Who is JESUS: Liar, Lunatic, or Lord?

 Who is JESUS: Liar, Lunatic, or Lord?

Having gone through the JESUS Series on Friday Night Light for the past few weeks was incredibly daunting but at the same time deeply awe-inspiring. Being the last series for the year 2013, the team really felt the need to boldly proclaim Jesus from the scriptures, particularly the Gospel accounts as written by witnesses.

The reason for this was very simple: people nowadays do not have a biblical viewpoint of Jesus and do not really know him for who he is, what he did, and how he did it. Most of the problem lies within the millennial make-up of our generation, taking every bit of information in without first verifying and investigating what we are fed or told about.



Media portrays Jesus as a prolific moralist/philosopher, popular culture would say that he was indeed a good man and a great teacher, others would count him as a prophet, still some would attribute him a myth, a madman, or simply just a man. There are so many misconceptions and lies that are bred unto us today that we end up with a shallow, non-biblical, far-fetched, and detached view of Jesus.

Far worse, we turn to others or ourselves as functional saviors hoping to get saved from our dismal problems and our doomed fates.

Who is Jesus--really?

We went through the whole series talking about Jesus: how he healed the masses of sickness and disease, how he freed those who were under demonic bondage and influence, how he worked mighty miracles such as hushing a storm by a word of his mouth, how he speaks life and truth onto people, and how he loves unto the point of death--even a brutal and bloody murder on the cross. All this just so he could be painted as a fake or legend? Even his disciples and many others across church history have selflessly died for this fellow, Jesus.

All of these--and more--are found in all the Gospel accounts and even in some extra-biblical and historical data. We are presented with a Jesus that is far beyond what we thought and exceeds any amount of explanation as to why this person has had the influence that he has for millennia now. 

As C.S. Lewis mentions,

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. 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 the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon 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. He did not intend to.” 

Who is JESUS to you?

 This enigma has indeed been revealed to us and elicits a response for us and a choice we have to make. The very answer as to who JESUS is will weigh the eternity that lies ahead for us. We all will live forever, according to the Bible, but the difference is where you will spend eternity and to whom will you owe your life's allegiance to: the Devil, the world, the self, or the Savior.

Jesus was born to die. He lived the life that we could never live and died that death we should have died. He solely took upon himself the whole wrath of God for ALL of our sins and amazingly enough, 72 hours later, rose from death to life and made possible for us to restore relationship with our God, whom we have forsaken by our own sin. He was left alone, broken, battered, bewildered, and beaten on that cross by us yet in Hebrews 13:5, he graces us by saying, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 

He remains true to that promise to this day! Jesus Christ is risen and is seated at the throne and he looks with compassion and love on those who look to him in faith. He sends forth his Spirit to be with us in every rise or fall, in every mountain or valley, in every circumstance or situation, and in every condition and trial that we will ever face. He has made all the difference in the lives of his people.

None but him can claim such authority as being the Son of Man and the Son of God, Alpha and Omega, the Lord of lords, the King of kings, the Name that is above every name--Christ Jesus.

So if ever there comes a time that great 'heroes',

appointed 'saviors', and audacious 'messiahs' come to compare,

none will ever be as compelling and as true as the One

who died for you and me out of great love

and lived again just to prove it.