Introduction
Jesus Christ claimed to have a special relationship with the Father, with God, he claimed to be the perfect revelation of the Father. No mortal has ever made such claims. They were hard to accept. In fact some could not accept them (John 6:66). Jesus claimed to be God. Does his life support such claims? We need to examine the kind of person Jesus was. Was he mistaken in his claims, was he deceiving people, was he a good man, what kind of lifestyle did he lead? We need to know the person in whom we believe, we need answers to these questions.
Was Jesus Sincere but Sincerely Mistaken?
Christianity is based on a real historical person who claims to be God. But is that assertion true or false? If this assertion were false there are only two possible conclusions:
1) Jesus was a deceiver or 2) he was a sincere person but sincerely wrong.
People who mistakenly believe that they are a famous historical figure or God himself are usually to be found in some psychiatric hospital, plagued by mental illness and are immediately recognizable as unbalanced.
The Word of God has been subjected to careful critical examination for two millennia and no one has ever been able to show the slightest inconsistency in the behaviour of Jesus to support the idea that he was clinically mad. In fact every page of Scripture shows that he was the most balanced person that has ever set foot on this earth
• He was endowed with great psychological ability and could penetrate into the depths of the people with whom he spoke. He possessed a remarkable knowledge of the Scriptures and taught with an authority that surprised everyone: "coming to his home town, he taught the people in their synagogue in such a way that they were astonished and said, 'Where did the man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?" (Matthew 13: 54).
• He was able to hold his own in discussions with religious leaders and he often left them speechless (Matthew 22: 15-22, John 8: 3-11).
• He was able to adapt to different social situations.
• He was patient with his disciples, even when they failed to understand what he said (John 14: 5-11).
• He was patient, even when approaching his death and when he predicted that one of his friends sitting at table with him would betray him (Matthew 26: 20-25).
• He was always patient and gentle at his trial, refusing to testify in his own favour and he faced death heroically.
His short life was marked by sincerity and balance. These are not signs of someone who is clinically mad
Was Jesus a Deceiver and a Hypocrite?
Was he then a deceiver, a liar and a hypocrite? He was the first to condemn the Pharisees for their hypocrisy (Matthew 23: 13-36) and they certainly would have accused him of being a hypocrite if he had been a deceiver.
His teaching and his manner of living, have been under the scrutiny of everyone for over two millennia and the consistency of Jesus is considered beyond reproach, perfect. His behaviour is in perfect agreement with what he taught. These are not the hallmarks of a deceiver or hypocrite. He often exposed the hypocrisy practiced by the Pharisees. That hypocrisy, of which there is a little in all men, was not to be found in him.
He was a loyal son (Luke 2: 51), a loyal friend even when his friends abandoned him (John 20: 19-23), he was always ready to forgive (Luke 23: 34). He felt at home with sinners (Matthew 9: 10-13), with the poor and the needy (Matthew 11: 4-6).
If he had been someone who wanted to deceive others he would certainly have frequented other classes of people and certainly would have retracted his assertion of being one with God to avoid the death penalty because this was the penalty for blasphemy. It cost him his life.
He had been repeatedly threatened with death by stoning (John 8: 59, John 10: 31) and always for the same claims of being equal to God. This would certainly have not brought him any personal gain. The trial against him was not because of his actions "Pilate then addressed the chief priests and the crowds, "I find no case against this man" (Luke 23: 4) but because of what he was, his identity, who he claimed to be. If he had wished to deceive then he certainly would have said something in his own defence. Since Jesus told the truth and his whole life conformed to what he said he had no defence.
At his trial, to avoid death, all he had to do was to deny his equality with God. Someone who wanted to deceive others would have admitted his error to save his own skin, because at this point there was nothing to be gained. In the end he was abandoned by everyone including his friends; he had no reason to deceive.
Therefore, if Jesus had wanted to deceive, he was something of a fool because he knew it would cost him his life. He was aware of having to die as he so often predicted this, for example in John 12: 23-27 and John 13: 1). These were not words of someone who was out to deceive but of someone who knew that he was about to die. It was the lucidity, the clarity of mind of someone who knew why he had come to the world, someone who knew in advance what he had to face, what his end would be.
He was crucified for what he was: God
We are in the One who is true as we are in his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God and this is eternal life. (1 John 5: 20).
Everything in his teaching and in his behaviour bears witness to his perfect sanity and his perfect sincerity.
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Next: Who is Jesus? - His Humanity Part 2
Who is Jesus? - His Humanity Discussion Questions Available Soon
Introduction to the Christian Faith - Index
© R W
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