The point of the gospel is, "What do you do with Jesus?" That is the most important question. But there are many questions to consider as we decide what to do with Jesus.
Was Jesus merely a good teacher?
He did teach extraordinary things, but He claimed to be the Son of God, to be God Himself. John 8:31-59 He was no mere good teacher. Either His claim is false or it is true. Which is it?
Was He a liar, knowing that His claim to be God was false?
As Josh McDowell notes in Evidence That Demands a Verdict (1972, pp. 109-110):
If, when Jesus made His claims He knew that He was not God, then He was lying. But if He was a liar, then He was also a hypocrite because He told others to be honest, whatever the cost, while Himself teaching and living a colossal lie.
And, more than that, He was a demon, because He told others to trust Him for their eternal destiny. If He could not back up His claims and knew it, then He was unspeakably evil.
Lastly, He would also be a fool because it was His claims to being God that led to His crucifixion. Mark 14:61-64
Someone who lived as Jesus lived, taught as Jesus taught and died as Jesus died could not have been a liar.
Was He then a madman to claim that He was God?
Josh McDowell (Evidence That Demands a Verdict 1972, p. 111): quotes C.S. Lewis (Miracles, A Preliminary Study , MacMillan Co.):
The historical difficulty of giving for the life, saying and influence of Jesus any explanation that is not harder than the Christian explanation is very great. The discrepancy between the depth and sanity of His moral teaching and the rampant megalomania which must lie behind His theological teaching unless He is indeed God has never been satisfactorily explained. Hence the non-Christian hypotheses succeed one another with the restless fertility of bewilderment.
Jesus' family thought he was mad1. But, what if Jesus is who He claimed to be?
Jesus is the Son of God. Perhaps the strongest evidence is that of the empty tomb which we celebrate at Easter. Paul said of Jesus:
who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,
Romans 1:4
Jesus died on the cross to provide forgiveness and new life for those who transfer their trust from their best efforts to live a life which is pleasing to God to the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. Jesus gave His life in exchange for your life, He took the penalty for your sins on Himself and paid for them completely.
He who was delivered up because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.
Romans 4:25
"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.
Galatians 2:20
The price has been paid. The gift of forgiveness and new life has been offered. You and all of us must decide. What will we do with Jesus?
31 and after he brought them out, he said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" 31 And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household."
Acts 16:30
Stop trusting in your own efforts. Transfer your trust to Jesus. Receive the gift of forgiveness. Accept Him as your savior. He will save you. You may want to use this prayer to express your decision:
"Dear Father, I admit that I am a sinner. I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for me. I trust Jesus Christ to forgive my sins right now. Let me start a new and meaningful life with you today. Amen."
Be assured, your life is different once you have made this decision and transferred your trust to Jesus as your savior. This is what Jesus said:
"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life."
John 5:24
If you have transferred your trust to Jesus as your savior, please let us know. We want to pray for you.
- And He *came home, and the multitude gathered again, to such an extent that they could not even eat a meal. 21 And when His own people heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, "He has lost His senses."
Mark 3:20
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