Liar, Lunatic, or Lord?

During His earthly ministry, Jesus Christ once asked the disciples, “whom say ye that I am?” (Mat 16:15). This is a question that every man must answer, seeing that Jesus Christ is the most significant person in all of human history. All human beings on the planet recognize the significance of Jesus of Nazareth every time they write a date, whether ancient or modern, for time is divided by His birth.  As I write this blog post it’s 2022 AD, which stands for “anno Domini” which is Latin for “in the year of the Lord.”  Dates prior to the coming of Jesus Christ are referred to as “BC” which stands for “before Christ.” In recent times, men have changed these designations in an attempt to remove Jesus Christ from public discourse, but the fact remains that all men everywhere recognize the birth of Jesus Christ every time a date is written, for all years are given in reference to His birth.

The Bible teaches that God “hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead” (Act 17:31). Seeing that the word of God declares that humanity will be judged by Jesus Christ, it is therefore incumbent on all men to answer the question posed by Him: “whom say ye that I am?”. Their answer will make manifest what manner of men they are.

Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. He said, “Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?” (Joh 10:36).  When Jesus asked His disciples whom they thought He was, and Peter answered and said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mat 16:16), Jesus replied, “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven” (Mat 16:17), plainly declaring that He was indeed the Son of God.

Jesus Christ also claimed to be God. He said to the Jews, “I and my Father are one” (Joh 10:30), to which they reacted by taking up stones to kill him (Joh 10:31), knowing that by that statement He was claiming to be God, as they plainly said to Him, “thou, being a man, makest thyself God” (Joh 10:33).  Jesus also said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am” (Joh 8:58). In that one of the names of God is “I AM” (Exo 3:14), this was another undeniable claim to divinity by Jesus, which the Jews clearly perceived and for which they again tried to kill Him (Joh 8:59).

Given these claims by Christ, there are therefore only three possibilities as to His identity: He is either a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord of heaven and earth. In other words, Jesus Christ must either have been lying when He claimed to be the Son of God and God Himself, or 2) He was a mentally ill fool with delusions of grandeur, or 3) He was who He said He was. There is no other option. Let’s consider these three options in light of what the eyewitness accounts of His life record.

Was Jesus a liar? The answer is unequivocally “no,” but since it’s impossible to prove a negative, the onus is on unbelievers to prove that Jesus Christ ever lied about anything. Jesus offered a challenge to His enemies to prove that He was a sinner, asking them, “Which of you convinceth me of sin?” (Joh 8:46). To convince means “to convict, prove, demonstrate; to prove (a person) to be guilty, or in the wrong” (OED). In other words, Jesus asked rhetorically who of them could prove him guilty of sinning (including lying), and none of them could. So stellar was Jesus’ record of righteousness that in order to try to condemn him, “the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; But found none: yea, through many false witnesses came, yet found they none.” (Mat 26:59-60)

Jesus’ claims of being the Son of God, and God Himself, were the fulfillment of ancient prophecies which had foretold of His coming as the Messiah who would be conceived by a virgin and called “Immanuel” (Isa 7:14), which means, “God with us” (Mat 1:23). The LORD said in prophecy concerning His anointed whom the kings of the earth, the rulers, and the people of Israel conspired against (Psa 2:1-3), that, “Thou are my Son; this day have I begotten thee” (Psa 2:7). The Messiah born in Israel would be called “the mighty God” (Isa 9:6) whose “goings forth have been from old, from everlasting” (Mic 5:2). Jesus Christ, the prophesied Messiah, entered His public ministry in the exact year that Daniel had prophesied that He would, 483 years after Cyrus the Persian king gave the commandment that the city of Jerusalem was to be rebuilt (Dan 9:24-25).  Was Jesus of Nazareth a liar?  Not hardly. He is rather “the truth” (Joh 14:6), and He is the fulfillment of the prophecies in the holy scriptures which are “the truth” (Psa 119:142).

Was Jesus a lunatic, a deluded fanatic who thought He was God? Only an ignorant fool would conclude such a thing after reading the gospel accounts of His life. How many lunatics spoke beautiful, powerful words which have oft been quoted by millions and have inspired men for millennia?  Of how many lunatics was it ever said that, “Never man spake like this man” (Joh 7:46)? How many lunatics taught men “as one that had authority” (Mar 1:22)? How many lunatics argued with such sound and devastating logic that, “they marveled at him” (Mar 12:17), and “no man after that durst ask him any question” (Mar 12:34)? Was Jesus a lunatic?  Only an imbecile would claim such a preposterous thing.

There is only one option left regarding Jesus of Nazareth: He was who He said He was.  He was and is the Son of God, God manifest in the flesh (1Ti 3:16).  He is “the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords” (1Ti 6:15) and “the head of all principality and power” (Col 2:10). As Jesus said, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Mat 28:18), and the Father “hath committed all judgment unto the Son” (Joh 5:22). One day, “the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day” (2Th 1:7-10).

Knowing now that Jesus Christ is Lord of all creation, I therefore suggest that you, “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.” (Psa 2:12)

Whom say ye that Jesus Christ is?  Leave your answer in a comment below.