C.S. Lewis has this quote that I come back to often when it comes to who Jesus claimed to be. As we journey through the book of John together as a church, I am seeing the increasing evidence that Jesus’ bold claims simply do not lend to the gray area of “moral teacher” that many attribute Him to be.
Lewis says it like this:
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him [that is, Christ]: ‘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 a 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.”
We are approaching Easter, and this is always a time where we get the chance to invite our neighbors and friends to come to church — people who usually might not step foot inside a church building. But there is a willingness at Easter. Almost a softness to the whole idea of church and religion. It makes you wonder…how many of them just put Jesus in the gray area? How many believe Him to simply be a “moral teacher?”
In John 5:22-23, we see that Jesus claims actual “authority:”
“For the father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.”
The father has given Jesus authority…”
This idea of authority greatly upset the religious leaders of the time. I actually believe they were adhering to what C.S. Lewis indicated above…they put Jesus on the level of heresy, because they actually knew what His words meant. They meant that He claimed the same authority as God. We have to give them credit for seeing what this really was and not sugar-coating it.
Now-a-days, things are a little different…society doesn’t put Jesus into the camp of lunatic, madman, or fool as Lewis alludes to… it simply calls Him a “good teacher”. One who says good things, and teaches people to live a “good life.” They try to package Jesus up with a nice red bow.
However, there is one major problem with this: you simply can’t read the book of John and come out saying He is a “good and moral teacher.” The statements of Jesus demand an answer. What is He claiming, and furthermore…are these claims actual truth?
I love how Pastor Jason worded it this past Sunday calling our faith “reasonable.” Because God could have made it where we simply rest on blind faith…accepting what we read with no amount of reasonableness. But instead, God chooses to engage the human mind…filling our arguments of apologetics with reason, and truth, and believability.
One of my favorite little verses is found in the book of Isaiah where God says, “‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the Lord, ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.’” (Isaiah 1:18 NKJV)
How incredibly intentional, right? We serve a God who is not only after our heart…but also after our mind.
As we approach the Easter season, here is a challenge for you: let God engage your mind.
Think about what happened, and whether or not Jesus is who He says He is. Think about the implications of His claims. Don’t settle for living in the gray area…either choose to give Him your whole life, or not.
Friend, I have tested His claims, and all I see is reasonableness. All I see is a man who had to be divine. But don’t just take my word for it, search the scriptures and know for yourself.
May we be like the Bereans:
“And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.”
Acts 17:11-12 (NLT)
Wouldn’t it be something if our reasonableness brought others to the faith? Wouldn’t it be beautiful if we showed others our hunger for the scripture, and it led them to do the same? This Easter season, let’s engage God with not only our heart, but our full mind as well.
Lewis says it like this:
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him [that is, Christ]: ‘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 a 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.”
We are approaching Easter, and this is always a time where we get the chance to invite our neighbors and friends to come to church — people who usually might not step foot inside a church building. But there is a willingness at Easter. Almost a softness to the whole idea of church and religion. It makes you wonder…how many of them just put Jesus in the gray area? How many believe Him to simply be a “moral teacher?”
In John 5:22-23, we see that Jesus claims actual “authority:”
“For the father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.”
The father has given Jesus authority…”
This idea of authority greatly upset the religious leaders of the time. I actually believe they were adhering to what C.S. Lewis indicated above…they put Jesus on the level of heresy, because they actually knew what His words meant. They meant that He claimed the same authority as God. We have to give them credit for seeing what this really was and not sugar-coating it.
Now-a-days, things are a little different…society doesn’t put Jesus into the camp of lunatic, madman, or fool as Lewis alludes to… it simply calls Him a “good teacher”. One who says good things, and teaches people to live a “good life.” They try to package Jesus up with a nice red bow.
However, there is one major problem with this: you simply can’t read the book of John and come out saying He is a “good and moral teacher.” The statements of Jesus demand an answer. What is He claiming, and furthermore…are these claims actual truth?
I love how Pastor Jason worded it this past Sunday calling our faith “reasonable.” Because God could have made it where we simply rest on blind faith…accepting what we read with no amount of reasonableness. But instead, God chooses to engage the human mind…filling our arguments of apologetics with reason, and truth, and believability.
One of my favorite little verses is found in the book of Isaiah where God says, “‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the Lord, ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.’” (Isaiah 1:18 NKJV)
How incredibly intentional, right? We serve a God who is not only after our heart…but also after our mind.
As we approach the Easter season, here is a challenge for you: let God engage your mind.
Think about what happened, and whether or not Jesus is who He says He is. Think about the implications of His claims. Don’t settle for living in the gray area…either choose to give Him your whole life, or not.
Friend, I have tested His claims, and all I see is reasonableness. All I see is a man who had to be divine. But don’t just take my word for it, search the scriptures and know for yourself.
May we be like the Bereans:
“And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.”
Acts 17:11-12 (NLT)
Wouldn’t it be something if our reasonableness brought others to the faith? Wouldn’t it be beautiful if we showed others our hunger for the scripture, and it led them to do the same? This Easter season, let’s engage God with not only our heart, but our full mind as well.
Erika Pizzo
Erika is an author of various books on the topics of faith, mental health, and victory in Christ. Erika lives with her husband, daughter, son, and their fluffy poodle in sunny Southern California. Her two favorite things are a visit to the beach and a chai latte in hand.