#5 - Jesus is Who? He claimed to be God. Does this matter?

Who is Jesus? What is all the fuss about Jesus? That was 2000 years ago. He was just a good teacher, or a prophet, like Moses, or Muhammed, right? Jesus is God?

Actually, to call Jesus a prophet or a good teacher is not correct at all.

Jesus said he was one with God. He was speaking to the Jewish leaders, and they knew exactly what he meant:

John 10.30, Jesus said, “The Father and I are one.”

“The Jewish leaders picked up rocks again to stone him to death. Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good deeds from the Father. For which one of them are you going to stone me?” The Jewish leaders replied, “We are not going to stone you for a good deed but for blasphemy, because you, a man, are claiming to be God.” John 10.31-33

And another example

John 8.58:“Jesus said to them, “I tell you the solemn truth, before Abraham came into existence, I am”

And again, they wanted to stone him.

And the Bible speaks of his power and miracles:

Healing a Man with a Withered Hand

Healing a Centurian’s Servant

Calming the Storm

Raising a Child from Death

Cleansing / Healing Ten Lepers

Healing a Man with Dropsy

Jesus Walks on Water

He Drives Out Impure Spirits

Healing Simon’s Mother-in-Law

Catching a Large Number of Fish

Healing Many Sick

Healing a Leper

Forgiving and Healing a Paralyzed Man

Raising the Widow’s Son

Healing the Demon Possessed

Healing the Woman with an Issue of Blood

Feeding the 5000

Healing a Boy with an Impure Spirit

Driving out a Demon that was Mute

Restores Sight to a Blind Beggar

Restores a Cut off Ear

Turned Water into Wine

Healing a Man Born Blind

Dying on the Cross and Rising from the Dead.

Were all of these made-up stories? Were they just big lies spread by Jesus and his disciples? Multitudes of people witnessed these events.

Let's digest this logically for a moment. I like logic, we shouldn't trust our lives to only emotion.

A neighborhood friend of mine, in my college years, handed me a book. It was Josh McDowell's "More than a Carpenter." The book explained C.S. Lewis' logic argument: Lord, Liar, or Lunatic?

That logically Jesus could not have been just a prophet or good teacher. The arguments in the book really made a lot of sense to me, and it made me recognize Christ. I accepted Jesus as Lord after reading that book. It became so clear and it was so pivotal for me, that I wanted to paraphrase the logic here:

Because Jesus claimed to be God, then logic would follow that he either is God, or he is not.

If he is God, then we all need to follow him! We all need to accept Christ as our Lord and Saviour.

If he is not God, and he was claiming to be God but was not, then you have two possibilities. Either he knew that wasn't true and was lying about that on purpose, or he didn't know it wasn't true and was essentially self-deluded.

Prophets or good teachers are not usually big fat liars nor crazy like that. If he knew he was deceiving people, and asking them to follow him, then he is a horrible liar.

Let's assume for a moment that you were one of Jesus apostles. Would you die for a lie? Eleven of the twelve apostles were martyred - killed for spreading the gospel of Christ.

Could Jesus actually be God?

We count the years by him, BC and AD. Millions and millions of lives have been changed by him. Over two billion people today identify as Christians. He has had the most impact on society of anyone. His life has led to Christianity, compassion for the marginalized in society, beliefs about forgiveness of sin, and countless lives and societal changes far too expansive to enumerate here. His is likely the most influential life in all of history.

His miracles, documented in several books of the Bible, written by several people, point to his divinity. His apostles' martyrdom points to faith in him. Jesus himself claims to be God.

So, take your choice: Jesus was either a self-deluded crazy person, or an evil liar, or he is our Lord. Good teacher or prophet just doesn't make sense!

Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. In Your Name. Amen.

(The sinner's prayer / Billy Graham)