Note that in all of these examples the person doesn’t look like the other person – unlike the identical twin theory.
a) Thinking Jesus was someone else (according to some people)
Matthew 16:14 – Jesus is believed to be John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets
Mark 6:14-16 – Jesus is believed to be John the Baptist, Elijah, or a prophet. King Herod says “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!” (as Jesus)
Mark 8:28 – Jesus is believed to be John the Baptist, Elijah or a prophet
Luke 9:18-19 – Jesus is believed to be John the Baptist, Elijah, or a prophet
John 1:21 – Jesus is asked if he is Elijah or a prophet
This shows that mistaken identity doesn’t require an identical twin. Most people would just ignore these verses and maybe be puzzled by them.
b) Brief appearances – sometimes they think it isn’t Jesus
Note that in all of the stories that could involve mistaken identity, Jesus is only there for a fairly short amount of time.
1 Corinthians 15:6 – the appearance to the “more than 500” – Richard Carrier says this could have involved a mass hallucination
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…but in modern times there was an event involving 6000 people believing they saw Jesus (mistaken identity).
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Since that happened then the 500+ could also easily have been an historical event.
Matthew 28:10 – Jesus tells women that he will see the disciples in Galilee. The disciples saw Jesus there. The end.
Mark 16:14-19 – appeared when the disciples were eating then ascended to heaven.
Luke 24:13 – On the road to Emmaus Jesus appeared to two disciples, in verse 31 they recognised Jesus, eats a broiled fish with the disciples, near Bethany he ascended into heaven.
John 20:14 – Mary Magdalene saw Jesus but did not recognise him. She thought he was a gardener. Jesus appears to the disciples. Verse 26 – Jesus appeared a week later.
John 21 – Jesus appeared again by the Sea of Galilee. Verse 4 – they didn’t recognise Jesus. Verse 14 – the third time Jesus had appeared to the disciples. No mention of ascension.
Acts 1:3 – Jesus appeared to them over 40 days then ascended into heaven.
Not recognising “Jesus” is consistent with the mistaken identity theory. So is the appearances being brief. Some Christians say that Jesus could have had a glorified body but that doesn’t explain why Mary thought he was a common gardener. In other stories they did recognise it was Jesus.
Welcome Iwenke!
In his book ** you do not have permission to see this link **, Hebrew scholar James Kugel has a chapter on what he calls “The Moment of Confusion“, a trope found in the oldest accounts in the Hebrew Bible where God or his angel appears and is not recognized until later, often after he has departed. This conceit undoubtedly influenced the NT accounts of the resurrected Jesus not being immediately recognized.
This could simply be a literary effect of course but I can’t help but wonder if maybe there were at least some people who after having some remarkable encounter with a stranger later became convinced that it must have been the resurrected Jesus! (What about Paul? When he had his original vision did he recognize Jesus immediately or did he only come to believe it had been Jesus after some amount of deliberation?)
Stephen said
Welcome Iwenke!….I can’t help but wonder if maybe there were at least some people who after having some remarkable encounter with a stranger later became convinced that it must have been the resurrected Jesus!….
Even these days there are some people claiming to be Jesus. After being told he was Jesus the disciples/women could “recognise” him (and he leaves shortly afterwards).
The interesting thing was that many people were convinced that Jesus was actually Elijah, etc, even when he didn’t claim to be.
This was so well known that those reports appear in all four gospels.
What do you think about that? It seems everyone ignores those passages – but the public believing that Jesus was Elijah, etc, even when he never encourages it is very significant…..
Even King Herod had a similar mindset – he was convinced that John the Baptist had been raised from the dead – in the form of Jesus…. which is very relevant to stories of a resurrected Jesus…
There’s also this about “false Christs”:
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e.g. Mark 13:6 – “Many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He!’ and will mislead many.”
I wonder if there could be a person claiming to be Jesus that didn’t convince the disciples? (It could be very unlikely when you consider that people were convinced that Jesus was Elijah, etc) If so they probably wouldn’t have mentioned it in the gospels.
lwenke said
Stephen said
Welcome Iwenke!
….I can’t help but wonder if maybe there were at least some people who after having some remarkable encounter with a stranger later became convinced that it must have been the resurrected Jesus!….
The interesting thing was that many people were convinced that Jesus was actually Elijah, etc, even when he didn’t claim to be.
This was so well known that those reports appear in all four gospels.
I don’t see how this really gets one anywhere in explaining the resurrection appearances. No one knew what Elijah looked like, many may not even have gotten a good look at Jesus. This identification (if it was even historical, which I don’t think we can assume) is presumably based on Jesus’ teaching and purported miracles, combined with Elijah’s reputation and the belief he would return.
Physical appearance just wouldn’t have been a consideration one way or the other because no one knew what Elijah looked like.
Even if the case of people believing Jesus was actually John, it isn’t clear that that belief would have taken account of any physical resemblance–it seems likely that it was simply a matter of Jesus emerging as a public figure who was continuing something like John’s ministry right after John was killed. The people who subscribed to the theory may have been thinking in terms like reincarnation–so there wouldn’t necessarily be any physical resemblance and physical resemblance wouldn’t have been a consideration for them. (Or maybe they were thinking in terms of a resuscitated corpse, but they hadn’t gotten a good look at one or both of the two figures–in the days before photography and television, most people wouldn’t be able to pick even a famous person out of a crowd.)
The overall point is that I don’t think that physical resemblance would have been an issue at all in those cases. The identification would probably have been predicated on the similarity of their reputation more than anything else. That doesn’t easily transfer to Jesus’ inner circle having intimate encounters with a mysterious figure who turns out to be a risen Jesus.
Porphyry said
I don’t see how this really gets one anywhere in explaining the resurrection appearances.
I think mistaken identity is generally a better explanation than mass hallucinations or a resurrection. (though some/all stories might not involve anything historical) See also this modern example of mistaken identity involving 6000 people:
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Physical appearance just wouldn’t have been a consideration one way or the other because no one knew what Elijah looked like.
I’m saying in the NT a look-a-like is never required for there to be mistaken identity.
Even if the case of people believing Jesus was actually John, it isn’t clear that that belief would have taken account of any physical resemblance–it seems likely that it was simply a matter of Jesus emerging as a public figure who was continuing something like John’s ministry right after John was killed.
Yes a look-a-like was not required at all. See also Herod being convinced that Jesus was John the Baptist raised from the dead in Mark 6.
The overall point is that I don’t think that physical resemblance would have been an issue at all in those cases. The identification would probably have been predicated on the similarity of their reputation more than anything else. That doesn’t easily transfer to Jesus’ inner circle having intimate encounters with a mysterious figure who turns out to be a risen Jesus.
If people who know John the Baptist think Jesus is him then I think it is reasonable for them to think someone else is Jesus.
The interesting thing was that many people were convinced that Jesus was actually Elijah, etc, even when he didn’t claim to be.
This was so well known that those reports appear in all four gospels.
What do you think about that?
Well in Malachai 4:5-6 it is foretold that Elijah would return before the Kingdom came. So I think it would be natural that any prophet coming along predicting the coming kingdom, like John and Jesus, might be associated with the return of Elijah. And since Elijah escaped a natural death he could come down from heaven to earth at any time, as he appears to do at the Transfiguration.
Stephen said
Well in Malachai 4:5-6 it is foretold that Elijah would return before the Kingdom came. So I think it would be natural that any prophet coming along predicting the coming kingdom, like John and Jesus, might be associated with the return of Elijah. And since Elijah escaped a natural death he could come down from heaven to earth at any time, as he appears to do at the Transfiguration.
Some people also thought Jesus was Jeremiah or some other prophet. If people think Jesus could actually be Elijah, Jeremiah, John the Baptist or another prophet while Jesus wasn’t agreeing with it, then I think someone claiming to be Jesus would be believed by others to be Jesus. e.g. Mark 13:6
Also John the Baptist did have a death though King Herod still thought Jesus was him.
Let me put the issue this way: On your theory, who is mistaking whom for Jesus after the crucifixion, and on what basis might they have made that mistaken identification?
One can understand why crowds might have heard about this Jesus fellow, who was preaching an imminent kingdom of God and reputedly working wonders, and theorized that he was Elijah or John the Baptist.
How would that model of mistaken identity translate to Jesus after the crucifixion? On what basis might they have made the mistake? You’ve suggested it might not have been based on physical resemblance, as in the case of mistaking Jesus for Elijah. But in the case of Jesus for Elijah, the mistake was based, presumably, on Jesus’ teaching and reputation as a prophet and wonder worker.
Are you suggesting that after the crucifixion a new preacher and wonder worker showed up whose message and ministry was sufficiently like Jesus’ that people theorized they were one and the same? If that is the suggestion, I’d wonder why did no record of this second figure’s ministry survive? I mean, one would think he’d have to be somewhat impressive and have some sort of renown for such a theory to develop.
Porphyry said
Let me put the issue this way: On your theory, who is mistaking whom for Jesus after the crucifixion, and on what basis might they have made that mistaken identification?
Sometimes they thought the other person was Jesus because the person claimed to be (then they “recognised” him). See also Mark 13:6 “Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray.”
See also the 6000 people who believed they saw Jesus. (parallel with the 500+)
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One can understand why crowds might have heard about this Jesus fellow, who was preaching an imminent kingdom of God and reputedly working wonders, and theorized that he was Elijah or John the Baptist.
If that is the case and King Herod also thought Jesus was John the Baptist then it makes sense that someone else might be confused with Jesus.
How would that model of mistaken identity translate to Jesus after the crucifixion? On what basis might they have made the mistake? You’ve suggested it might not have been based on physical resemblance, as in the case of mistaking Jesus for Elijah.
Not “might not” – definitely not – also if there is no physical resemblance then that explains why they didn’t recognise “Jesus” sometimes.
But in the case of Jesus for Elijah, the mistake was based, presumably, on Jesus’ teaching and reputation as a prophet and wonder worker.
Some also thought he was Jeremiah or some other prophet…
Are you suggesting that after the crucifixion a new preacher and wonder worker showed up whose message and ministry was sufficiently like Jesus’ that people theorized they were one and the same? If that is the suggestion, I’d wonder why did no record of this second figure’s ministry survive? I mean, one would think he’d have to be somewhat impressive and have some sort of renown for such a theory to develop.
Like I mentioned in the original post after his death the appearances of “Jesus” were only very brief. Also many thought Jesus was Elijah or John the Baptist even though his ministry wasn’t really like theirs.
lwenke said
Are you suggesting that after the crucifixion a new preacher and wonder worker showed up whose message and ministry was sufficiently like Jesus’ that people theorized they were one and the same? If that is the suggestion, I’d wonder why did no record of this second figure’s ministry survive? I mean, one would think he’d have to be somewhat impressive and have some sort of renown for such a theory to develop.
Like I mentioned in the original post after his death the appearances of “Jesus” were only very brief. Also many thought Jesus was Elijah or John the Baptist even though his ministry wasn’t really like theirs.
That’s just my point. Jesus was a well known public figure, who, (presumably) based on that established, well-known, public persona, was speculated to be Elijah (or Jeremiah or John the Baptist).
But the post-crucifixion appearances were brief. There was no well-known public persona that was then identified with Jesus based on a perceived similarity in their public personae; there were rather brief appearances of a random unknown individual, whom Jesus’ intimates spontaneously recognize (at least in the gospel accounts, Paul is an entirely different barrel of fish).
The cases don’t seem to be parallel. The phenomenon that explains why people thought Jesus was Elijah (or Jeremiah or John the Baptist), doesn’t seem applicable to the post-crucifixion appearances.
Porphyry said
But the post-crucifixion appearances were brief.
That’s the point – that’s also the case with the 6000. It means that they would have less of a chance to see if the personality is the same as Jesus’s (though with John the Baptist, etc, the personality isn’t the same)
There was no well-known public persona that was then identified with Jesus based on a perceived similarity in their public personae; there were rather brief appearances of a random unknown individual, whom Jesus’ intimates spontaneously recognize (at least in the gospel accounts, Paul is an entirely different barrel of fish).
“brief appearances of a random unknown individual” is consistent with mistaken identity… also see:
Mark 13:6 “MANY will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray.”
The cases don’t seem to be parallel. The phenomenon that explains why people thought Jesus was Elijah (or Jeremiah or John the Baptist), doesn’t seem applicable to the post-crucifixion appearances.
Well it shows that mistaken identity doesn’t require a look-a-like. And people not recognising “Jesus” sometimes means that it wasn’t a look-a-like. Can you explain why some people didn’t recognise Jesus? Perhaps you think them not recognising Jesus was just a made up story. But it makes sense if there is mistaken identity.
Is The Bible True? White vs Price 5/6/2010
Go to 16:58
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Price says:
Skeptics have suggested that on Easter morning, the disciples did not see Jesus himself, but only chance passersby, whom, in their desperation, they later inferred must have been Jesus alive again–even though it did not look like him! In other words, a false belief in resurrection stemmed from cases of mistaken identity abetted by wishful thinking. Is this scenario some contrived, modern fabrication, alien to the gospels? Maybe not. According to Mark 6:16 and 8:28, there are joyful reports among the disciples of the martyred John the Baptist that their master has been raised from the dead and seen by many witnesses! But Mark says it was all a case of mistaken identity: it was really Jesus these people were seeing. They only thought it was their much-missed master. Keep this in mind when you read the Easter stories where Mary or Peter or the Emmaus disciples first think they are seeing someone else and later “realize” that it must have been Jesus.
Right before the pandemic hit the so-called “Bible Answer Man” in the video, Hank Hanegraaff, converted to Eastern Orthodoxy. This caused much angst amongst his fellow fundamentalists. He is now persona non grata.
I love James White. His purity and absoluteness. He and I simply don’t live in the same universe. One of us is deluded. I wonder which?
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