Jesus: Lord, Liar, or Lunatic?

I just finished reading an amazing little book, titled More Than a Carpenter, on the person of Jesus Christ. All 12 chapters talk about how Jesus is who He says He was, but one chapter, however, caught my eye above all the others. Jesus: Lord, Liar, or Lunatic? Jesus must of been one of three things: who He claimed he was, a huge liar, or just a crazy man.

Was Jesus a liar?

If Jesus said that He was God, yet knowing He was not, He would of misled all His followers. If His whole life was a lie, He would of been a hoppocrite; telling everyone never to lie, yet His own life and identity being a lie. If He was lying about His position as Son of God, then He would of cast out, and had authority over, the demons through another spiritually authorative position besides God. The only other thing that can cast out demons is another demon. If Jesus was a liar, He would of been demon possessed.

No liar will every die for his lie, and if Jesus was a liar, He would of not died for His own teachings, knowing they were false. How could a liars teachings benefit the life of millions of people. If Jesus was a liar, his teachings would be lies as well, but only the contrary is evident. There are countless stories, in and out of the Bible, that show how the teachings of Christ have changed lives, and made a huge impact of society, just as Jesus said they would.

Jesus prophesied the destruction of the temple, his death and resurrection. All these events came to pass as Jesus had predicted.

We can now conclude that Jesus was not a liar. Everything he said was true, became true, and is still true.

If Jesus was a liar, His teachings and prophecies would be false.
Jesus's teachings and prophecies are true.
Jesus was not a liar.

Was Jesus a lunatic?

Could Jesus have been mistaken about His identity? It is possible to be honest, yet mistaken. However, to claim to be the Son of the Living God in a monotheistic and fiercely zealous society was not exactly a smart thing to do, right?

If today we saw a man walking around, claiming that he was God, the authorities would no doubt put him in an asylum. Such a crazy person is a threat to society, and cannot be allowed freedom. However, with Jesus we see no other symptom that might be an indication of insanity, except His claim to deity.

Christs teaching are infinitely profound, His decisions and examples were logical, and His reactions were perfectly mature. No other area of Christs life is the idea of insanity possible. Certainly someone who is deranged will not only show his insanity on a particular area of his life, but in all of his thinking. When someone is crazy, they are completely affected, and cannot control or hide their insanity.

Christ was not insane. His teachings and perfect, mature life was not paralleled by a deranged mind.

If Jesus was crazy, His whole life and teachings would show it.
Jesus life and teachings do not show He was crazy.
Jesus is not crazy.

Was Jesus the Son of God?

The only other option to explain the claims and life of Jesus was that He was indeed, and is, the Son of the Living God.

Jesus is either a lunatic, liar or lord
Jesus is not a liar
Jesus is not a lunatic
Jesus is Lord!

All of Christs teachings are true. He truly was the Son of God, God Himself, and the Word made flesh.

I strongly recommended More Than a Carpenter, by Josh McDowell. The whole book is filled with great evidence for Christs existence and deity.

I would love to hear your thoughts on all this, and comments are appreciated.

-Jerry