Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal

“There were perhaps a dozen Pharisees in Nazareth: learned men, working-class teachers, who spent much of their time at the synagogue debating the Law. They were often hired as judges and scribes, and this gave them great influence over the people of the village. So much influence, in fact, that the Romans often used them as mouthpieces to our people. With influence comes power, with power, abuse. Jakan was only the son of a Pharisee. He was only two years older than Joshua and me, but he was well on his way to mastering cruelty. If there is a single joy in having everyone you have ever known two thousand years dead, it is that Jakan is one of them. May his fat crackle in the fires of hell for eternity!”

This excerpt introduces Jakan, the novel’s antagonist. Although “the son of a Pharisee” is merely a childhood bully to Joshua in Chapter 2, the narrator’s loathing tone is an example of backshadowing: Biff’s reasons to detest Jakan will become clear as the novel progresses. Later in the novel, Jakan marries Maggie and leads the Sanhedrin’s plots against Joshua. Thematically, this passage develops the idea of Resistance to Injustice by establishing the connection between the Pharisees and the Israelites’ Roman overlords and showing that the Pharisees’ sociopolitical influence led to corruption and abuse.

“The girl reached her hand up, and the snake made as if to strike, then lowered its head until its forked tongue was brushing the girl’s fingers. ‘This is definitely a cobra, little boy. And these two were probably leading it back to the fields where it would help the farmers by eating rats.’”

During Maggie’s first appearance, she protects Joshua from Jakan. She demonstrates two of her key character traits—courage and spiritedness—through her withering words to Jakan and by hiding her fear as she approaches the cobra. Joshua and Biff’s love for Maggie and her complicated feelings for them are introduced here and become some of the most significant dynamics in the novel.

“‘You know, there was a slave about eighty years ago who talked like you. He raised an army of slaves against Rome, beat back two of our armies, took over all the territories south of Rome. It’s a story every Roman soldier must learn.’ ‘Why, what happened?’ I asked. ‘We crucified him,’ Justus said. ‘By the side of the road, and his body was eaten by ravens. The lesson we all learn is that nothing can stand against Rome. A lesson you need to learn, boy, along with your stonecutting.’”

Justus’s second appearance connects to the theme of Resistance to Injustice. After Joshua expresses compassion for enslaved people, Justus alludes to Spartacus’s execution to show Joshua that “nothing can stand against Rome.” Throughout the novel, crosses stand as a motif related to the theme of Resistance to Injustice because those who dare to bring change often suffer this cruel end. As the novel continues, Justus comes to believe in Joshua, but his warnings about the dangers facing Joshua remain consistent.

“‘But aren’t you touched by who he is? What he is?’ ‘What good would that do me? If I was basking in the light of his holiness all of the time, how would I take care of him? Who would do all of his lying and cheating for him? Even Josh can’t think about what he is all of the time, Maggie.’ ‘I think about him all of the time. I pray for him all of the time.’”

Christopher Moore uses Maggie and Biff’s exchange to develop the theme of Friendship and Loyalty and illustrate the differences between the characters’ perspectives on their messianic friend. Biff not only helps Joshua to become more human but also sees Joshua as a human. This lets Biff “take care of him” instead of being awed and “basking in the light of his holiness all the time.” As the novel continues, Biff often seeks to protect his friend by engaging in “lying and cheating.” On the other hand, Maggie, while equally loyal to Joshua, possesses a deep reverence for her friend in line with Christian theology that Biff will encounter in the present day.

“‘I had hope, Josh. You understand hope, don’t you?’ Sometimes he could be mightily dense, or so I thought. I didn’t realize how much he was hurting inside, or how much he wanted to do something. ‘I think I understand hope, I’m just not sure that I am allowed to have any.’”

Moore uses Biff and Joshua’s argument over Maggie’s betrothal to illustrate the humanity of Joshua as Jesus’s alias: Joshua experiences heartbreak, doubt, and pain like any human. However, he also feels separated from others as seen in his statement that he’s “not sure” he’s allowed to have hope. An essential part of Biff’s role in the novel is to witness and later record these human moments from the Messiah.

“I swung the lamb from my own shoulders and cradled it in my arms like a child as I backed out toward the gate. [...] ‘It’s God’s will,’ he said. He laid his hands on my head and I was able to breathe again. ‘It’s all right, Biff. God’s will.’ He smiled. Joshua had put the lamb he’d been carrying on the ground, but it didn’t run away. I suppose I should have known right then. I didn’t eat any of the lamb for that Passover feast. In fact, I’ve never eaten lamb since that day.”

Throughout the novel, lambs represent Joshua, and this symbol gives the novel its title. Biff’s desperation to rescue the lamb from slaughter during his childhood visit to Jerusalem foreshadows his refusal to accept that his best friend is the “Lamb” that is meant to be sacrificed for the whole world.

“Maggie said, ‘I love you, Joshua.’ ‘I love you, Maggie,’ I said. And ever so slightly she loosened her embrace. ‘I couldn’t marry Jakan without—I couldn’t let you go without—without letting you know.’ ‘He knows, Maggie.’”

This scene marks an important development for the plot and the characters’ complicated relationships. Biff pours out his love and longing for Maggie, and she pours out hers for Joshua, yet Moore uses halting language for Maggie to highlight the uncertainty of the scenario. The scene shows the limitations that come with being with the Messiah. Although Joshua loves Maggie, he sends Biff in his place because he relies on his friend to do what he cannot.

“‘Healed that guy. Healed her. Stopped her suffering. Healed him. Comforted him. Ooo, that guy was just stinky. Healed her. Whoops, missed. Healed. Healed. Comforted. Calmed.’ People were turning to look back at Josh, the way one will when a stranger steps on one’s foot, except these people all seemed to be either smiling or baffled, not annoyed as I expected. ‘What are you doing?’ I asked. ‘Practicing,’ Joshua said.”

Joshua “[p]racticing” miracles in Antioch’s market is among the novel’s most joyful scenes and demonstrates his divine power and overflowing love for humanity. Moore’s language for Joshua’s speech highlights his use of bathos for comedic purposes: He reduces the profundity of healing the sick through divine intervention with ridiculous observations such as “that guy was just stinky.” At the same time, there’s an undercurrent of apprehension in Biff’s narration as the loyal friend worries about the attention Joshua is drawing. This is a common pattern throughout the novel. 

“Tears streamed down Joshua’s face. ‘This was wrong!’ he screeched. ‘They were bandits. They would have killed us and stolen everything we had if we had not killed them. Does your own God, your father, not destroy those who sin? Now move aside, Joshua. Let this be finished.’ ‘I am not my father, and neither are you. You will not kill this man.’”

Joshua’s tears for the bandits show the depth of his compassion. Unlike his divine father, he values mercy over justice. He emphasizes this distinction by declaring, “I am not my father,” highlighting the text’s distortion of Christian theology. The older Joshua gets, the more he questions God’s decisions and becomes convinced that he is meant to bring religious change.

“‘Gaspar will teach you. He is truly a wise man, not a charlatan like me. He will help you become the man you need to be to do what you must do, Joshua. [...] If nothing else, remember the three jewels.’ Then the old man closed his eyes and stopped breathing.”

Balthasar’s last words encapsulate of Joshua’s learning under the first wise man. The three jewels of Taoism are compassion, moderation, and humility, and the first jewel forms the heart of Joshua’s teachings. Balthasar considers himself a “charlatan” because he pretended to be wise but sought Joshua out of a desire to gain immortality for himself. Ironically, it’s later revealed that Gaspar is also playing a role and doesn’t consider himself a wise man either.

“‘I can’t stay here, Joshua. Not if he’s going to hit you.’ ‘I have a feeling I’m going to get hit quite a few more times until I learn what he needs me to know.’ ‘I have to go.’ ‘Yes, you do.’ ‘But I could stay.’ ‘No. Trust me, you have to leave me now, so you won’t later.’”

Moore composes this scene in which Joshua and Biff part at the monastery’s gates to develop the theme of Friendship and Loyalty. Biff’s protectiveness causes their brief separation; he cannot stay at the monastery because he can’t bear to stand by and watch his friend suffer. This establishes a pattern that comes to fruition when Joshua sends Biff away before his arrest near the end of the novel. In addition, Joshua’s statement that Biff has “to leave [him] now, so [he] won’t later” foreshadows how Biff stays at the foot of Joshua’s cross so that he doesn’t have to be alone in his suffering.

“‘Indeed,’ said Gaspar, ‘but when one reaches the place of Buddhahood and realizes that there is no Buddha because everything is Buddha, when one reaches enlightenment, but makes a decision that he will not evolve to nirvana until all sentient beings have preceded him there, then he is a bodhisattva. A savior. A bodhisattva, by making this decision, grasps the only thing that can ever be grasped: compassion for the suffering of his fellow humans. Do you understand?’”

After Joshua attains enlightenment, Gaspar persuades him not to give up his earthly existence by appealing to his compassion. When Joshua arrives at Gaspar’s monastery, he is still uncertain whether he is the Messiah. The concept of bodhisattvas helps Joshua to understand and embrace his role as the savior, a point through which Moore develops the theme of the Commingling of Religious Beliefs. Gaspar describes a strikingly different vision of a savior than the revolutionary military leader whom the Jewish people expect. Thus, the wise man’s words help Joshua to become a Messiah, but not one that everyone will accept.

“‘I’m sorry about your friend,’ I said. ‘I know.’ He turned and started inside. ‘Josh,’ I called. He paused and looked over his shoulder at me. ‘I won’t let that happen to you, you know that, right?’ ‘I know,’ he said, then he went inside to give his father a divine ass-chewing.”

Joshua and Biff’s exchange after the yeti’s death touches on each of the novel’s three major themes. As Joshua’s best friend, Biff tries to ease the grief that Joshua feels about losing the yeti, who was a dear friend and a kindred spirit. The scene also addresses the Commingling of Religious Beliefs because Joshua has studied Buddhism and practiced meditation for several years, but now he’s preparing to switch tactics and pray to God. Lastly, both Joshua and Biff are moved by the injustice that they perceive in the yeti’s death. The reason that Joshua is going to “to give his father a divine ass-chewing”—another example of bathos as the foundation for the novel’s comedy—is the same reason that Biff promises Joshua that he won’t let his friend meet the yeti’s fate: They can’t bear the solitary suffering and senseless death of an innocent being.

“All through the night, as he rocked the child, all I heard Joshua say was, ‘No more blood. No more blood.’”

The rescue of the Untouchable children marks a major development for Joshua’s characterization and the themes of the Commingling of Religious Beliefs and Resistance to Injustice. Joshua’s horrifying experiences at the feast of Kali inspire him to go against Jewish tradition, eliminating blood sacrifices and allowing gentiles to enter salvation. Moore’s use of a monosyllabic tone portrays Joshua’s anguish. Ultimately, he gives his life to prove that these changes are necessary.

“Your dharma is not to learn, Joshua, but to teach.”

Joshua spends much of the story in the role of student as he learns about Taoism, Buddhism, and Hinduism under the Magi. Melchior’s words mark the end of Joshua’s time with the wise men. For the remainder of the novel, Joshua seeks to teach all that he’s learned and to fulfill his destiny as the Messiah; this passage hence marks a turning point in the plot and a major moment of character development for Joshua.

“Jakan and the Pharisees bunched at the door. ‘We need to take her into the wilderness to safely cast out the devils,’ I shouted.”

In this moment of high action, exemplified by the “bunched” people and Biff’s shouting tone, Biff demonstrates his cleverness and inventiveness by giving Maggie a way out of her marriage with Jakan. The woman’s enthusiastic, expletive-filled portrayal of a person beset by demons offers comic relief amidst the heavy events of the novel’s final sections. However, the separation from his wife gives Jakan another reason to resent Joshua.

“She nodded. ‘You can’t let it happen, Biff. He doesn’t seem to care about his own life, but I do, and you do, and if you let harm come to him I’ll never forgive you.’ ‘But Maggie, everyone is supposed to be forgiven.’ ‘Not you. Not if something happens to Josh.’”

Maggie’s vow to “never forgive” Biff if something happens to their divine friend contributes to his already strong motivation to protect Joshua and his despair when he inevitably fails. Ultimately, Maggie and Biff reconcile at the end of the novel, and so Moore uses Maggie’s statement to shape the plot development by allowing a conflict to end with reconciliation.

“‘In the spring we’ll go to Jerusalem for the Passover, and there I will be judged by the scribes and the priests, and there I will be tortured and put to death. But three days from the day of my death, I shall rise, and be with you again.’ As Joshua spoke Maggie had latched onto my arm. By the time he was finished speaking her nails had drawn blood from my biceps. A shadow of grief seemed to pass over the faces of the disciples. We looked not at each other, and neither at the ground, but at a place in space a few feet from our faces, where I suppose one looks for a clear answer to appear out of undefined shock. ‘Well, that sucks,’ someone said.”

After several instances of foreshadowing, Joshua finally tells his disciples what awaits him in Jerusalem. Because the novel is a satire, Moore often uses humorous bathos to lighten tense moments like this one. For example, this passage ends with an understatement: “‘Well, that sucks,’ someone said.”

“‘Joshua and I saved some children from being flayed alive, but when it was over, Joshua kept saying, no more sacrifices. No more.’ Maggie looked at me as if she expected more. ‘So? It was horrible, what did you expect him to say?’ ‘He wasn’t talking to me, Maggie. He was talking to God. And I don’t think he was making a request.’ ‘Are you saying that he thinks his father wants to kill him for trying to change things, so he can’t avoid it because it’s the will of God?’ ‘No, I’m saying that he’s going to allow himself to be killed to show his father that things need to be changed. He’s not going to try to avoid it at all.’”

Biff believes that Joshua intends to offer his life as the ultimate act of resistance and compelling proof to show God “that things need to be changed.” Biff cites Joshua’s experiences in Kalighat as the catalyst for this conviction. Thus, the author creates a vital link between Christ’s lost years as fictionalized in this novel and the passion. This scene also develops the theme of Friendship and Loyalty. Biff understands what his best friend is thinking because he’s the only other person who’s shared these experiences with him.

“The rich aroma of spices and perfume filled the room. In an instant Judas was on his feet and across the room. He snatched the box of ointment off the floor. ‘The money from this could have fed hundreds of the poor.’ Joshua looked up at the Zealot and there were tears in his eyes. ‘You’ll always have the poor, Judas, but I’m only here for a short while longer. Let her be.’”

In one of the novel’s most poignant scenes, Maggie anoints Joshua’s feet and head with an ointment used to prepare dead bodies. Because this is Maggie’s final interaction with Joshua in the novel, the anointing represents her farewell to Joshua and her anticipatory mourning of his death. Judas’s anger during this tender moment shows his disillusionment with Joshua’s message of peace and foreshadows his betrayal.

“‘I’m afraid of this—of what’s going to happen. I can think of a dozen things I’d rather do this week than be sacrificed, but I know that it has to happen. When I told the priests that I would tear the Temple down in three days, I meant that all the corruption, all the pretense, all the ritual of the Temple that keeps men from knowing God would be destroyed. And on the third day, when I come back, everything will be new, and the kingdom of God will be everywhere. I’m coming back, Biff.’ ‘Yeah, I know, you said that.’ ‘Well, believe in me.’”

Biff’s loyalty to Joshua at once draws the characters close and creates distance between them. Biff is the only person to whom Joshua admits that he’s “afraid of this—of what’s going to happen.” Although Joshua asks Biff to believe in him, his best friend remains unconvinced that Joshua will come back from the dead as evidenced by his desperate efforts to save his life. Moore again uses a casual tone to undercut the high stakes of the situation when Joshua says, “I can think of a dozen things I’d rather do this week.”

“‘You can spit that Roman bitterness toward mercy all you want, but you know. You were the one who sent for Joshua when your friend was suffering. You humbled yourself and asked for mercy. That’s all I’m doing.’ Now the resentment drained from his face and was replaced by amazement. ‘You’re going to bring him back, aren’t you?’”

Justus and Biff’s conversation in Pilate’s praetorium highlights Justus’s character development and the theme of the Commingling of Religious Beliefs. Despite Justus’s stern facade, he values mercy and believes in Joshua’s message. Ironically, the Roman centurion has faith that Joshua can rise from the dead while Biff, who has witnessed far more miracles, does not.

“‘You didn’t have to give him up!’ I screamed. I wrapped the sash around his neck, then pulled it tight over the crook of a cypress branch. ‘Don’t. Don’t do this. I had to do it. Someone did. He would have just reminded us of what we’ll never be.’ ‘Yep,’ I said. I shoved him backward over the cliff and caught the end of the sash as it tightened around the branch.”

In the Gospel of Matthew, Judas hangs himself out of guilt (Matthew 27:5). Moore turns Judas’s death into a final display of Biff’s loyalty by having the narrator avenge his best friend. Judas claims that Joshua had to die because he “would have just reminded us of what we’ll never be.” Biff understands better than anyone what it feels like to be compared to Joshua. As Joshua’s best friend and the man who has to share Maggie’s heart with the Messiah, Biff is uniquely qualified to pass judgment on Judas.