Lunatic, Liar, or Lord?
People who say that Jesus never claimed to be the Lord have not
ever studied the Bible seriously. Today we are going to look at
one scripture, out of many in the New Testament, where Jesus
claimed to be just that. We pick up the story where some men are
lowering a paralytic friend into a crowded home where Jesus is
so that Jesus will heal him.
"When Jesus saw their faith, he said "Friend, your sins are
forgiven."
The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to
themselves, "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can
forgive sins but God alone?"
Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, "Why are you
thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say
"Your sins are forgiven," or to say, "Get up and walk"? But that
you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to
forgive sins..." He said to the paralyzed man, "I tell you, get
up, take your mat and go home."" (Luke 5:20-24) (NIV)
The Pharisees were right, only the Lord can forgive sins and by
Jesus telling that man his sins were forgiven He was claiming to
be God.
Now there are only three possibilities here:
1. Jesus thought He was not God but was not, in which case He is
a lunatic. This can't be the truth because of all the miracles
He did during His three years of ministry. Our mental hospitals
are full of people who think they are God, but it is safe to say
not one has healed a leper or given a blind man sight.
2. Another possibility is Jesus knew He was not God but said He
was anyway, in which case He was a liar. Liars are driven by
self-promotion or self-protection. If Jesus was simply a liar
wouldn't He have tried to avoid the crucifiction? There is
certainly no personal gain in dying a painful death on a cross.
When you add in the fact that He did many miracles, this option
just does not make sense.
3. The only other possibility is that Jesus knew He was God and
He indeed was God. Even if you don't want to admit it, this is
the only option that is logical.
The Pharisees knew Jesus claimed to be God, that is why they
were so upset, but they refused to look at the facts. The thing
about facts is that they are facts whether you believe in them
or not. You can say "I don't believe in gravity" but if you jump
off a building you will fall just the same. The facts point to
Jesus being the Lord.