Liar, Lunatic, or Living God?

I don't care who you are. You have to deal with Jesus at some point.

I want to be truthful, and right, and honest. Its a lofty goal, and a good one, I think. But it's also really hard to do. Lets face it, we all, myself included, would rather lie and cheat and take the easy way out if we could get away with it. We know that being truthful right down to our core is necessary.

So then, there are certain things I can't ignore if I'm going to be honest. The answers to these questions shape how I will live. Once I know these questions, ignoring them is living a lie. If they are not resolved, I'm fooling myself that they don't matter, when they do matter. They matter very much, because they define who I am. Am I a lie, or am I truthful? Things like poverty and opulence; power and democracy; and even honesty and lying. What is the value of each? In which way do I want to live my life? What are the results of living each way? If I know the answers, even unconsciously, in my inner most being, I can live my life and be happy with it, rather than challenge.

Which brings me back to my first statement. You have to deal with Jesus. This is an important person. He changed our times, literally, to B.C. to A.D. (Or B.C.E or C.E., if that feels more comfortable to you - its the same demarcation however, regardless how what you call it.) He turned the world upside down and started something that hasn't stopped. It didn't take years to take off. It wasn't a timid, local, or restrained movement. The followers of Jesus took the world by storm. They were so convinced by their beliefs that many died for them. Would you do that for capitalism? Communism? A political party?

So what's it going to be? Look at his life:

• Claimed he was God
• Healing and other miracles
• reportedly rose from the dead

I challenge you: look at the evidence. Don't just ignore this, or you are living as a lie. There are a few choices: Liar, Lunatic, or actually was who he said he was.

Ever been a liar? Ever get caught out by your own lies? When I (try to) lie I have to keep it simple. No big claims. No major differences. Only little things work as lies, and even then it's pretty dodgy. Anything bigger than a small adjustment is just going to come back and bite you. One way or another a lie won't stack up to the truth. But what Jesus talked about was big things. Life and death issues. Big events. Big claims. If he were lying on those things there would've been some evidence, something that contradicted him. Surely someone would've worked that out by now. I mean, come on, it's been 2000 years, give or take. But I can't find it. Not in the historical records we have, and not by anyone actually taking a rational look at it.

So maybe Jesus actually believed what he said, but he was deluded himself, in short, a lunatic, a mad man. Maybe so. What do we know of people in this state? Ever met anybody you suspected of being even slightly deluded? What words would you use to describe them? Self-absorbed? Self-obsessed? Critical? Condemning? Inflexible? Predictable? Friendless?

Compare that with Jesus. He showed incredible love and concern for people. Often he put them above his own needs and desires., spending long times with them, and coming to their aid. We hear of him spending time on his own when others would be busy with other things: mostly late at night or early in the morning when they would be sleeping. Jesus had friends. He had lots of followers. People wanted to be with him. They wanted to talk to him, and listen to what he had to say. Yes, he was critical of people. Sometimes he had to let the big guns out. But by far his demeanor was kind. I don't think he was soft - certainly he stood up for what he believed in, even to the point of death - but he was only harsh when absolutely necessary. Mostly, he just loved being with people.

So where does that leave Jesus? Just some guy, who said nice things?

How would telling people to be nice to one another get a man crucified? What government would execute Mister Rogers, or Captain Kangaroo?

Philip Yancey

No, there has to be something more to this guy. He was either deluded or a liar that we can't trust, or what he claimed was somehow true.