When I was a child my dad worked as a psychiatric technician at a mental hospital. A whole range of fascinating people inhabited the ward my dad oversaw. One man was unable to care for his basic bodily needs, but he could total columns of four-digit numbers as fast as you could read the numbers to him. Another man claimed he was Caesar, though apparently he had a hard time convincing others it was true. My dad had more interesting stories to tell about work than most of my friends’ dads. But two thousand years ago, Jesus made even wilder claims than that Caesar-wannabe fellow. Jesus claimed to be God.          

In the entire history of religion, no other notable spiritual leader has ever made claims like Jesus made. The prophets of the Old Testament did not promote themselves. “Woe to me,” cried Isaiah when commissioned to be a prophet, “for . . . my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty” (Isaiah 6:5). When Jeremiah received his call, he said, “Ah, Sovereign Lord, I do not know how to speak; I am only a child” (Jeremiah 1:6). One of the five pillars of Islam is this: There is none worthy of worship except Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.          

In contrast, Jesus made spectacular claims about Himself. He claimed to have authority to forgive sins (Mark 2:1-12). He claimed authority over Mosaic law (Mark 7:1-20). He claimed to be the judge of the world (Matthew 25:31-36.). He said, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12 ). “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). “I am”—period (John 8:58).           

Another time Jesus said to his disciples, “I am the vine; you are the branches . . . Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). What an audacious, egotistical thing to say. It’s all about Me, He seems to be saying. And yet He insisted that everyone else should be humble (Matthew 20:25-28). Was this utter hypocrisy?          

Mohammed never directed his followers to worship him, but Jesus allowed it—even encouraged it (John 9:38; Matthew 28:9). If Jesus were here today, He would be considered a dangerous cult leader for that reason alone.          

Jesus was a delusional, hypocritical egomaniac—unless everything He said was true. Swiss theologian Karl Barth observed, “Jesus does not give recipes that show the way to God as other teachers of religion do. He is himself the way.” If that is correct there is no contradiction and no hypocrisy.          

When Jesus insisted on humility, He was not being a hypocrite. John R.W. Stott, in his book Basic Christianity, has pointed to two baffling realities about Jesus: the self-centeredness of His teaching and the unself-centeredness of His behavior. Jesus certainly did teach humility: Blessed are the poor in spirit; blessed are the meek; blessed are the peacemakers (Matthew 5:3-9). Turn the other cheek; if someone wants to take your tunic, give him your cloak; if someone forces you to walk a mile with him, go two (Matthew 5:39-41). But despite His claims about who He was, Jesus did follow this counsel. He lived simply—almost as a homeless person. He let others take advantage of Him. Eventually He struggled up the hill to Calvary. Thirty years later, the apostle Paul wrote: 

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:     
          who, being in very nature God,              
          did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
     but made himself nothing,              
          taking the very nature of a servant,              
          being made in human likeness.
     And being found in appearance as a man,              
          he humbled himself              
          and became obedient to death—
          even death on a cross!              
          (Philippians 2:5-8).  

John Stott concludes, “In thought, he put himself first; in deed last. He exhibited both the greatest self-esteem and the greatest self-sacrifice. He knew himself to be the Lord of all, but he became their servant. He said he was going to judge the world, but he washed his apostles’ feet.”           

You can dismiss Jesus’ claims as false, or you can conclude they are true—there is no middle ground. Why were the religious leaders of Jesus’ day so determined to get Him executed? It was because He left no options. Either they had to accept His radical teaching about Himself, or they had to eliminate Him.          

If Jesus had just been nuts, they could have dismissed Him as a delusional fraud. He was threatening because they were unable to make that case. No one believed the guy in my dad’s hospital ward was Caesar; his character did not match his words. It was different with Jesus.          

So what does that mean for us? It has been many centuries since Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection occurred on our planet. But still we are confronted with the question: What is our decision about Jesus? Was He crazy, or is He Lord and Savior of the world? No one can deny that Christ’s time on earth altered the course of history. He can also alter the course of our individual lives—if He hasn’t already. I urge you to join me in accepting Him as Savior, and in committing all of your life today and each day to Him. 

B.W.