The Pharisee and The Tax Collector (Part 2): The Tax Collector

Introduction

This post continues the two-part study on the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. The last post looked at the Pharisee and his side of the story. This post will look at the tax collector and his side of the story. I hope you have already re-read the parable in another Bible version (preferably a dynamic equivalency if you already read a literal translation) because we are diving right into their cultural context: their personalities as individuals, how their communities impacted society, and the cultural stigma that went with them.

The Cultural Account

I know I don’t have to ask what thoughts are feelings arise when you hear “tax collector.” It doesn’t matter if you live in the 1^st century or 21^st century, nobody likes a tax collector. Even on an episode of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, when Regis asked the contestant his occupation, and the contestant answered, “a collector for the Internal Revenue Service,” the audience immediately booed him. The negative connotation of the tax collector most likely comes from viewing the tax collector as someone taking away our hard earned money. People feel like they worked hard to get that money, and no one should have the right to take from them. This feeling probably did not change from 1^st century to 21^st century. Yet the person living in the 21^st century should appreciate the 21^st century tax collector because the 21^st century tax collector has standards, boundaries, ethics and morals. The 1^st century tax collector had no such thing.

In the 1^st century cultural context of the New Testament, tax collectors of the Roman Empire could be of any race or ethnicity, but they all worked for the Roman Empire, which made them appear more as sympathizers to the Romans rather than citizens of their own race and ethnicity.

The Roman Empire required tax collectors to collect three main taxes: an annual land tax, an annual income tax and customs or poll tax. In addition, sometimes local taxes were levied by the local rulers by the whim of authority. Furthermore, the Roman Empire allowed tax collectors to collect extra for their salary. This too was at the whim of the tax collector. He collected as much as he thought he deserved. Individually and altogether, taxes were generally high. Josephus records in Jewish Antiquities the land tax for farmers in Sidon was 25% of the sown produce! Clearly the Roman Empire did not help the cultural view of tax collectors.

As if the Roman Empire did not help the view of tax collectors, tax collectors really didn’t help themselves either. Tax collectors could get nasty when it came to collecting their taxes. Some tortured and killed debtors and those close to the debtors in order to get their money. Philo writes in Special Laws, “When some of [the tax collector’s] debtors whose default was clearly due to poverty took flight in fear of the fatal consequences of his vengeance, [the tax collector] carried off by force their womenfolk and children and parents and their other relatives and beat and subjected them to every kind of outrage and contumely in order to make them either tell him the whereabouts of the fugitive or discharge his debt themselves.” Some tax collectors also committed fraud on a regular basis. Philo writes in Embassy to Gaius, “Capito is the tax-collector for Judaea and cherishes a spite against the population. When he came there he was a poor man but by his rapacity [covetousness] and peculation [embezzlement] he has amassed much wealth in various forms.” In Sanhedrin 25b, “At first they thought that they [tax collectors and publicans] collected no more than the legally imposed tax. But when it was seen that they overcharged, they were disqualified.” These atrocities gave tax collectors, even the good ones, a bad name.

Therefore, people hated tax collectors and saw them a low lifes. Jewish rabbis grouped them with other low lifes, like thieves, robbers, murderers, adulterers and pimps. Some rabbis even claimed God would punish tax collectors with leprosy. Jews also saw tax collectors as ceremonially unclean and traitors to Judaism. Jews even used the term “tax collector” as a derogatory term to call people. Not only did the Jews see tax collectors as low lifes, Romans also saw them as lesser people. In Cicero’s Duties, Cicero writes a list of occupations, with the most gentlemen-like at the top and the most vulgar at the bottom. Tax collectors fall all the way to the bottom. Nobody liked a tax collector.

Since the Jews looked down on tax collectors, the Jews treated down tax collectors. Tax collectors were not allowed to be Pharisees until they quit their job. In court, they could not be judges, nor could their testimony could be used. Jeremias sums it up best in Jerusalem, “[A tax collector] was deprived of civil and political rights to which every Israelite had claim, even those such as bastards who were of seriously blemished descent.” The Jews made it clear in their behavior how much they disliked the tax collectors. While the job might have paid well, becoming a tax collector made it a tough ride in life socially.

The Biblical Account

Tax collectors are clearly visible in the Gospel presence. They occur 25 times in the Gospel: 9 times in Matthew, 4 times in Mark, 12 times in Luke, 0 times in John. It’s not that John was against Christ’s actions toward tax collectors, but rather John, being the last gospel, thought the other Gospel writers covered it enough. These occurrences cover 11 different episodes. We don’t have the time fully exegete all 11 different episodes, but we will cover some main topics in which Jesus encounters tax collectors and will connect them to cultural context.

Jesus Uses It As A Derogatory Term

Matthew 5:46 ESV-

“For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?”

Matthew 18:17 ESV-

“If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”

Does it surprise you these are quotes from Jesus? If Jesus used the term “tax collector” as a derogatory term, does that mean Jesus had the same low, negative view of tax collectors? I think not. Look at both the cultural context and the literary context. Notice how both quotes come from the book of Matthew. Matthew is Jew writing to Jews. The cultural account teaches that the Jews hated the tax collectors more than anyone else. The Jews let tax collectors know how hated they were in both their words and actions. In both of these quotes, Jesus uses this cultural knowledge to turn the Jews’ world and the kingdom of God upside down on the Jews. In Matthew 5:46, Jesus uses the tax collectors’ low view to teach the importance of loving everyone, including your enemies. If even those of the lowest stature can love those that love them, then those who deem themselves as more moral and more upright must go a step above just loving those who love them. In Matthew 18:17, Jesus uses the tax collectors’ low standing to explain the severity of someone in the church who will not heed to church discipline. Yet at the same time with Matthew 18:17, perhaps the point of comparing an unrepentant church member to a tax collector was to get across that both need God’s love and God’s salvation, and that everyone needs God’s love and God’s salvation.

Tax Collectors are the Object of the Lost/Found Parables

Luke 15:1,2 ESV-

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

Sadly, Christians have a habit of separating these 3 parables when they really do belong together (technically, the 2 parables in Luke 16 most likely go with the 3 parables in Luke 15 too, but that’s a different discussion for a later time). Sadly, Christians also forget the importance of the first two introductory verses in Luke 15. The introductory verses, together with the parables, explain why Jesus receives and eats with tax collectors and sinners. The parables emphasize the joy of something, or someone, lost being found. In the same way, Jesus rejoices over sinners coming to salvation. If Jesus rejoices over sinners coming to salvation, godly men and women should do the same. The problem is that the Jewish religious leaders did not. They judged and condemned the tax collectors and sinners instead of helping them to salvation. Jesus emphasizes this point at the end of the prodigal son parable. The older brother represents the Jewish leadership because they are always with the Father, and yet they did not know the Father. If they would have known the Father, they too would work with tax collectors and sinners to help them come to repentance.

Jesus Calls A Tax Collector To Be A Disciple

Of the 12 disciples, the Gospels record Jesus specifically calling 5 of them. One of those is Levi, whom is known better as Matthew. All 3 synoptic Gospels record this event: Matthew 9:9-11, Mark 2:14-16 and Luke 5:27-30. The original Greek literally calls Matthew a “tax gatherer.” This means that Matthew actually collected the 3 taxes mentioned above: the annual income tax, the annual land tax and the customs/poll tax. More specifically, Matthew is the custom house official. This means that Matthew placed tax on whatever he wanted and then collected it. Jesus calling a tax collector to be a disciple must have been a shock to everyone, especially the Jewish religious leaders. Remember that everyone thought tax collecting was the most despicable and least moral job a person could have. This job was so looked down on that the Pharisees required tax collectors to quit their job in order to take any kind of religious job. Jesus turned their world upside down. Instead of choosing his disciples as the best of the best, he chose them as the worse of the worse. Jesus did not look for those who were already good and moral; he wanted those who wanted to learn and work on their lives. This is why Jesus says in all 3 synoptic Gospels something along the lines of, “It is not the healthy that need a doctor, but the sick. I did not come for the righteous, but for sinners.”

Jesus Ate With Tax Collectors

When all 3 synoptic Gospels tell the story of Jesus calling Matthew, they also recall Jesus going to eat with Matthew and his fellow tax collector friends. Furthermore, in Luke 19:5-7, Jesus goes to the home of Zacchaeus, another tax collector. Remember that in this culture dining with someone at their house means acceptance, reconciliation and a close relationship. This is why people become upset when they see Jesus go into the house of Zacchaeus to eat with him. Jesus reminds them of what he said to Matthew. In Luke 19:10, Jesus says, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” The people should not scoff at Jesus hanging out with sinners because that’s what Jesus came for: bringing sinners to repentance.

Conclusion

 

I purposely placed those Biblical accounts in that order so you can see a common, building theme. The theme climaxes with Luke 19:10. Christ’s yearning was for sinners to come to God. So Jesus came down from heaven so that sinners may one day be lifted up to see God face-to-face and live with him forever. Now throw in what I said about what Jesus was doing with borrowing the Jews’ derogatory term. By purposely targeting someone looked down on in Jewish society, Jesus made a bold statement to the Jews. No one can be so stooped down in sin that he or she cannot be saved. Jesus wants to love everyone and wants everyone to repent of sin and come to Him. If Jesus is a friend of tax collectors, he’ll be a friend of me.

Acknowledgement

I am eternally grateful to Dr. Dough Buckwalter, New Testament professor at Evangelical Seminary, for the original texts and originally sources.

The Pharisee and The Tax Collector (Part 1): The Pharisee

Introduction

This post begins a two-part study on the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. As the title obviously gives away, the parable has two main characters: a Pharisee and a tax collector. The choice of these characters for this parable was no mistake. Jesus knew who was in his audience what issues he had to deal with. So Jesus very carefully chooses his characters. To know why these 2 characters are important, the reader must understand their personalities as individuals, how their communities impacted society, and the cultural stigma that went with them. This post will look at the Pharisees’ side of the story. The next post will look at the tax collectors’ side of the story.

Since there will be two posts covering the two characters of story, take the time to read the story twice. To mix it up a bit, read the passage in 2 different translations of the Bible. For the first time, read the parable in a literal translation, like New American Standard Bible (NASB), the English Standard Version (ESV), King James Version (KJV) or New King James Version (NKJV). For the second time, read the story in a dynamic equivalency, like the Revised Standard Version (RSV), New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), New International Version (NIV), Today’s New International Version (TNIV), Century English Version (CEV), or New Century Version (NCV). I personally chose the NASB and NCV.

The Biblical Account

What kind of thoughts or feelings arise when you hear the term “Pharisee”? Most people have a negative connotation to Pharisees. The New Testament, especially the Gospels, give the reader this negative connotation about the Pharisees. The Bible shows its reader that they had a poor view of the Old Testament, especially the Law. They favored their Rabbinic interpretation of the Law, so much that they put the Rabbinic interpretation over the Law itself! They believed following the Law would bring about the Messiah and salvation. In believing so, they became legalistic, which in turn made the Law itself an idol. They failed to that the Lord was a God who was gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in love (Matthew 23:23,24). Because of their bad views of the Law, it led the Pharisees to believe they were purer, holier, more righteous and more sacred than the rest of the people, which they deemed “sinners.” The New Testament carefully depicts the Pharisees as self-righteous. The Pharisees would agree with that depiction, and they would boast about it, too! The Pharisees boasted themselves up and put other people down, pretty much condemning everyone who wasn’t a Pharisee. Both the first point, the poor view of the Old Testament, and second point, seeing themselves as self-righteous, led the Pharisees naturally to a third negative point: the Pharisees would ultimately reject Jesus, and they would get so angry with him, they would play a crucial role when it came to Christ’s death. The Gospels remind their audience about this crucial role the Pharisees played in crucifying Jesus. Pharisees voted towards executing Jesus. Pharisees stirred up the crowd to coax Pontius Pilate to allow the death penalty. After anyone reads the New Testament, especially the Gospels, that person will naturally have negatives feelings towards the Pharisees.

Enough trash talking about the Pharisees. Can anyone say anything good about the Pharisees? Do the Gospels even mention any good instance where a Pharisee is good or in the right? Yes, in fact, it does! There are a few positive instances. Most are in Luke. How ironic, that the only Gentile Gospel writer has the most positive things to say about the Jews! Luke records 3 times that a Pharisee invited Jesus to his house (Luke 7:36, 11:37, 14:1). This hospitality demonstrates a willingness to hear what the Jesus had to say. John also reminds us that while several Pharisees stood against Jesus, it doesn’t mean that all were against him. Some, such as Nicodemus, secretly followed Jesus (John 7:50,51; 12:42,43; 19:38,39). If that’s the case, it’s quite possible that maybe some Pharisees on the Sanhedrin voted against putting Jesus to death.

The Cultural Account

The Pharisees were a religious group that developed during the intertestament period (between the Old Testament and New Testament), right after the Maccabean Revolt (the Hanukkah story).

The Pharisees were not liberal, but were less conservative than the Sadducees, and a different type of conservative. Take purity, for example. The Sadducees were more conservative because they believed everything needed to be pure in every sacrifice: the sacrifice itself, the high priest, and even the tools used in the sacrifice. The Pharisees were less conservative in this matter. They were only concerned about purity in special sacrifices, like the sacrifice for the mercy seat on the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies during Yom Kippur. Yet this doesn’t mean they weren’t concerned with purity at all. When they needed to be pure, they took extra precaution. They would wash the altar on which the sacrifice was performed. They would also take extra precautions to make sure the priests were impure. The priests weren’t allowed to be even close to someone who was sick, not even a cold!

The Pharisees advertised themselves as the religious party “of the people.” To be a Pharisee, a man needed to have a family. The man needed to be married and have children, so he could relate to the people who were part of a family. To be a Pharisee, a man also needed to have a job. Most of the Sadducees were priests or levites or even “professional Sadducees.” The Pharisees wanted to relate to the people, so they wanted a have a common job to relate to the common worker. At the same time, a Pharisee couldn’t have just any old job. They needed to have what we call a “white collar job” and they could not have what we call a “blue collar job” because the “white collar jobs” were more dignified and respectable than the “blue collar obs.” Such jobs that were off-limits were tax collector and fisherman (fishermen were dirty, smelly, and they worked naked often). So you can imagine how appalled the Pharisees were at Jesus when Jesus first calls 4 fishermen and a tax collector to be his disciples! Yet that’s what Jesus was all about: turning the kingdom of God upside down on the Pharisees.

Connecting the Biblical Account and the Cultural Account

The Pharisees also had “top 3” when it came to spiritual disciplines. Can you guess 2 of them? I bet you can! Hint: it’s the 2 the Pharisee mentions in the parable. 2 of them are fasting and giving, whether it be tithing to God or giving to the poor. The third one was prayer. Which is quite interesting. Read Matthew 6:1-6,16-18 below, and pay close what I’ve italicized for emphasis. You should notice a pattern.

Matthew 6:1-6,16-18 (NIV, 1984 ed.)-

“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. ² “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. ³ But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. ⁵ And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. ⁶ But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. ¹⁶ When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. ¹⁷ But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

All these verses came from the same section and the same sermon series, the Sermon on the Mount. How fitting. Did you notice the pattern here? Did you notice similar words and phrases? I noticed 3 similar phrases: “as the hypocrites do,” “I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full” and “Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” The pattern shows that these 3 parts of the Sermon on the Mount together by no mistake. They belong together. I believe that here, in these passages, “hypocrite” is code name for the Pharisees because all 3 spiritual practices Jesus mentions are the top 3 spiritual practices of the Pharisees. But Jesus used the code name “hypocrites” because, after all, you don’t want to start your ministry calling out and attacking the most love religious party, the religious party “of the people.” What do you think is the reward that they have received in full? I think it’s public attention, which they want. But Jesus reveals how weak and fleeting public attention is. Instead, Jesus presents the right way to spiritually discipline oneself in fasting, prayer and giving, in a way that honors God, and in turn, God blesses them. That’s the true reward. Once again, Jesus turns the Kingdom of God upside down on the Pharisees.

Let’s make one more connection between the culture of the Pharisees and the Bible. A common prayer Pharisees would recite says, “Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the universe, who has not made me a Gentile, a slave or a woman.” It was common for Pharisees to recite this prayer, almost on a daily basis, Pharisees such as Paul. Then Paul gets saved. Take a look at Galatians 3:28 below. Once again, pay close attention to what I italicized for emphasis.

Galatians 3:28 (NIV 1984 ed.)-

There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus

The Greek word used for “Greek” can also be translated “Gentile.” I think Paul had this prayer in mind when Paul wrote Galatians 3:28 Instead of lifting himself up as better than others, he praised God for being counted among those people in the kingdom of God. What do you think changed Paul? Obviously Paul is saved, but what part about becoming a Christian changed Paul’s mind? Whatever the reason, Jesus truly changed the life of this Pharisee. Before, Saul would praise God for not being what he considered a “lower person” in all his pride. After, Paul humbly praised God that he could join the ranks of all those people to be considered a child of God. That’s the power of Jesus Christ!

Conclusion

While the Pharisees would occasionally listen to others, they mostly concluded they had it right and looked down on anyone who disagreed with them. They would also look down on anyone who weren’t free Jewish men, like slaves, Gentiles, and women. This is why they probably rejected Jesus. Jesus befriended the slaves, Gentiles, women, tax collectors, fishermen and the lower class. They thought a good free Jewish man would avoid people, but Jesus turned the Kingdom of God upside down on them. And any Pharisee who believed in Jesus, like Nicodemus and Paul, was turned around, upside down and totally changed. Therefore, when I read the parable in Luke 18, I don’t think it’s the fact he’s a Pharisee that makes the Pharisee go home unjustified. It’s his refusal to humble his heart before God. If the Pharisee too would have beaten his breast and begged for mercy, both men would have gone home justified before God. The point is both are sinners and both need forgiveness. As Christians, this should give us hope. If even the most godly Pharisee can humble his heart and receive forgiveness, so can the most godly Christian receive forgiveness when he or she humbles his or her heart.

Was Jesus A Magician?

Introduction

Was Jesus a magician? I know this sounds like a crazy question to us. To us, it’s an obvious “no,” maybe followed by an obvious “duh.” But that’s because we are 21^st century Christians, in the 21^st century Christian mindset. Put your mind in the 1^st century context. Magicians were everywhere. There was probably at least two in every village and town, and maybe even more in the cities. They could commonly be seen walking down the streets and in the marketplaces. All of them claimed to have power (from gods or demons), and all of them could perform magic. From the view of a 1^st century person Jesus could have easily looked like just another magician. This post will look how made sure he never seemed like just another magician when he performed a miracle. In fact, he made sure to portray himself as quite the opposite.

The Cultural Account

First, let me carefully define a 1^st century magician. A 1^st century magician is nothing like a 21^st century magician. A 1^st century magician does not perform magic for entertainment, as a 21^st century magician would. He’s not pulling rabbits out of hats, he’s not sawing women in half, he’s not escaping from straitjackets. A better term to describe a 1^st century magician would be a witch or a witch doctor. A better 21^st equivalent would be a psychic. Like I said above, there’s usually two in a village or two: one a witch, and the other one a witch doctor. You went to the witch if you to put a curse on someone or something. You went to the witch doctor if you wanted the curse taken off of yourself, or you wanted a blessing placed on yourself.

For what specific reasons would a person go to a witch or witch doctor to harness magical powers? Ancient writings provide about 7 main reasons. They are as follows:

1.      Protection, from both the natural and the supernatural

2.      Healing, both physical and mental
3.      To have someone fall in love with you
4.      Harming someone or something
5.      Knowing the future
6.      Changing the future
7.      Victory in sport or battle

Let’s take a deeper look at these ancient writings to see how magicians performed their magic arts, looking carefully at the words spoken and the actions performed.

To have someone fall in love with you

I adjure you, demon of death, cause to pine away Sarapion out of love for Dioskorus, whom

Tikoi bore: burn his heart, let it melt and let his blood dry up through love, longing, and pain
over me until Sarapion, whom Pasametra bore, comes to Dioskours, whom Tikoi bore, and
fulfills all my wishes and loves me ceaselessly until he descends into Hades. I adjure you,
demon of death, by Adonai, by Sabaoth. (magical papyri 16)

I adjure all ghosts [demonas] in this place to come to the assistance of this ghost. Raise yourself

up for me from the repose that keeps you and go out into every district and every quarter and
every house and every shop, and drive, spellbind Matrona…that she may not (have intercourse
vaginal, anal, or oral with anyone else, nor) be able to go with any other man than Theodorus…and never let Matrona…be able to endure or be healthy or find sleep night or day without Theodorus. (“A Love Charm with Verses,”)

The irony with these spells is that while the end goal is for a certain person to fall in love with the user of the spell, these spells relay the feeling that the magic user really doesn’t love that person. After all, what loving person would pray that the person they hold closest in their heart would not be able to sleep or be healthy until they admit their love? These spells do not show the interest of the other person, but rather, only the interest of the user, even at the cost of the wellbeing of the other person.

Protection, from both the natural and the supernatural

Onto lime wood write with vermilion this name “[50 Greek letters] Guard me from every

demon of the air on the earth and under the earth, and from every angel and phantom and ghostly visitation and enchantment, me [enter name].” Enclose it in a purple skin, hang it around your neck and wear it. (magical papyri)

Knowing the Future

To Sokonnokonneus, the twice-great god. Reveal to me whether I should remain in Bachias.

Should I make a request? Reveal this to me! To the most great, powerful god, Soknopaias,
by Asklepiades, son of Aneios, Is it not prohibited to me to marry Tapetheus, daughter of Marre
and will she not marry another? Show me this and complete [the answer] to this written
[question]. To Soknopaios and Sokanpeios, great, great gods: from Statoetis, son of Apynchis,
son of Tesenuphis. Will I be saved from illness? Give me information about this! To the
great gods Soknopaias and Sokonupis. Is it granted to me to start a business for gladiators?
Give me information about this! (magical papyri 30)

I call upon you, inhabitants of Chaos and Erebos [the underworld], of the depth, of earth, watchers of heaven, of darkness, masters of things not to be seen, guardians of secrets, leaders of those beneath the earth, administrators of things which are infinite, those who wield power over earth, servants in the chasm, shudderful fighters, fearful ministers, inhabitants of dark Erebos,

coercive watchers, rulers of cliffs, grievers of the heart, adverse daimons, iron-hearted ones
[seven magical names are given]…Reveal concerning the matter which I am considering.
(magical papyri 7.348–58)

Victory in sport or battle

I conjure you up, holy beings and holy names; join in aiding this spell, and bind, enchant, thwart,strike, overturn, conspire against, destroy, kill, break Eucherius the charioteer, and all his horses tomorrow in the circus at Rome. May he not leave the barriers well; may he not be quick in the contest; may he not outstrip anyone; may he not make the turns well; may he not win any prizes…may he be broken; may he be dragged along by your power, in the morning and afternoon races. Now! Now! Quickly! Quickly!

Listen to how harsh this incantation is! The person praying is wants to win so bad, he prays that his rival will be hurt or killed! Once again, this incantation has no intention of showing love to the other. I think it rather shows hate in order to get his selfish desires.

Harming someone or something

WHAT TO DO: “Take a lead lamella [thin, metal plate] and inscribe with a bronze stylus the following names and the figure [depicted in the papyrus text], and after smearing it with blood from a bat, roll up the lamella in the ususal fashion. Cut open a frog and put it into its stomach. After stitching it up with Anubian thread and a bronze needle, hang it up on a reed from your property by means of hairs from the tip of the tail of a black ox, at the east of the property near the rising of the sun.”

WHAT TO SAY: “Supreme angels, just as the frog drips with blood and dries up, so also will

the body of him [a space to insert the name of the victim] whom [a space to insert the name
of the victim’s mother] bore, because I conjure you, who are in command of fire…” (magical
papyri 36.231–55)

Other Magical Objects and Actions

“A woman is guaranteed never to miscarry if, tied round her neck in gazelle leather, she wears

white flesh from a hyaena’s breast, seven hyaena’s hairs, and the genital organ of a stag.”
(Pliny, Natural History, 28.27.98–99)

 This would have been in a 1^st century fertility book! Aren’t you glad it didn’t make it to a 21^st century fertility book?

“It acts as a charm for a man to spit on the urine he has [discharged]; similarly to spit into

the right shoe before putting it on.” (Pliny, Natural History, 28.7.38)

So if you want good luck, men, either spit in your right shoe or spit in your urine every time you pee. This seems like a lose-lose or choosing the less of two evils.

“Hailstorms and whirlwinds are driven away if menstrual fluid is exposed to the very flashes

of lightning.” (Pliny, Natural History, 28.23.77)

Thunders and lightning fear a woman having her period just as much as men do :-P haha

“The extreme end of the [hyaena’s] intestine prevails against the injustices of leaders and

potentates, bringing success to petitions and a happy issue to trials and lawsuits if it is merely
kept on the person;…the anus [of a hyaena], worn as an amulet on the left arm, is so powerful
a love-charm that, if a man but [sees] a woman, she at once follows him.” (Pliny, Natural History, 28.27.106)

Men, how many times have you seen an ugly woman, but once you see her put on a hyaena butt, she becomes instantly beautiful?

“If door-posts are merely touched by the menstrual discharge, the tricks are rendered vain of

the Magi, a lying crowd, as is easily ascertained.” (Pliny, Natural History, 28.23.88)

And all other magical problems can be negated by spreading your menstrual blood on the doorposts likes it’s Passover.

I know all these magical words and performances sound crazy, but put it in a more recent context. Think about all the crazy superstitions people practice in modern times that have little to no scientific backing. Kids in the 1990s wore placed a rabbit’s foot or two on their backpacks and key chains. Before then, people had horseshoes, and some still do. I go could on mentioning throwing salt over the shoulder, knocking on wood and avoiding stepping on cracks. Now to be fair, maybe some of these superstitions arose from safety precautions. For example, people learned not to walk under ladders because walking under ladders was unsafe. Eventually, it became unlucky. Also to be fair, remember that 1^st century people did not know of a distinction between magic and science. Sometimes they 1^st century people were doing science, but they did not know it, so they called it magic. Most cases, however, as the cases seen above, did not come from safety precautions or early attempts at science. They were merely superstitions that arose from the pagan polytheism.

Let’s also review some of the discussion about demon exorcism, since demon exorcisms are miracles, and since demon exorcisms have commonalities with miracles. Already, we have seen that magic depends on some amulet, talisman or device, just like in exorcisms. Also, notice the necessity to call on gods or higher powers. The people of the 1^st century believed that even the gods had to submit to the powers of magic. So in theory, a human well versed in magic could overcome the will of a god. So just like in exorcisms, magicians, witches and witch doctors sought to call out a god by name in order to control his power. These gods had very little sovereignty; their will constantly fought the will of man.

The Biblical Account

The Bible records Jesus performing 37 miracles, but John 20:30,31 hints that Jesus probably performed more. As a case study, let’s look at when Jesus cured the blind. The New Testament records Jesus healing the blind 4 times. They are as follows:

1.      Jesus heals 2 blind men (Matthew 9:27-31)
2.      Jesus heals Bartimaeus (Matthew 20:29-34, Mark 10:46-52, Luke 18:35-43)
3.      Jesus heals the blind man at Bethesda (Mark 8:22-26)
4.      Jesus heals the man born blind (John 9:1-41)

Pause here. Open up your Bible and read all 4 stories. Yes, this includes reading all 3 accounts of healing blind Bartimaeus. As you read each story, take notice of how Jesus heals them. Write it down if you have to. When you are done, come back here and compare answers with me. This is what I got:

1.      Jesus healing 2 blind men – Touching the eyes
2.      Jesus healing blind Bartimaeus – speaking and touching
3.      Jesus healing the blind man at Bethesda – spitting, then touching
4.      Jesus healing the man born blind – made mud with spit, placed mud on eyes, wash in the pool of Siloam

Compare it to how the culture would say a witch doctor would cure blindness. Jesus never calls upon a god or a higher power. What a testimony to his own deity! Jesus never prays a prayer or speaks a special incantation. In fact, Jesus never addresses the blindness directly. He just states the healing has happened. Jesus never needs any kind amulet, talisman or device. In fact, the four blindness healings really don’t have anything in common; they are all different. The closest commonality is that Jesus touches them, but this touching is most likely to be intimate or personal in the healing.

This is very important that Jesus does not have a formula or procedure to curing the blind. Suppose Jesus healed every blind person that same way he healed the man born blind: making mud from spit, spreading the mud on the eyes, and washing the eyes in water. Then pastors would hold blindness healing services in their churches, which the whole service would consist of spitting, making mud, spreading the mud on blind people’s eyes, and then washing them off. Problems would really occur if a blind person still couldn’t see after undergoing the spit, mud and washing ceremony. Talk about having doubts!

From the start, Jesus de-emphasizes any kind of method. If the method is de-emphasized, then what is emphasized? Jesus is. Every miracle points back to Jesus. At the most, someone could say that faith is a commonality with every miracle, and therefore faith is emphasized, but even there, the faith points back to Jesus, emphasizing him.

Conclusion

So was Jesus a magician? Some of the Sanhedrin of the 1^st century claimed Jesus was a magician, in hope that a truly religious Jew would not follow someone like a witch doctor. But if anyone living in the 1^st century knew their culture, they would know how far from the truth that claim is. Jesus did not perform his miracles like magicians or witches performed magic. He did not call upon gods for higher power, he did not speak any prayer or incantations, and did use any use any object, like the magicians and witches. Jesus also never performed his miracles to get the upper hand on his personal life or other people. Rather, Jesus performed miracles to help lift up people in unfortunate circumstances. So Jesus was not a magician, he was much better than that. He was the Messiah, saving people from unfortunate situations. He was God, depending on his own power instead of manipulating a higher up power. Therefore, the miracles of Jesus should encourage us to not seek other supernatural solutions, like psychics, but instead to seek Jesus for the solution to all our problems.


Acknowledgements
I am eternally grateful to Dr. Doug Buckwalter, New Testament professor at Evangelical Seminary, for the original texts and the original resources.