For centuries, Christians had revered Jesus as God incarnate. Renan, however, attempted to draw a realistic portrait of a man who could be loved, and his character was entirely human. Many readers praised the charming style and sympathetic portrayal of the man in The Life of Jesus, but this portrayal, without any semblance of the miraculous or of divine intercession, enraged the authorities of orthodox religion, just as Jesus himself was reported to have done.

Did Jesus perform miracles? Renan’s nineteenth century readers had already been exposed to doubts about the supernatural. The Enlightenment of the previous century had gone so far as to declare that authentic miracles were not needed to support a natural religion based on common sense. One may ask whether Renan, in fact, throws new light on the question of the supernatural in Jesus’ life. Intent on portraying a fully human figure, he omits detailed descriptions of miracles, suggesting only that the stories about them sprang from a “spontaneous conspiracy” among Jesus’ devotees. Yet the Gospels are a primary source for Renan’s story, and he concedes, rather equivocally, “That the Gospels are in part legendary, is evident, since they are full of miracles and of the supernatural; but legends have not all the same value.” He debunks, however gently, the notion of a “supernatural birth” and the visit soon afterward from Chaldean astrologers.

At another point, Renan hints at a charge that can be neither proved nor disproved, namely that the raising up of Lazarus may have been a hoax. Not surprisingly, the Church found this suggestion offensive and unjustified. Understandably, this suggestion, along with Renan’s treatment of the Bible as being subject to the same standards as other historical documents, infuriated some orthodox critics. There can be no doubt of Renan’s devout Catholicism or his deep love for Jesus, but as a historian he presents some purported facts that, if authenticated, could render their subject unworthy of respect.

In addition, while generally plausible, Renan’s biography is occasionally given to idle, even sentimental, speculation. Generally, in keeping with the most widely accepted image of Jesus, Renan portrays him as having no romantic impulses toward women. However, near the end of the narrative, Jesus is shown in the Garden of Gethsemane, possibly reflecting for a moment on the “young maidens who, perhaps, would have consented to love him.” Reportedly, a young Frenchwoman of Renan’s day, after reading The Life of Jesus, complained, “What a pity it does not end with a marriage!”