NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Illusionist Brock Gill never figured Jesus for a master magician.

As an evangelical Christian, Gill always accepted the biblical accounts of Jesus' miracles as just that — miracles.

But when the BBC asked him to investigate whether Jesus could have used magic, hypnotism or some other trick to create the illusion of miracles, Gill couldn't refuse.

"I've always been fascinated by miracles, ever since I was a kid reading the Bible stories," says Gill, host of the three-hour "Miracles of Jesus," which airs tomorrow on the Discovery Channel.

The show makes it clear that Gill's a Christian. But Gill says he approached the stories with an open mind.

"Before I got into really doing the investigation, I did research on some of the skeptics' views and there were some quite convincing ideas. It rattled me a little bit," says Gill, 30, who has a religion degree from East Texas Baptist University. "I thought, 'I really want to find the truth here.' "

Producer Jean-Claude Bragard says Gill was a natural choice. His act includes levitation, escaping from a sealed coffin filled with water and making coins multiply.

"We realized we didn't need an academic to lead the program, but we needed somebody who was interested and knowledgeable about Scripture and particularly interested in the miracles," Bragard says.

The show investigates seven miracles.

One segment questions whether Jesus could have hypnotized a large crowd to convince them he had multiplied bread and fish to feed everyone. In another, Gill sloshes across sandbars in the Sea of Galilee to see if Jesus could have appeared to walk on water by staying in the shallows.

In each case, the conclusion is that Jesus probably couldn't have tricked people into believing they had witnessed a miracle.

"Is it possible? Yes, it's possible that there was some type of trick because I was able to do it," says Gill, who turned water into wine during the show. "We re-created walking on water, but it took three 18-wheelers full of equipment to pull it off."

For Gill, delving into Jesus' miracles strengthened his faith.

"Before this year my beliefs were based just on the Bible and what my parents and pastors had told me. Now, I'm really convinced that what I'm believing is the truth."