C. S. Lewis told us that we have three options when it comes to evaluating the life of Jesus. He can either believe Him to be the Lord of the universe, a raving lunatic, or the world’s greatest liar. There are no other options.
Jesus made some audacious claims. He claimed that He, alone, was the only way to God (John 14:6). He claimed that all who believe in Him will live forever (John 3:16). He claimed that He was going to be killed in Jerusalem and then rise from dead (Matthew 16:21).
You have three options with these claims. You can say that Jesus didn’t really believe these things. Rather, He was a liar attempting to deceive others into following Him. Or, you can say that Jesus really believed them, but He was wrong. This would make Him to be a crazy lunatic. Or, you can say that Jesus believed these things and backed them up with his life, which makes Him Lord. There really is no other option.
So, let’s be done with the idea of respecting Jesus because He was a really good teacher.
Enjoying His Grace 