The claims of Christianity really are quite outlandish and polarizing.
My wife has some pretty great stories of some patients she has met in mental hospitals. Some are very sad and everyone has a story no one is just crazy. I am talking about the ones who made outlandish claims though. She has told me a story of sitting at a table in a ward having a bible study, with one guy who claimed to be Jesus, another guy who claimed to be the devil, and still another guy who told her she was a vampire. They were all together at one table studying the bible. Crazy right? The experience is crazy to have those different claims and perspectives all studying the bible together, but their claims are crazy too!
Christianity makes some claims just as crazy and outlandish, if you think about it. Hebrews Chapter one claims Jesus is the son of God, the one who created the world, the one who sustains the world, the full and complete image of God's glory, he died for our sins, raised to life, and is seated at the right hand of God in Heaven. Oh, and God has chosen to speak through Jesus to us. This is all in just the first few verses. The rest of the chapter goes on to say Jesus is greater than the angels and gives examples from prophecy and the rest of scripture to show this is true.
If someone today claims to be the devil, Jesus, or a vampire and then follows the line of reasoning with action they are locked up in a mental hospital until the can come back to reality. Now Hebrews is written after Jesus was alive on earth, so people make all kinds of claims about people after they are gone. They turn them into God's and all kinds of things the person never intended to be.
The problem is Jesus said the same things. He also said he was the son of God. He stated it so clearly in front of his accusers, the high priest tore is robe (which was a capital offense) and made it very clear they needed no more testimony from anyone else. As far as the priests were concerned Jesus has stated he was God. This was blasphemy and that would be the end of Jesus.
So um...who was Jesus again? He was just a good moral teacher, the simple son of a carpenter, he was a historical figure who had some really good things to say and was a good example for us on how to live our lives, right? Christianity has taken it way further. Because Jesus took it way further. It's no wonder he got killed. If he was on earth today we would at least lock him up and give him lots of drugs and therapy.
C.S. Lewis ask the question; what are we going to do with Jesus? We can't just leave him as a good teacher, because he claims to be more. So we either must dismiss him as a mad man who claims to be a scrambled egg or accept his claim that he was the son of God.
These are outlandish and polarizing claims. This is the way the book of Hebrews begins.
So we ask ourselves again today so...who was Jesus? Creator, sustainer, redeemer, perfect image of God, sacrifice for humanity, who sits at God's right hand in heaven, higher than any created being including the angels or a mad man who needs lots of drugs and therapy?
I'm going with Hebrews on this one...I don't know what you will choose.
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