Last week the BBC came out with a three-part documentary exposing the late megachurch pastor T. B. Joshua. And as I watched it, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was just painful, hearing those women and men testifying about what happened to them and others behind closed doors.
How did it go on for so many years?
Everyone has an opinion on this documentary. Some insist it’s nothing but lies. Others are confused as to why these people didn’t speak up before he died. Then there are those aggressively defending the man of God, who did great things; similarly, others are cautioning against speaking against the Lord’s anointed. However, everyone not blindly defending T. B. Joshua has to take the many eyewitness accounts seriously.
With the revelation of T. B. Joshua’s sustained, predatory abuse I’ve found myself asking why it happened. More than that, how did it go on for so many years? Of course one answer is that the prophet was clearly accountable to no one; he was a law unto himself. But there’s more to it than that. Below I list four factors that enabled the abuse carried out by T. B. Joshua.
1. Miracles Can Mislead
Jesus warned us about false teachers who would perform many miracles (Matthew 24:24). Watching the videos, I see countless people coming in search of the miraculous. People want to be healed. They want to be liberated from whatever ails them. Many saw T. B. Joshua as the man who could do that. And because miracles seemed to be happening, surely God was with him. But that’s not what Jesus says. In fact, he warns against treating miracles as a sure sign of God’s hand, adding that false teachers can perform miracles too.
Jesus warns against treating miracles as a sure sign of God’s hand.
The apostle John sheds some more light on this. Writing to the early church, he said: “test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God” (1 John 4:1). Powerful spirituality isn’t necessarily from God. John calls for discernment. So, as another writer at TGC Africa puts it, obedience to God demands testing and discernment; not blindly following after men or women who appear to be doing the miraculous.
2. Wolves Tend to Be Well-Hidden
Linked with the previous point, saying something is being done in the name of Jesus doesn’t mean it is. This is why Jesus warns again false teachers (above), and false prophets (Matthew 7:15). When it comes to the latter, Jesus says, they usually hide their true selves; they’re disguised. Appearing harmless, or even as mighty prophets of God, they’re wolves who devour the sheep. Two years after his death, T. B. Joshua seems more like a wolf and less like a prophet. For behind him lie the bodies of many desperately wounded sheep, victims of his deceit and abusive manipulation.
This is a call for greater discernment and care.
Reality check: false prophets are out there. Jesus said people would come in his name, claiming to be his servants, who ultimately serve only themselves. Again, this is a call for discernment. Someone who says God sent them isn’t necessarily sent by God. Simple. Furthermore, sin loves the darkness, just as we love sin. So it gets covered up and remains well-hidden. Only this isn’t a cause for throwing our hands in the air. It’s a call for greater discernment and care.
One way to spot a false prophet is by looking at their fruits. Examine their character. Look at their lifestyles. Listen to their teachings, asking if it’s in line with scripture.
3. Healing Seems More Important Than Jesus
Following from the above, T. B. Joshua’s ministry made much of the wrong man: himself. There seemed to be little to no emphasis on the need for a saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ. It was just miracle after miracle. All of SCOAN’s videos promoting the church fixed on Joshua and his miracles. That’s what people came for; it’s what they were sold. But as we’ve already seen above, Jesus was critical of the crowds that followed after miracles (John 6:2). T. B. Joshua didn’t preach ‘repent and believe’ but ‘come to be healed.’
T. B. Joshua didn’t preach ‘repent and believe’ but ‘come to be healed.’
But Jesus came to die for our sins. Through the Holy Spirit, God works in our hearts and opens our eyes to see how sinful we are and that we need a saviour. This is why Christ shed his blood (Ephesians 1:7). The good shepherd lays down his life for the wayward, rebellious sheep (John 10:11). Jesus is the one who saves. That is the gospel. That’s what must be preached. Only, throughout the documentary, it seems that T. B. Joshua had reduced Jesus to a dispenser of miracles, rather than the saviour of mankind.
4. All of Us Fear Men (Sometimes More Than God)
T. B. Joshua wanted to see everything. He demanded that everything be reported to him. Nothing happened without his permission. He even punished people for transgressing the rules he’d made up. He made people call him “daddy” when in reality he was cruel dictator. And he ruled by fear. His ‘disciples’ lived in terror.
Praise God that T. B. Joshua’s victims were able to stand up and call this evil man out.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with reverent fear (Proverbs 1:7). But that should be directed towards God; and it is related to his goodness (Jeremiah 33:9). This is doubly different to what went on at SCOAN. Joshua’s disciples feared the man of God, and certainly not because of his goodness.
All of us have people we’re afraid of, myself included. It’s often easier to fear man than God. This is why Jesus exhorted his disciples by saying, “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). Praise God that T. B. Joshua’s victims were eventually able to stand up and call this evil man out for what he’d done.
Who We Need Is Christ
(a) For True Justice
One lady said that she will never receive the apology she deserves. No matter what she does she won’t get it. Will justice be done? Will the church do its own investigation into the allegations? I don’t know. Right now it might seem like justice won’t be done. But the Bible is clear. Justice will be done.
The Bible is clear. Justice will be done.
T. B. Joshua will give an account of his life. God will judge him. So we need Jesus Christ. The Christian takes comfort from knowing that earthly justice may fail us, but when Jesus Christ returns everyone will face him. “So then each of us will give an account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12). None will escape this justice. No prophet or man of God. Nor the Lord’s anointed.
(b) Because Only He Can Satisfy
As I’ve watched the documentary, it’s clear to me that people are seeking for something. What we need is the Lord Jesus Christ. One New Testament writer tells us that in these last days God is speaking to us through his Son (Hebrew 1:2). In his word, through his Son, and by the Spirit, God addresses us. He invites us to himself. He doesn’t promise miracles or mighty works. God offers grace. Something far greater than the things peddled by T. B. Joshua. As David sang, “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord” (Psalm 27:4).
God offers grace. Something far greater than the things peddled by T. B. Joshua.
The greatest miracle is Jesus Christ. The one Paul preached. “Christ crucified” 1 Corinthians 1:23). Only he will satisfy every longing. Only he can give us true rest. In him we find forgiveness and grace. Jesus is who we need for salvation. And that is our greatest need.
