Was Jesus a Magician?

Key takeaway: Jedi are thaumaturges. Also, subscribe to ESOTERICA: https://youtu.be/DEwDxn-qqUI

"Jesus performs miracles remotely" Jesus's Zoom based miracle service.

Idk but for some reason referring to magicians as “ritual specialists” tickle me. Like my first job out of high school I was a “customer service associate” instead of a “cashier” 😂

Jesus: My son, is this your card? Dude: My God how did he know!?

I cannot emphasize enough how well written this analysis is. Thanks so much for what you provide!

“You’re a wizard, Jesus.” -John the Baptist

My dad grew up in Fiji. And used to tell stories about people who used to go to church on Sunday, but then go into forest at night to do magic. So of course the way he would tell it, gave me the impression that Fiji was chock full of evil wizards. Though in reality they were most likely just double dipping in religion, like in a lot of colonised lands. Still made my childhood feel very magicial thinking there's Islands full of secretive spell casters.

The fact that you put Harry Potter and Gandalf side by side as modern wizards is actually interesting in itself, because the nature of these two characters and their magic is very different. Harry Potter is a mostly normal human who was born with magical abilities, and is largely free to use them how he wishes. Gandalf, by contrast, is basically an angel taking on human form, sent by the other angels for a specific purpose (to rally Middle Earth against Sauron) and under significant constraints from those who sent him (specifically not to overpower the people he is trying to rally, or to fight power with power- Gandalf is reluctant to use his power directly). Both of these are called “wizards,” but the nature of their magic is very different with significant implications for how they act in the story. I guess this also demonstrates how categories that seem simple are usually fuzzier than they look

I grew up around the corner from this kid who became a Black Israelite when he grew up. I was raised in the Baptist church and did a lot of Bible study, so he and I used to have long discussions about religion. I'll never forget his take on Jesus based on his learnings. He believed Jesus existed, but that he was a sorcerer. He said there were texts that talked about the lost years of Jesus, and during those lost years he travelled to India where he learned the mystical arts, and the miracles he performed when he reappeared as an adult were the result of his sorcerery. I always found this very interesting. And we had that discussion way back in the 90's. So, of course the title of this video immediately caught my attention, as I have never heard anyone else bring this up...

Actually, Jesus was the first Stand User

Freelance Ritual Specialist sounds like something you can put on your resume.

you come to the same exact conclusion one of my friends is arguing in her thesis and you cite her thesis advisor, who was also one of my profs in undergrad! stumbling upon this video is so so cool

You know of all the channels on YouTube about religion I really like yours the best, a lot of others seem to have bias, some a lot more than others towards subjects. You have never shown me even a hint of that. I also enjoy Esoterica. Thank you, Keep doing this brother bear, I will keep watching.

I mean, the curse tablet sounds slightly more practical than filing a police report.

I'm really impressed by this video...I feels like it's much more than just an overview of a topic or question, but is rather a deep dive into the sources with the intention of demonstrating an actual thesis that engages with the literature. In short, it's academic discourse happening on YouTube. As a grad student, I find this very exciting. Keep up the good work!

"You are a wizard, Jesus!" - Hagrid, probably.

Thanks! Thanks to you I’m currently reading the book “Jesus the magician”. Your content is amazing.

A great video as always. As someone who studies magic and religion in the middle ages, the question of magic vs. miracle is always present, as well as the distinction between what we call magic and what people at the time did. 21:53 also Heidi Wendt was my professor for a class on Roman religion during my undergrad. She's such a great woman!

Jesus: "Go wash in the pool of Siloam." Blind man: "okay....uhhh can you point me in the right direction?"

I came here thinking this video was gonna sound like every Sunday school class and sermon I went to as a kid where they tell you you’re not allowed to even think that God is magic. But you are actually taking apart all the terms and types and giving a very detailed coverage of what and whatnot might be qualified as magic or good magic or black magic. Truly intrigued by this video.