him by one of his favourite guides to understanding the Scriptures, Theophylact. Behind Theophylact stood the tradition of John Chrysostom. Theophylact tells how Jesus's family, believing him to be diabolically insane, 'came out to fetter him'. The verb used by him is a powerful one, with a clear implication of physical restraint. But Theophylact did not invent the chains; he found them in Scripture. Long after Erasmus, great and learned exegetes continued to explain that text of Ezekiel as Theophylact had done, linking it to the madness of Jesus. They further linked it to another apparently mad prefiguration of Christ.
