Could Jesus have been a time traveller?

I have this idea for a novel that would certainly cause more than a little controversy. Of course, it’s always possible that it has already been written and it caused no controversy whatsoever, and if that is the case, please tell me, somebody!

Suppose, just suppose, that Jesus was a time traveller. We all know that time travel is impossible, as far as we can tell, but in a few thousand years’ time, assuming that we haven’t fried ourselves off the planet by then, maybe it won’t be impossible at all. Suppose somebody from the future went back to the year dot (almost literally). How would that person appear to the people he encountered?

Just consider the facts, as far as we know them. A remarkable person appeared in Palestine about 2,000 years ago. Leaving aside all those Christmas stories which have the distinct whiff of myth about them (sorry if this offends anyone), this person appears out of nowhere and starts doing amazing things, like turning water into wine and curing people from terrible diseases. He even manages to cheat death, but then disappears, apparently into thin air, not long afterwards.

We know that some apparent miracles have perfectly rational explanations, given our current level of knowledge. For example, modern methods of artificial respiration would have looked very miraculous at that time, with an apparently dead person coming back to life. There’s an Old Testament story of Elijah doing something very much along these lines – perhaps he was a time traveller too?

What about that “water into wine” miracle? A fairly common trick by modern conjurers is the “magic kettle”. Members of the audience shout out the drink they would like and the conjurer pours it from the kettle for them. A pint of beer, sir? No problem. A glass of red wine, madam? There you go. I don’t know how the trick is done, but I have seen it performed. A barrel of wine when you’ve only got water? Why not?

Mind you, the loaves and fishes miracle has always had a rational explanation for me. There are all those people, who have apparently brought nothing with them, demanding to be given free food. Sorry, says Jesus, I didn’t know that catering for you lot was part of the deal. Is anyone willing to share? Step forward one young lad who has had the foresight to pack a lunch, and does not mind handing it over. Shamed by this example of generosity, the rest of the crowd admit that they have got something after all, and there’s enough for their mates as well. For me, that’s a miracle anyway, with no supernatural explanation needed, and the story has more value when understood in that way.

No doubt there are plenty of other apparently miraculous happenings in the Bible account that can’t be explained at present but might be no problem at all if we fast-forward a few centuries.

However, let’s get back to the plot. The little matter of the promised “second coming” falls into place if my theory is correct. Of course there would be a second coming if a time traveller said so. Scroll forward a few thousand years and there he is again, in his own time.

I’m sure there are plenty of holes in my theory, but, well, it’s a thought, isn’t it?

© John Welford