I wish that I had come up with this simple yet effective approach to show that Christ was who He said He was, but alas I did not. Credit must go to Josh McDowell and his book “More Than a Carpenter.” If you have not read this book I highly recommend it. It is, as my mom used to say, “Short, sweet, and to the point”.

In the next three entries we will discuss the foundation of Mr. McDowell’s book, was Jesus Christ a liar, lunatic, or God. It is important to understand that Jesus was one of these three. He could not have been merely a good teacher or prophet because He claimed on more than one occasion to be God. Those around Him at the time knew the implications of this claim and did not take it lightly. They either embraced Him or completely rejected Him; there was no middle ground.

Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. (John 8:58, 59)

The religious leaders of this time knew exactly what Jesus was saying and they rejected it. In fact, they were so appalled by His claim that they took up stones to kill Him right on the spot where they stood.

When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!” (Mark 2:5-12)

There is no question that Jesus’ claim that He was God polarized the position of the crowds that followed Him.

Where does that leave us? I believe exactly where we should be when examining the God hood of Christ. We must ask ourselves when contemplating our own reaction to His claim, was Jesus a liar, lunatic, or God?