Which Jesus do you believe in?
This past Sunday millions of people across the world celebrated Jesus as being the Resurrected Lord who defeated death, conquered the human heart, and began an unstoppable movement that has dramatically and positively impacted the course of human history over the last 2000 years.
When we read through the Gospels, we soon realize that Jesus was no mere man (Mark 4:41), but someone who always went the extra mile to minister to others, and serve anyone who in faith, called upon His name for help. Jesus not only revealed God's heart toward us (Matthew 6:32; Luke 12:32), but He also demonstrated the love of God for us (Romans 5:8), so that through faith in Him we could become children of God ourselves (Galatians 3:26). Jesus not only came so that we may have eternal life (John 3:16), but He also came to teach us how to live for God in this life (Matthew 5:3-7:27), and experience an extraordinary life while doing so (John 10:10).
Who in the world can give us a better offer than this Jesus?
In addition to His many recorded acts of kindness and mercy that He did for others, His closest friends made incredible claims about His ability to do the miraculous. They record in the four gospels that Jesus did so many miracles, that "if they were written one by one... the world itself could not contain the books that would be written" (John 21:25).
Miracles like changing water into wine (John 2:9), casting out demons from those in bondage (Mark 1:26), healing the sick (Mark 1:31), cleansing lepers (Luke 5:13), restoring a man's withered hand (Matthew 12:10), healing a paralyzed man (Matthew 9:2), raising a widow's son from the dead (Luke 7:11), as well as a young girl (Mark 5:42). He gave the blind their sight (Matthew 9:27), fed five thousand (Mark 6:41), and four thousand with only a few pieces of bread and fish (Mark 8:8). Jesus also calmed a storm (Mark 4:39), and walked on water (Mk. 6:49), and the most radical of all their claims was that Jesus had risen from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:1-8)! These are only a few of the amazing miracles that Jesus' followers claimed they witnessed Him perform.
Who in the world wouldn't want to commit their lives to this Jesus? He is RADICAL!
In addition to this, Jesus made some incredible claims about Himself. Jesus said He was "the Son of God" (Luke 22:70; John 3:16, 10:30, 37-38; 14:7-10; 16:15; 17:5), who had been given all authority over all of humanity (Matthew 28:18; cf. Matthew 25:31-46, Revelation 20:11-15). Jesus claimed that His blood would be the payment that God would make for our sins (Matthew 26:28), in order to offer forgiveness and salvation to all who repent and follow Him (Luke 24:46-48). Jesus claimed that after He died, He would rise from the dead on the third day (Mark 8:31; Luke 9:22; 24:7; 24:46). Jesus also claimed that He was the only way a person could enter heaven and experience eternal life (John 14:6). Finally, Jesus claimed that He would return again at the end of world history, with all of the angels of heaven (Matthew 16:27, 24:30), in order to separate His followers from those who rejected Him (Matthew 25:31-32), giving those who followed Him eternal life (Matthew 25:33-40), and those who rejected Him eternal punishment (Matthew 25:41-46).
Why in the world would you want to chance not committing your life to this Jesus?
He has done so much for us, and has so much to offer us! And yet, you may be someone who is reading this article right now thinking to yourself that you do not believe any of this. It's a legend that Christians have been fooled into believing, a lie we have been deceived by, or all of it is simply false claims by a man named Jesus who was simply crazy.
If this is you, let's spend a few moments looking at the Jesus that you might believe in. You see, by default you have to believe in "a" Jesus. You may not have to follow ANY Jesus, but you do have to believe in "a" Jesus. By not believing in the Jesus of Scripture, the one that we have been talking about thus far, we should take a moment to consider what Jesus you might believe in today.
By not believing in the Jesus of Scripture, you are choosing to believe in a Jesus that was either a legend, a liar, or a lunatic. This is a simple approach used by the celebrated author and apologist C.S. Lewis, not only to help us see which Jesus we are choosing to believe in, but ultimately to prove that Jesus had to be Lord.
Lewis made this formula, known as the Lewis' Trilemma (Jesus had to either be a Liar, a Lunatic, or Lord), popular on the BBC radio talk as well as in his writings. Christian apologists have since appropriately added a fourth category, and that is "legend" in order to show that Jesus would have to be one of four people.
When we read through the Gospels, we soon realize that Jesus was no mere man (Mark 4:41), but someone who always went the extra mile to minister to others, and serve anyone who in faith, called upon His name for help. Jesus not only revealed God's heart toward us (Matthew 6:32; Luke 12:32), but He also demonstrated the love of God for us (Romans 5:8), so that through faith in Him we could become children of God ourselves (Galatians 3:26). Jesus not only came so that we may have eternal life (John 3:16), but He also came to teach us how to live for God in this life (Matthew 5:3-7:27), and experience an extraordinary life while doing so (John 10:10).
Who in the world can give us a better offer than this Jesus?
In addition to His many recorded acts of kindness and mercy that He did for others, His closest friends made incredible claims about His ability to do the miraculous. They record in the four gospels that Jesus did so many miracles, that "if they were written one by one... the world itself could not contain the books that would be written" (John 21:25).
Miracles like changing water into wine (John 2:9), casting out demons from those in bondage (Mark 1:26), healing the sick (Mark 1:31), cleansing lepers (Luke 5:13), restoring a man's withered hand (Matthew 12:10), healing a paralyzed man (Matthew 9:2), raising a widow's son from the dead (Luke 7:11), as well as a young girl (Mark 5:42). He gave the blind their sight (Matthew 9:27), fed five thousand (Mark 6:41), and four thousand with only a few pieces of bread and fish (Mark 8:8). Jesus also calmed a storm (Mark 4:39), and walked on water (Mk. 6:49), and the most radical of all their claims was that Jesus had risen from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:1-8)! These are only a few of the amazing miracles that Jesus' followers claimed they witnessed Him perform.
Who in the world wouldn't want to commit their lives to this Jesus? He is RADICAL!
In addition to this, Jesus made some incredible claims about Himself. Jesus said He was "the Son of God" (Luke 22:70; John 3:16, 10:30, 37-38; 14:7-10; 16:15; 17:5), who had been given all authority over all of humanity (Matthew 28:18; cf. Matthew 25:31-46, Revelation 20:11-15). Jesus claimed that His blood would be the payment that God would make for our sins (Matthew 26:28), in order to offer forgiveness and salvation to all who repent and follow Him (Luke 24:46-48). Jesus claimed that after He died, He would rise from the dead on the third day (Mark 8:31; Luke 9:22; 24:7; 24:46). Jesus also claimed that He was the only way a person could enter heaven and experience eternal life (John 14:6). Finally, Jesus claimed that He would return again at the end of world history, with all of the angels of heaven (Matthew 16:27, 24:30), in order to separate His followers from those who rejected Him (Matthew 25:31-32), giving those who followed Him eternal life (Matthew 25:33-40), and those who rejected Him eternal punishment (Matthew 25:41-46).
Why in the world would you want to chance not committing your life to this Jesus?
He has done so much for us, and has so much to offer us! And yet, you may be someone who is reading this article right now thinking to yourself that you do not believe any of this. It's a legend that Christians have been fooled into believing, a lie we have been deceived by, or all of it is simply false claims by a man named Jesus who was simply crazy.
If this is you, let's spend a few moments looking at the Jesus that you might believe in. You see, by default you have to believe in "a" Jesus. You may not have to follow ANY Jesus, but you do have to believe in "a" Jesus. By not believing in the Jesus of Scripture, the one that we have been talking about thus far, we should take a moment to consider what Jesus you might believe in today.
By not believing in the Jesus of Scripture, you are choosing to believe in a Jesus that was either a legend, a liar, or a lunatic. This is a simple approach used by the celebrated author and apologist C.S. Lewis, not only to help us see which Jesus we are choosing to believe in, but ultimately to prove that Jesus had to be Lord.
Lewis made this formula, known as the Lewis' Trilemma (Jesus had to either be a Liar, a Lunatic, or Lord), popular on the BBC radio talk as well as in his writings. Christian apologists have since appropriately added a fourth category, and that is "legend" in order to show that Jesus would have to be one of four people.
Looking at the four possible outcomes of determining which Jesus we are choosing to believe in today, the question must be asked, "Which one of these is your Jesus?"
- A Legend (and nothing more) The reason Jesus cannot simply be a legend (like King Arthur and Camelot) is because there is far too much historical and archeological evidence to support His existence. Jewish historian Josephus referred to Jesus twice in his writings (Jewish Antiquities 18.3.3& Jewish Antiquities 20:9.1). Plinius Secundus (Pliny the Younger) the governor of Bithynia in Asia Minor, wrote in his circa AD 112 to the Roman emperor Trajan about Jesus being real. Tacitus, a senator under Emperor Vespasian wrote around AD 116 in his work entitled Annals regarding the fire which swept through Rome in AD 64, "Christus, from whom the name (Christians) had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty (crucifixion) during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of the our procurators, Pontius Pilate." Many other contemporaries of the early church, like Gaius Suetonius Tranquillas, Lucian, all wrote about Jesus. The Talmud (a collection of Jewish oral traditions that were put into writing with additional commentary between the years of AD 70 and 200) says, "On the eve of Passover they hanged Yeshu." The reason "Yeshu" (Jesus) was hanged was because He was accused of leading Israel "astray". In addition to these ancient historical documents, we can also look to almost every reputable historian to date, who all agree that Jesus was not just a legend, but a very real person who lived and breathed, and whose life influenced the world more than any other person who has ever existed. With all of the historical and archaeological evidence that exists today regarding Jesus, it is impossible to accept that Jesus was only a legend.
- A Liar (and nothing more) The reason Jesus couldn't have been a liar is because He not only died for His beliefs, but so did His closest friends and followers who saw Him after He had risen from the dead (cf. James - Acts 12:2). In fact, the night Jesus was betrayed and was ultimately crucified upon the cross, His followers ran for their lives fearing that they would be captured and killed also (26:56). They remained in hiding for three days because they feared for their lives (John 20:19). On the third day, Easter Sunday, Jesus came to them at night, causing a radical transformation to take place inside of them (John 20:21-29). Once they saw that Jesus had risen from the dead, they went from being cowards in hiding, to fearless in their beliefs! In fact, they fearlessly preached openly and in public before the masses (Acts 2:14; 3:12), and were bold in their convictions to the same religious leaders (Acts 4:18-21), that caused them to behave like cowards prior to seeing the risen Lord (cf. John 20:19). Everyone will agree that NO ONE WOULD EVER DIE for something if they knew it was a lie. Yet these men who were all once cowards, were transformed into bold followers once they saw Jesus alive again, and historical records testify that all but one died for their faith, and the other lived in exile (Revelation 1:9). With these facts being firmly established, it is simply impossible to accept that Jesus or His followers could have been lying.
- A Lunatic (and nothing more) Jesus couldn't have been a lunatic due to the fact that even the most brilliant minds of His day who argued with Him were put to shame (Matthew 22:22, 46). Others said they never heard such amazing teaching before (Matthew 7:28-29; 22:33). The Bible also records that people were "astonished beyond measure" about how amazing Jesus actually was in the way He cared for and brought healing to people in great need, by proclaiming "He has done ALL THINGS WELL" (Mark 7:37). It is simply impossible to accept that Jesus was crazy due to the way He carried Himself, loved on people, and was uncompromising in His conviction to live a life that honored God and lovingly served people. Even the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate, proclaimed, "I find no fault with this man" (Luke 23:4, 14), and sought to let Jesus go after thoroughly examining Him (John 19:12). The evil king Herod also found no fault with Jesus (Luke 23:15). With these facts being established, it is simply impossible to accept that Jesus was crazy.
- Or Lord (and nothing less than LORD of Lords and KING of kings!) This has got to be the only conclusion a person can come to when they study the life of Jesus in the Gospels. When we measure the undeniable prophetic proofs that are contained within the Scripture (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:1-3), and include the historical and archaeological evidences that exist and are in our possession, and weigh in the millions upon millions of lives that have been radically transformed by the love of God that is found in Christ Jesus, there is simply no other way to identify Jesus, except as Lord.
The Apostle John wrote, "And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God" (1 John 5:11-13).
