If Jesus Were Here Today, Would He Want His Miracles Posted on Social Media?

[breno785au]

sure
the thing is he told people not to tell others basically because at the time the Pharisees were out to kill Him if they got wind of it. (And in his childhood he was pretty much head hunted by Herod)

That didnt mean not talk about it but not tell the authorities like the how you nowadays wouldnt involve the police in certain things because you know they'd crackdown on everything.

I also think too that He told them not to say anything so as to not draw attention to Himself but for all glory to the Father. But now that He is glorified, that mandate is no longer.
I feel like I haven't explained my thought very well though

 

[Runningman]

Hi there,

I found myself asking this question the other day when I was listening to a YouTube video from someone who is skeptical about faith healing presentations. It got me thinking...

* If Jesus had come during this time period, how do you think He would have felt about people filming the miracles He performed on their phones, and then uploading the videos to social media?

* Would He have wanted it to reach as many viewers as possible, or would He have somehow wanted to keep the events kept private? (And how on earth would that be achieved today?)

Please note that this thread is not meant to be a debate about whether or not faith healings exist today, but rather, how Jesus would have reacted to His work being put on social media. It's purely a rhetorical question meant for critical thinking and probably not really something we can answer either way in this lifetime. But I thought the discussion about it would be interesting.

The reason I was thinking about this is because I went to Lutheran schools from kindergarten to 12th grade. During that time, there seemed to be a great emphasis on discerning those who were false prophets and/or had the spirit of the anti-Christ because many then believedthat we were in the last days of the earth's existence.

One of the things I remember one of our pastors pointing out during our classes was that sometimes Jesus wanted news of His miraculous works to be known. For example, after commanding a legion of demons to leave a man (and they subsequently entered a herd of pigs that drowned themselves,) Jesus then told him, "Go back home and tell everyone how much God has done for you." (Luke 8:39.)

In contrast to this, when Jesus brought Jairus's daughter back from the dead, "He commanded them strictly that no one should know it." (Mark 5:43.)

The pastor had told us to beware of anyone was was preaching and performing works in Jesus's name for the sake of drawing attention to themselves.

I often wonder what God thinks of, and how He would utilize - or avoid - social media today.

To summarize the idea behind this thread:

If Jesus were here today and was performing miracles in front of the people, do you think He would want bystanders to record the process and upload the footage to the internet?

Why or why not?

I think the whole point of creation itself is to glorify God. Everything is essentially a medium through which a message of an Almighty Creator is broadcasted. People use clay tablets, papyrus, books, social media, and other instruments including their voices.

God speaks through Creation, through the universe, life, and all that is created to shout His presence.

Psalm 19:1-6
1The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
2Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
3There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
4Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
5Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.
6His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

Romans 1:19-20
19Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:



Luke 19:40
40And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

 

[seoulsearch]

I appreciate the time and thought people have put into the posts in this thread, and hope they will continue to add thoughts as they wish.

In contemplating what I was really trying to ask in this thread, I think that the point I was really trying to get at is not the issue of whether or not Jesus would use social media -- I believe He would use any means to expose people to the work of His father -- but rather, How would He have been able to control the use of social media in the instances when He didn't want His deeds known, as in the case of Jairus's daughter.

This is just my own personal guess, but, just as Jesus couldn't control what people said back in His day, He wouldn't have been able to control what people did with their recordings of His deeds in modern times as well.

Which brings me back to the question of, I wonder if and how things would have played out differently and people would have obeyed when Jesus told them not to tell others of what they had witnessed.

Admittedly, many of the threads I write are my own contemplations written "out loud," and I'm basically asking the readers if they have every contemplated the same things -- and what their own conclusions have been.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

Please continue to do so as you are moved.

 

[Lynx]

Jesus COULD have cracked down and rigidly controlled it. But God is really big on free will.

Same today. God could force us to do or not do something like puppets, but he's really big on asking us to do or not do stuff, and letting us decide whether we trust him enough to follow good advice.

What if Jesus HAD cracked down and forced them not to tell people about it? He can do that... he's done it before. In the old testament one prophet was only able to speak when he was delivering a prophecy. Any other time his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth when he tried to talk. What if Jesus said, "If you try to tell anybody what I've done here today, your tongue will stick to the top of your mouth"?

 

[Lanolin]

maybe more people would have had the opportunity to be healed perhaps if the word didnt get out.

I dont know if Jesus was maybe using reverse pyschology here but fame can stop you doing the very things you set out to do, like when people become a victim of their own success.

For example, yes I would like more readers in the library but if I have TOO many in the library at once it gets too overwhelming for people and it gets noisy and then defeats the purpose.

or say, an example of recent times, theres a vaccine for covid and you tell everyone its here. ANd so theres a long line and queues for hours if you told only a few people and prioritised who got it first, it would be fairer and less queues and frustration. (i know that seems counter intuitive, but that way more people WILL get it just not instantly)