"Among these Jews there suddenly turns up a man who goes about talking as if He was God. He claims to forgive sins. He says He has always existed. He says He is coming to judge the world at the end of time. Now let us get this clear. Among pantheists, like the Indians, anyone might say that he was a part of God, or one with God: there would be nothing very odd about it. But this man, since He was a Jew, could not mean that kind of God. God, in their language, meant the Being outside the world who had made it and was infinitely different from anything else. And when you have grasped that, you will see that what this man said was, quite simply, the most shocking thing that has ever been uttered by human lips." I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: "I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God." That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the son of God: or else a madman or something worse.
You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.
"A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic--on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg--or he would be the devil of hell. You must take your choice. Either this was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us.(emphasis: web author)"
Was He a Liar?
If, when Jesus made His claims, He knew that He was not God, then He was lying and deliberately deceiving His followers. But if He was a liar, then He was also a hypocrite because He told others to be honest, whatever the cost, while He himself taught and lived a colossal lie. More than that, He was a demon, because He told others to trust Him for their eternal destiny. If He couldn't back up His claims and knew it, then He was unspeakably evil. Last, He would also be a fool because it was His claims to being God that led to His crucifixion.
Many will say that Jesus was a good moral teacher. Let's be realistic. How could He be a great moral teacher and knowingly mislead people at the most important point of His teaching His own identity?
Was He a Lunatic?
If it is inconceivable for Jesus to be a liar, then couldn't He actually have thought Himself to be God, but been mistaken? After all, it's possible to be both sincere and wrong. But we must remember that for someone to think himself God, especially in a fiercely monotheistic culture, and then to tell others that their eternal destiny depended on believing in him, is no light flight of fantasy but the thoughts of a lunatic in the fullest sense. Was Jesus Christ such a person?
Someone who believes he is God sounds like someone today believing himself Napoleon. He would be deluded and self deceived, and probably he would be locked up so he wouldn't hurt himself or anyone else. Yet in Jesus we don't observe the abnormalities and imbalance that usually go along with being deranged. His poise and composure would certainly be amazing if He were insane.
Noyes and Kolb, in a medical text, describe the schizophrenic as a person who is more autistic than realistic. The schizophrenic desires to escape from the world of reality. Let's face it; claiming to be God would certainly be a retreat from reality.
In light of the other things we know about Jesus, it's hard to imagine that He was mentally disturbed. Here is a man who spoke some of the most profound sayings ever recorded. His instructions have liberated many individuals from mental bondage.
Was He Lord?
I cannot personally conclude that Jesus was a liar or a lunatic. The only other alternative is that He was the Christ, the Son of God, as He claimed.
When I discuss this with most Jewish people, it's interesting how they respond. They usually tell me that Jesus was a moral, upright, religious leader, a good man, or some kind of prophet. I then share with them the claims Jesus made about Himself and then the material in this chapter on the trilemma (liar, lunatic, or Lord). When I ask if they believe Jesus was a liar, there is a sharp "No!"
Then I ask, "Do you believe He was a lunatic?"
The reply is, "Of course not."
"Do you believe He is God?"
Before I can get a breath in edgewise, there is a resounding, "Absolutely not."
Yet one has only so many choices.
The issue with these three alternatives is not which is possible, for it is obvious that all three are possible. Rather, the question is, "Which is more probable?" Who you decide Jesus Christ is must not be an idle intellectual exercise. You cannot put Him on the shelf as a great moral teacher. That is not a valid option. He is either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord and God. You must make a choice. "But," as the apostle John wrote, "these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and" more important "that believing you might have life in His name" (John 20:31).
The evidence is clearly in favor of Jesus as Lord. Some people, however, reject this clear evidence because of moral implications involved. They don't want to face up to the responsibility or implications of calling Him Lord.
Philosopher Peter Kreeft considers the trilemma to be the ‘most important argument in Christian apologetics.] Yet there are at least three groups of Christians who tend to scorn this argument. All of them, I believe, do so from the same motivation: a fear of appearing unsophisticated. While the trilemma is indeed simple, it is a remarkably sophisticated argument. As Kreeft notes, the main premise is the character of Jesus. In order to determine whether the man is a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord God Almighty, one must become familiar with the Gospel accounts of Christ, his life and his teachings. The Gospels are a seamless garment that cannot be chopped up without losing the narrative thread of Jesus’ life and work.
http://www.evangelicaloutpost.com/archives/003074.html 1/31/2007 7:23 AM
On October 14, 1985 at 4:20 in the afternoon Christ entered my heart and life after a great period of unrest in my life. Suddenly after I looked up from prayer I was so amazed at the pure grace that saved such a rank sinner like me. I looked up and asked my new pastor what I needed to do to make certain that "feeling" never left me. He replied by quoting Heb 13:5 that this awesome person of Jesus who had just moved into my heart will never leave me or forsake me. At that time and place I responded in unbelief how could such good news be ongoing for a wretch like me? But in the decades following, my testimony is added to billions of others who have dared to trust in Christ alone by faith since the cross in AD 33. Are you confused today as you read my blog? There is so much danger online but in the midst of anything come to Christ! Jesus is an amazing LORD who is both gentle as a Lamb and the Lion of Jacob. When you trust Him you come into an amazing covenant that is eternal not temporary.
Ps 37:28 For the LORD loves justice and will not abandon His faithful ones. They are kept safe forever, but the children of the wicked will be destroyed. (HCSB)
Isa 41:10 Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand. (HCSB)
We learn from Scripture, history and personal testimonies like mine that God is an awesome safe source if you dare keep on trusting Him.
Advice for Truth-seekers from C.S. Lewis
If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end: If you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth - only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin with and, in the end, despair.
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