Many people consider the historical Jesus to have been merely a good moral teacher. But if he knew he were merely a man and still presented himself as God, he certainly wouldn’t have been a moral teacher. Years ago, Josh McDowell wrote a popular best seller, More Than A Carpenter, that examines three questions that seem fair for the inquiring mind to ask:

Was he lying? Was he insane? Or is he indeed The Lord?

If Jesus knew he were merely a man and yet presented himself as God, he would have been a liar. He would have been a charlatan for telling people to trust him when he himself was untruthful. But this assumption doesn’t agree with the facts: lives were and are still being changed because of Jesus. The blind see, the lame walk, the lost are found, the hopeless experience hope, the powerless find power to live victorious lives despite their circumstance. In view of these realities, it doesn’t make sense to conclude that Jesus was a liar. As McDowell concludes, “Someone who lived as Jesus lived, taught as Jesus taught, and died as Jesus died, could not have been a liar.”

If Jesus were merely a man and he didn’t know it then he was at best mistaken about his identity or worse, delusional and insane. The difficulty with this assumption is that it doesn’t explain the soundness of his teaching or the consistency of his life character. It doesn’t pass the psychological requirements for being mentally disturbed.

If Jesus were not merely a moral teacher, and not a liar, and not insane, was He actually Lord? One the one hand, what you and I think about truth doesn’t determine the truth. I can say, “You are not real. You don’t exist.” And yet you, reading these words know the real truth.

On the other hand, the most profound question you and I will ever ask is the one Jesus posed: “Who do YOU say I am?” The answer to that question will determine the course and outcome of your life. But you don’t have to answer blindly. Check out tomorrow’s post on How To Read The Bible For What It’s Worth. Reading what God has to say provides practical counsel for answering everyday questions.

“But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:31