Joshua Bassett Declares He Had 2 Miraculous Encounters With Jesus

New year, new Joshua Bassett, apparently: The High School Musical: The Musical: The Series star shared his Christian faith with the world earlier this month with the tweeted declaration: “Jesus is the only way.” And on Sunday evening, he appeared to double down, doling out a series of Instagram stories featuring screenshots of a lengthy Notes app entry detailing recent, miraculous religious encounters.

“Tonight at church I prayed to God, ‘So I will know for certain that you are Jesus and He is the only way please send someone to touch my back and I will shout it from the rooftops,” Bassett wrote. “Moments later two people came up behind me saying that God put it on their heart to put their hands on me and pray.”

In a subsequent story, he described the second incident: “A few months ago, I asked God to ‘send me a sign when I write the truth,’” Bassett said. “I typed ‘Jesus is the way’. Nothing happened, then I added ‘Jesus is the *only* way,’” and the light turned on in my living room.”

These moments were just the tip of the iceberg, apparently. “I have also first hand encountered Jesus twice. The experience’s [sic] were richer and more vivid than anything in my entire life. I look forward to speaking about it soon,” he wrote. In response to some fans’ concerns about his Jan. 5 tweet about embracing Jesus, he said: “For those concerned about me, be sure of this: I’m better than I have ever been. The peace I feel is far beyond what I thought was possible.”

Bassett’s newly public embrace of Christianity seemed to confuse some of his fans earlier this month and again in the wake of his latest Instagram stories. Some cited his recent identification with the LGBTQ community as the source of their confusion, while others questioned his sudden “fanaticism,” perceiving it as a red flag. In contrast, others have defended Bassett’s suddenly very public faith, questioning why it has sparked concern at all—and seemingly more concern than his previous disclosures about mental health struggles, physical health scares, and surviving sexual abuse. Very fair!

In the fall, Bassett released a series of singles that seemed to suggest that he wasn’t over his ex-girlfriend (and fellow HSM: TM: TS alum), Olivia Rodrigo. After putting out into the world such angsty, longing lyrics like, “Darling how I missed you,” and “I’m back in your arms / But it’s not the same / Yeah we’ve been through hell and back again,” in his single “Different,” it seemed safe to assume he was addressing an ex, but now, I have to wonder if he was singing to Jesus the whole time.

It’s not exactly every day that a young, openly queer artist who’s been romantically linked with chart-topping icons like Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter starts posting at length late in the night about encountering Jesus. But if Bassett says he’s fine, I don’t see why we shouldn’t believe him—or, for that matter, celebrate that he’s doing well and found peace after a tumultuous few years.

In any case, in his own words, Bassett said he “look[s] forward to speaking” more about his firsthand encounters with Jesus soon, so watch this space, I guess!