How did Jesus "hide himself" or "pass through the midst" of mobs intent on killing him?

Question

Early in the Gospel of Luke we read:

Luke 4:28-30: "[The] people in the synagogue were filled with rage... and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, He went His way" (emphasis added).

Similarly, a bit later in John:

John 8:59: "Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple." (emphasis added).

How does anyone merely "hide themselves" or "pass through the midst" of crowds viciously intent on killing them? Surely this means that Christ possessed some prerogative of invisibility, but there seem to be instances in which He could not perform such miracles (cf. Mk. 6:5, 7:24, etc.).

Answer 1

We are not told explicitly how this was done but there are precedents:

• Luke 24:16 - the two men on the road to Emmaus were kept from recognizing Him

The incidents in Luke 4:28-30 and John 8:59 were probably similar. In both of these Jesus' time had not yet come (John 7:6, 8, 2:4, etc) and thus, Jesus was kept from harm.

However, at the correct time, Jesus declared that His "time had now come" to be sacrificed for sin, John 16:21, 32.

John Wesley made a similar remark when asked if he was afraid of some who were intent on killing him. He replied, "Until my work on earth is done, I am immortal ..."

Answer 2

Remember that Jesus didn't look like he does in the movies. He didn't have blue eyes, pale white skin, long straight nose, and flowing blonde hair. He didn't wear pristine beautiful clothing. He looked and dressed just like an ordinary person for that time and place.

There were no Entertainment Tonight videos, or even People magazine photos, so most people wouldn't know it was Jesus if they met him face to face.

The only people that would recognize him were those at the front of the mob. But once he had passed by those few, or hidden himself until they had moved away, he could walk around just like he was one of the crowd.

Answer 3

Gentlemen and ladies,

You are missing the point!

Each time Jesus “went through the midst of them”, Jesus was telling them whom He is.

Each time He showed them and those around Him that He physically disappeared in front of the noses. Jesus became invisible. Why is this so difficult to understand.

Jesus is the son of God, Lord of Time and Space. The winds and the waves obey Him. Must He also repair your blindness so that you may see.

He became physically invisible!

Amen

Answer 4

You are ignoring the fact that they were not actually committed to kill him. The context show the mob was being violent and dangerous, they wanted to kill him. It wasn't safe for him to stay among them any longer. It must be assumed they were only threatening him, and being aggressive, that he could easily slip away from them. Not every time a mob wants to kill someone succeeds (they were only threatening). He could sneak away, because it was possible. Some versions use a better English word instead of "passing" in Luke 4:30

NTE: But he slipped through the middle of them and went away.
CEV: But Jesus slipped through the crowd and got away.

John 10:39 NHEB Now they sought again to seize him, and he went out of their hand.
GNT Once more they tried to seize Jesus, but he slipped out of their hands.

Answer 5

Jesus Was not Handsome

1. The Man, Jesus of Nazareth was not a good looking man. He was not a handsome guy so that people would take notice of Him, and turn back and look at Him again!

I don’t say this. Isaiah prophesied this long before:

“It was the will of the LORD that his servant grow like a plant taking root in dry ground. He had no dignity or beauty to make us take notice of him. There was nothing attractive about him, nothing that would draw us to him” (Isaiah 53:2; GNB).

It was what He taught and spoke that made some people (yet not all or majority - John 6:66) draw towards Him. He did what He spoke and spoke what He did and that made a big difference.

Jesus Had No Long Hair

2. The conventional portrayal of the Man has no connection to the actual Man. The real Jesus didn’t have long hair.

The apostle who saw (1 Cor 15:8) Jesus has this to testify:

“Why, nature itself teaches you that long hair on a man is a disgrace” (1 Cor 11:14;GNB).

If Jesus had long hair, Paul who saw the living Jesus after the Resurrection would not have written like the above.

3. Besides, the then current fashion was a neatly cropped hair for men. The bas relief in the Titus’s Arch shows both the Roman soldiers and the Jewish prisoners with cropped hair.

4. Moreover, people followed the fashion of the Emperor. All the busts of the Caesars including Julius and Augustus, show them with closely cropped hair.

5. The fact that Judas Iscariot had to betray Jesus to the Jewish authority by a kiss for thirty silver coins, makes it amply clear that the authority or the public couldn’t identify Him in a crowd.

6. As Ray Butterworth correctly pointed out, there were no newspapers, magazines or TV to make Him familiar to the crowd.

7. Jesus, as wiser than Solomon (Mat 12:42), was always alert about His own personal safety. He knew that He was “in the midst of wolves”. He could foresee the danger coming (Mat 10:16).

8. His disciples (all younger than Jesus) also helped Him slip out through the crowd.

All of the above made it easy for Jesus to hide in the crowd and slip away without getting caught which He often did. He looked like any ordinary Jew on the street.

There were no cheap magic or “invisibility” involved. It was sheer prudence and wise moves, a real Man (Son) of God would show.

Answer 6

Understanding how Jesus escaped from these dangers may not be as difficult as it seems.

In the incident described in Luke 4:28-30, the enraged men were just ordinary individuals. Lacking authorization, such as from the priests, they feared the consequences of "shedding innocent blood". These ordinary individuals were not in a position to pass judgment on blasphemy. Their intention may have been to threaten Jesus, rather than killing Him.

Concerning the incident in John 8:59, if we consider John chapter 7 and 8 to be depicting the same time period, Jesus was in the Holy Temple during the Festival of Tabernacles (John 7:2). As His adversaries sought stones to stone Him, Jesus had already departed, blending into the crowd and evading their pursuit.