Whatever you may think about Jesus, you can’t deny his incredibly positive effect on both the history of the world, and on the lives of countless people.
There’s different views about who Jesus was, but they can be basically boiled down to four key ideas.
The first idea is that Jesus was a great teacher: a wise man. That’s how he was known in his day, and his teachings still influence the world today.
There’s a second idea about who Jesus was, and that is that he was intentionally a con artist. But none of the facts about Jesus fit the idea that he was a con artist.
A third idea about the identity of Jesus is that he was stark raving mad. But most mad people don’t influence others, and indeed the world, for good in the way that Jesus of Nazareth did.
There is a fourth explanation, and that is that Jesus really was who he said he was: that Jesus was God come down to earth.
Jesus claimed to be God
It’s very clear that Jesus claimed to be God. Those who heard him didn’t have any doubts about what he claimed. Not only that, but Jesus staked his life on his claim to be God. It’s a key reason why he was arrested and executed.
The idea that Jesus was only made a God by Christians hundreds of years later is just plain misinformation, which goes against the facts of history.
So, Jesus claimed to be God. His life and works matched his claim. And his followers believed it to be true only after his resurrection.
I believe that what Jesus said about himself was true. I believe that he was God. It’s easy to for people to say that he wasn’t. But for me there’s no other explanation for the facts about what Jesus said and did.
It’s something to think about.
Article supplied with thanks to Dr Eliezer Gonzalez.
About the Author: Dr Eli is the Senior Pastor of Good News Unlimited and the presenter of the Unlimited radio spots, and The Big Question.