Jesus says the craziest thing that has ever been uttered by human lips, that he is God Himself. What can we think of someone who says such a crazy thing? Is there any reason to believe him?
Transcript:
Jesus is one of the most well known figures around the world. His bearded face is is instantly recognized around the world and has been the subject of more art than any other figure in history. Countless books have been written about him, many for him, many against. What is it about this man that makes us remember him so clearly after 2000 years?
Let’s not beat around the bush on this one. Jesus said something I don’t think people really hear. What Jesus said was so controversial, that we are still arguing about it to this day. He literally said the maddest, craziest, most insane words that have ever been spoken by the human tongue. A sentence so intense that to this day, it divides the world. He was killed for saying it, and countless people throughout history have died because they believed it.
He was asked a simple question, he was asked if he was equal to God, and he said, “I am.”
“I am.” Make no mistake about this, he said point blank that he was the singular One God, and because of that, he was hung as a criminal until he died.
Jesus was a Jew, and for a Jew, to say you are God can only mean one thing. That you believe you are the single uncreated power behind the universe.
We have lost the sense of the intensity of what he said over time. We have let the power of those words soften, so let us make them hard again.
If I stood up on a soapbox and said to you, “I am God! Before you were born, I imagined you into being, I created the universe!” you could only have two opinions of me.
1. I am a complete lunatic. I am on par with the guy who things he is Abraham Lincoln, and I should be put into a mental institution for the insane. I should not be believed, and I am probably a danger to everyone around me. I am totally and completely crazy.
2. I am a total liar. Not just someone who lies about whether those clothes look good on you, but the kind of liar that intends to deceive and hurt other people. This is evil cult leader stuff. This is Hitler evil stuff. This is Jim Jones and cyanide kool-aid stuff. Do not believe this, this is really evil, this guy wants your money and power over you. Do not join this cult.
That’s it. Those are the only possible explanations for this. I am going to go out on a limb here, and say that if I were on the court that convicted Jesus, I would be seriously confused. I’m not sure I could believe him either.
But here is the problem. Jesus really just doesn’t seem like either of these kind of people. He is renowned for his humility, his kindness, his compassion. He is intelligent and thoughtful. He doesn’t seem to want any power at all, and doesn’t want to hurt anyone. He feels like an open book. He spends his time helping and healing, he has what must have seemed like odd magical powers, but he uses them with great patience and love. His actions just don’t match his words.
I have to be honest. I would have convicted him. Even with all the good he was doing, I cannot logically come to the conclusion that he was actually God on my own. It’s just not believable. He must be the most insane of men, or must be most evil liar ever. I can’t believe it.
Let me make this clear: Jesus cannot be a great moral teacher if he is crazy, or if he is a liar, and those are the only options we have. He cannot be compassionate, he cannot be good, he must be a very, very bad man. There is no other option for someone who says these maddest of words. If you dare to say “I don’t think Jesus was God, but he was a great man,” then you are acting the fool. He cannot be, there is absolutely no room for that kind of nonsense. Either he is crazy, he is a liar, or he is actually God, there are no other options.
Of course, I believe he was telling the truth, that he actually was God, and I’ll tell you why I believe it next time.
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