Who is Jesus Christ?
Some people claim He's a great teacher. Others think He's a prophet. Some dismiss Him as a liar, a madman, or an object of one's imagination. Millions hail Him as Savior and Lord. Whatever people think of Him, nobody can deny that He stands at the very crux of human history.
The biblical record of His life shows that Jesus was born to a virgin, lived a sinless life, taught throughout Palestine for about three years, was crucified and then was raised back to life three days after His death. The Bible claims that more than 500 people saw Him alive after this miraculous event. How could a mere man have lived such a life? The miracles Jesus performed, His death on the cross, His bodily resurrection, His visible ascent to heaven – all point to the fact that He was no ordinary leader.
Hundreds of years before Jesus' birth, prophets predicted His coming. The Old Testament, written by many people over a period of 1,500 years, contains more than 300 such prophecies. All of these details came true, including His miraculous virgin birth, His sinless life, His many miracles, His death and His resurrection.
By His own account, Jesus claimed He had the power to forgive sins, to cast out demons, and to determine people's eternal destiny. He even declared Himself to be God! Declaring that He was God so angered the religious and political leaders of His day that they had Him crucified. They buried Him in a borrowed grave, and three days later, He rose from the dead.
In his famous book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis makes this statement, "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."
Jesus could only have been one of four things: a legend, a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord. There is so much historical and archeological evidence to support His existence that every reputable historian agrees He was not just a legend. If He were a liar, why would He die for His claim, when He could easily have avoided such a cruel death with a few choice words? And, if He were a lunatic, how did He engage in intelligent debates with His opponents or handle the stress of His betrayal and crucifixion while continuing to show a deep love for His antagonists? Furthermore, liars and lunatics do not impact the course of human history. Without question, the life of Jesus has made an indelible mark on the lives of millions of people during the past 2000 years. He said He was Lord and God. The evidence supports that claim!
