One of the best-known and best-loved Christian writers of the 20th Century was C. S. Lewis. One of his better-known sayings is that based on what Jesus said he was either a liar, a lunatic, or truly the Lord. Since Jesus taught moral principles he does not seem to be a liar. His thinking was clever and coherent, so he does not seem to be a lunatic. Therefore: he must be the Lord! I think there are other options. Dr. Bart Ehrman of UNC-Chapel Hill has suggested a fourth option: legend (keeps nicely with the alliteration). Not that Jesus was all legend, pure fiction, but rather that his teachings and doings were embellished by legendary accretions, such as adding spectacular miracles to his teachings. But I want to go back and explore the first option: liar. Is it possible Jesus was a liar, and is that reflected in his reported miracles?
Mind you, there are different types of lies, and different degrees of lies. Contrary to popular belief, the Ten Commandments do not forbid lying in general; the only type of lie forbidden is false witness against another person (see post 18 for further discussion of this). Is it possible for a lie to be good? Consider the person hiding a family of Jews in the attic when the Nazis come knocking on the door; or for a Biblical example, when Rahab of Jericho hides the Israeli spies and lies for them and is rewarded for it (Joshua 2). Winston Churchill said during World War 2 that the truth must often be protected by a bodyguard of lies. Really, would you have preferred that the Allies told the Nazis of all their battle plans rather than using misinformation and misdirection?
Frankly, I have heard some preachers tell lies, either intentionally or indirectly. I recall a building program for a church which had a specific dollar goal, and on the final Sunday the preacher announced to his joyful congregation that they had reached their goal! Only I found out later that the amount was actually short, even including pledges not yet fulfilled. No doubt he saw that as a benign lie, intended to buoy the spirits of his people. I had a Christian friend who told the story of a woman in New York City who was saved from a rapist by a group of men around her that no one else saw, including the police following the rapist. Angels no doubt! When I challenged my friend on this he said he knew it was true because he heard it from a Christian from New York. (There are a number of variations of this story; the Mormons have their own version, for example.) Sometimes people are careless with the truth (and too gullible?) and are willing to propagate lies for what they think is a good purpose. But not Jesus, right?
Well, history shows us that many people have been willing to lie either for “good” purposes, or certainly for bad. So, what is more likely: that Jesus performed extraordinary miracles that defy science, or that someone was lying? Given the evidence of history I think the only fair answer is to say that lying is more likely. It may not have been Jesus. His followers could have invented miracle stories, in order to show how remarkable Jesus was; there was a lot of competition for attention in the days of the gods of the Roman Empire. Or they could have simply amplified stories of Jesus being kind to the sick until the miracle stories took shape; no one creating big lies, just little embellishments adding up over time. But what about Jesus himself?
I have already suggested that Jesus and his disciples could have staged miracles not as deception, but as demonstration of the power of God and the bliss of the coming Kingdom of God. Possibly over time the demonstrations were passed on as real events. Modern experience teaches us that it doesn’t take much time, just a little effort to recast stories into a new form; consider the different views of the riot that took place at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. And we have video and many living witnesses for that event.
Let’s go back to the story of the paralyzed man let down through the roof so Jesus could heal him, in Mark 2 (see post 32). What if Jesus had arranged that whole scene? Why? Perhaps as a demonstration of the wonderful things that would happen in the coming Kingdom of God (recall that Mark said right at the start that Jesus’ message was to repent and get ready for the coming kingdom). Perhaps he was looking for a way to teach the scribes that forgiving and being forgiven is more important than self-righteous smugness and legalism. Maybe Jesus thought his message was of such importance that he was willing to use these miracle shows as a way to get people to listen and take his message seriously. After all, people’s souls were at stake, yes? Wouldn’t that justify these demonstrations? (It would also explain why the “healed” man just got up and walked away without so much as a ‘thank you.’)
But could Jesus have had a less noble and more sinister motive in staging some of his miracles? Well, why do modern faith healers stage their miracles? (By the way, there are various books you can consult about how they do it, but I recommend the 1992 movie Leap of Faith, starring Steve Martin, Debra Winger and Liam Neeson – even the late Meat Loaf – as an entertaining introduction to their methods.) Faith healing brings fame and money. Especially money. But that wouldn’t apply to Jesus, would it? Well, we are told in Luke 8:3 that even the wife of King Herod’s steward and others were contributing money to Jesus’ ministry. In John 12 we are told that Judas had the group’s money box and even stole from it (then why did they let him keep it?). Judas complains about a woman anointing Jesus with expensive perfume worth almost the equivalent of a year’s wages. So we are not talking about trivial amounts going into their ministry. Consider that Jesus had twelve men traveling with him; a fair amount of money would be needed to support that group. Passages like Matthew 4:13 and Mark 9:33 suggest that Jesus had his own house in Capernaum, in addition to the family home in Nazareth: how could he afford that? Recall that all four gospels record that the soldiers at Jesus’ crucifixion cast lots to divide up his garments among them; the gospel of John even says his tunic was woven in one piece. These are nice duds, not the filthy rags people often associate with a mendicant itinerant preacher. Going from working as a carpenter in lowly Nazareth to being on the road with his traveling show may have been a step up, not a step down, financially. And his apparent miracles played a role.
I know we like to think of Jesus as a good person, even more than a person – a divine holy being – but I think to be intellectually honest we need to consider all possibilities and the probabilities. I suspect you are skeptical of most miracle stories, especially those associated with a religion other than your own. Or those associated with people who seem to have an obvious profit motive. I encourage you to step back and look critically at your own beliefs about the miracle stories of Jesus. Maybe you will end up solidly in the faith that you now profess. I doubt you will become a raging atheist (unless you already are one). But regardless of the outcome, I think you will be wiser for the exercise.
Thinking exercises:
1. Explain your rationale for rejecting the miracle stories of other religions or the ones performed by today’s faith healers while accepting ones passed down by your religion from 2,000 years ago.
2. History is full of people who used religion and staged miracles to gain a following and/or money. Why do people discount the possibility of Jesus and his disciples doing the same?
3. If Jesus and his disciples staged plays, demonstrations of what the new Kingdom of God would be like but in later transmission they were transformed into actual miracles, would that change your opinion of Jesus’ teachings? Is the truth of his teachings dependent on his ability to perform true miracles?
3. If Jesus and his disciples staged miracles in order to draw people, to get their attention and to get them to listen to their message, would you see that as right or wrong? Is it ever right to use deception to support a good cause?