Take Your Pick: Liar, Lunatic, or Lord
Even though most people who know a little world history admit that Jesus was a real person, relatively few believe He was God in the flesh. They might say He was a good man or that He was a great teacher, but the majority of people in the world do not believe He was “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). Have you ever thought about what people actually are saying when they deny that Christ was God, yet believe He was a “good man”? They are saying that Jesus was not Who He claimed to be. Even though Jesus claimed to be the Son of God (Mark 14:62; John 9:36-38), they believe what He said was not true. At the same time, they still believe that Jesus was a good man.
If a man on the street told you he was President of the United States, you would know (simply by using common sense) that he was a liar, he was a lunatic, or he was telling the truth. Likewise, there are only three explanations that one can give as to Who Christ was: (1) He was the “greatest” liar and phony the world has ever known; (2) He was a lunatic Who really thought He was God, but wasn’t; or (3) He was Who He claimed to be—the Son of God. No other choices exist.
The view that Christ was a madman rarely has been considered by anyone aware of Christ’s life. No lunatic could answer questions with such wisdom and authority. What crazy man would teach that we should do unto others as we would have them do unto us? The fact is, few have ever been bold (or insane) enough to call Christ a lunatic.
Perhaps Jesus was a liar and imposter. Again, not even the most famous unbelievers have been willing to put Jesus into this category. Well-known atheist Henri Rousseau once wrote: “If the life and death of Socrates were those of a sage, the life and death of Jesus were those of a God.” Another famous enemy of Christianity, Joseph Renan, called Jesus a “sublime person” and declared that in Him “is condensed all that is good and lofty in our nature.” The fact is, relatively very few people throughout history ever have claimed that Christ was a liar or a lunatic.
But, if Jesus was not a liar or a lunatic, then He must have been Who He said He was—the Son of God. Logically, one cannot say that Christ was a good man and yet was not the Son of God. Either He was both, or He was neither. Christ was a lunatic, a liar, or the Lord. The evidence shows beyond a doubt that He was, and is, our Lord!
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