Can We Trust Jesus?
Jesus made some pretty extraordinary claims, such as the claim to be God. But should we believe him? Karlo dives into the gospels to take a look at whether Jesus was a liar, a lunatic, or if he was actually God.
Transcript:
After a lecture I once gave, a gentleman, swaying back and forth with an overwhelming smell of alcohol, approached me and said, “Hey Man, I’m the Messiah.” Obviously it wasn’t hard to conclude this dude was delusional.
Now, Jesus made some pretty extraordinary claims as well, such as the claim to be God. But should we believe him? Maybe he was delusional—like that man? Maybe Jesus was lying? Is it reasonable to believe these alternative explanations? Well, no. And here are some reasons why.
First, I don’t think it’s reasonable to believe Jesus was lying because he performed miracles as direct proof of his divine claims, as Mark records in 2:5-7 when Jesus heals a paralytic to justify his claim to have power to forgive sins—something only God can do. Furthermore, it’s clear from Mark’s Gospel the Sanhedrin sentenced Jesus to death for his claims to be God, and Jesus accepted it. People don’t die for what they know to be a lie.
Okay, maybe he wasn’t a liar, but perhaps he was a lunatic? I don’t think this explanation works either. The historical evidence is such that even skeptics conclude Jesus was a wise man. But if he was wise, don’t you think he’s wise enough to know who he is?
Furthermore, there are no few examples in the Gospels where Jesus’ audiences were amazed with the things he said, and he often read their minds. This is not lunatic type behavior.
So, if Jesus is not a liar, and not a lunatic, then he must be Lord.
If you want to learn more about this topic and others like it, visit our website at catholic.com.
For Catholic Answers, I’m Karlo Broussard. Thanks for watching.