Liar, Loon, or Lord
It is very rare to find a sincere student of history who argues against the very existence of Jesus, even if they deny his divine nature. Many claim that he was a great teacher or philosopher. A great man, just not God. The thing is, Jesus claimed divinity.
He did it more than once, but my favorite is when he returned to his home town of Nazareth to reveal his identity to people who had known him since he was a child. The story is recounted in Luke 4:14-30.
JESUS REJECTED AT NAZARETH
14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”[a]
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.
23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”
24 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy[b] in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”
28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.
As we can see, Jesus revealed his identity as Christ Messiah, the one prophesied by Isiah, then demonstrated his power over those present. Even as they tried to respond to his blasphemous claim by hurling him off a cliff, he simply walked right through them. It is not possible to interpret these actions as those of just a teacher or philosopher. Jesus was one of three things. He was a liar, a lunatic, or he was who he claimed to be.
This argument was first made by CS Lewis, and remains an excellent rebuttal against “Jesus was a good guy, but not God”. If you look up this argument on Wikipedia you will find it asserted that most Biblical scholars don’t think Jesus ever claimed to be God.
Apparently most Biblical scholars have never read the Bible. He claimed the title “Son of Man”, a reference to the prophecies of Daniel (Daniel 7:13-14), and the power to forgive sins, a power only possessed by God (Matthew 9:1-8). He told Pharisees that his followers didn’t need to fast to draw closer to God, because they were in the very presence of God (Mark 2:19-20). He asked his followers “who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter responded “you are the Christ, the son of the living God”, which Jesus then confirmed (Matthew 16:15-17). When interrogated by the Sanhedren, he was asked directly “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?”, to which he replied “I am”. This was considered all the evidence needed to condemn him to death for blasphemy (Mark 14:61-64). Admittedly, this is not the same thing as saying the words “I am God”. It is far more specific. Jesus repeatedly both claimed and proved the power and authority of God, and insisted on a distinction between himself, the Father, and the Holy Spirit.
His followers had no doubts about who Jesus was. Nearly all of them were martyred. The notable exception is John, and that wasn’t for lack of trying. The Romans gave up trying to kill him and exiled him. It is John who gave us a full account of who Jesus was before the incarnation in the very first verses of his gospel (John 1:1-5).
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome[a] it.
The beliefs of Jesus and his followers must be taken seriously. These were serious people who suffered horribly and died because of these words. If it was a lie, all they had to do was admit the lie. If they were crazy they gave very compelling reasons for others to believe their delusions. These reasons were usually miracles. They provided direct experiences of God’s power to the people they encountered. They healed the sick, raised the dead, and cast out demons.
Without these miracles, people typically did not consider them anything other than oddly compelling madmen. This was demonstrated in Paul’s speech in Athens (Acts 17:16-34). He gave an eloquent apologetic defense of Christianity, but did not provide testimony or perform miracles. The result was a great homily, and no conversions. When Paul evangelized most effectively (such as Acts 14), it was a combination of miracles, testimony, and sharing the gospel.
So, what does this have to do with us? Miracles didn’t stop in the first century. God is still working miracles in our lives, in others lives, and even through us, just as he did with the apostles. Miracles are happening. Real miracles. The sick are healed, the dead are raised, demons flee before the name of Jesus, the kingdom of God is at hand. Sadly, many Christians are too afraid of other people thinking they are lying or crazy to share this good news.
When we speak the truth and demonstrate it to others, we are placing ourselves in the same position as Jesus. We cannot be simply dismissed as well intentioned good people. Christianity cannot be treated as just another ideology or philosophy. We are either liars, lunatics… or we are speaking the Truth. This can be an uncomfortable position. It can threaten our relationships and livelihoods, but this world is temporary. We are being prepared for immortality in Christ. If you are ever wondering if it is time to step out in faith, just pray “come Holy Spirit” or “here I am Lord” and watch how he moves.
