Jesus. Maybe you’ve heard the name before. Maybe on television, maybe from a friend, maybe in that church you went to once when you were a kid. Maybe you said it yourself when you were cut off by that 4-wheel drive on the freeway the other day. Maybe you’re aware that Jesus was a guy who lived in the Middle East a couple thousand years ago, that people celebrate His birthday at Christmas and that He’s got something to do with a long weekend at Easter. Maybe you heard that He did some miracles, that He said some wise and wonderful things and that He probably had a beard.
Maybe someone told you, or maybe you read it on something you found in your mailbox once, that Jesus was more than just a guy who walked around in sandals healing people and teaching crowds on hillsides and by a lake. Maybe you heard that Jesus was actually God, Who came from Heaven to become a man here on Earth – which you’re pretty sure is the Christmas bit.
Maybe you heard that as a man, Jesus lived the perfect life we couldn’t, died on a cross for our sin in our place – all so that we could be made right with God – which sounds like the Easter thing. Maybe you even heard somewhere that Jesus then rose from the dead, conquering our sin and death, defeating Satan and offering forgiveness and eternal life to us all. Maybe you laughed at that because it sounds, well, crazy, and so maybe you don’t believe any of these fables and folklore from a bygone era.
Maybe you think that Jesus and God and Church and all that faith stuff is just made up, a bit of a scam that you’d have to be a bit of an idiot to believe it all. Maybe you’re pretty sure you don’t need to believe in Jesus, or you don’t need to go to Church, or read the Bible, or pray, or have a ‘personal relationship with Jesus’, or whatever they call it. Maybe you think you’ve got it all figured out and maybe you think that you’re fine on your own. Maybe you don’t think you need to find out more about who this Jesus guy is, and what He did to save us.
Or maybe you do . . .
While Jesus was ministering on earth, He asked His disciples a question which, even today, is arguably the most important question you will ever face in this life. Jesus said, “Who do you say that I am?” While you are pondering what to do with this Jesus, understand that you really only have three choices when you examine all that Jesus was and did and what He spoke. Either He was a lunatic, a liar or the Lord of all Creation. There really are no other options.
Jesus made some pretty outrageous claims like many unhinged people do today. Maybe He had a screw or two loose upstairs and was just a crazy man. That’s one option. But think about it – do you think a lunatic would have had such an incredible impact on the world? Every time you write the date you acknowledge this lunatic. He also birthed a church which formed the foundation of so much of our society including hospitals and schools and even our legal system. No other single individual has had such an impact on the world as Jesus. So a lunatic perhaps.
Or maybe Jesus was just the ultimate scam artist – a bold faced liar. That’s possible. But isn’t it true that all liars are eventually exposed and discredited? Yet there is no other person on this planet who has the respect which Jesus has. Even those who reject Him as the Saviour of the world have a profound respect for Him as a prophet, teacher and man of God. So, can you really believe He made all this up and billions of people have fallen for His lies for well over 2,000 years? Perhaps.
That leaves you with only one other option: Jesus is exactly Who He said He was and still is today: the Lord of all creation; the saviour of the world; the only way to God and eternal life and, I might add, the greatest person you will ever meet in your life. Now this choice between lunatic, liar or Lord has consequences. If you decide Jesus was a lunatic or a liar then you are rejecting the entire foundation of the Christian faith and discrediting thousands of years of Church history including the celebration of Easter and Christmas. That’s a tough call, but you are free to make it.
If you even entertain the idea that Jesus is authentic, then the gospel (good news) He preached and embodied and the truth He unfolded to the world demands a response from you and from all those for whom Jesus died.
So, who do you say Jesus is?
If you would like to learn more about Jesus, click on the link below for a full presentation of the gospel and the foundation of true Christianity