When asked the question... "Who do you think Jesus was?" Most people come back with the answer of He was just a moral man that lived a good life! A moral man He was, that I believe but I also believe that He was much more than that! He was our Christ... Our Lord and savoir sent for God about to free us from sin. Why do I think that? Here's why...

    There are only three different explanations for Christ's' life. He was either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord our God. 

    Was He a Liar? Lets look at the evidence... To be a liar as the claim maybe, He would be living in the face of what he taught. He taught to be honest no matter what the circumstances and costs and yet He himself led the life of a lie. Hypocrisy was something that He taught against. 

    Historian Phillip Schaff says, "This testimony, if not true, must be downright blasphemy or madness. The former hypothesis cannot stand a moment before the moral purity and dignity of Jesus, revealed in his every word and work, and acknowledge by universal consent. Self-deception in a matter so momentous, and with all intellect in all respects so clear and so sound, is equally out of the question. How could he be an enthusiast or a madman who never lose the even balance of his mind, who sailed serenely over all the troubles and persecutions, as the sun above the clouds, who always returned the wisest answer to tempting questions, who calmly and deliberately predicted his death on the cross, his resurrection on the third day, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the founding of his Church, the destruction of Jerusalem – predictions which have been literally uniformly consistent, so perfect so human and yet so high above all human greatness, can be neither a fraud nor a fiction. The poet, as has been well said, would in this case be greater than the hero. It would take more than a Jesus to invent a Jesus."

    Also think of all the martyrs that have died and suffered persecution in the name of Christ Jesus. Why would the Apostles, His closest followers lay down their lives for one that they knew was a liar. They would have known don't you think? Many MANY people through out the ages from Stephen the first martyr to Cassie Bernall and Rachel Scott, murdered at Columbine HS in Littleton, CO April 14th 1999. People don't lay their lives down for simple lies.

    If He wasn't a liar, could He have truly believed himself to be God and mistaken? In most cases of mental illness we find imbalances and abnormalities if their actions and chemical structure. The Bible gives no record of any of these in relation to Christ. 

    Noyes and Kolb, in a medical text, describe the schizophrenic as a person more autistic that realistic. The schizophrenic desires to escape from the world or reality. Claiming to be God would definitely be trying to retreat from all of reality. 

     How could somebody so "crazy" have said some of the most profound and incredible saying ever recorded by man. Some of which have freed many souls from complete metal bondage. Clark A. Pinnock asks: "Was he deluded about his greatness, a paranoid, an unintentional deceiver, a schizophrenic? Again, the skill and depth of his teachings support the case only for his total and mental soundness. If only we were as sound as he." A California University student once told Josh McDowell in his book, More Than a Carpenter, that his psychology professor had said in his class once that "all he has to do is pick up the Bible and read portions of Christ's teaching to many of his patients. That's all the counseling they need."

   The life of one with mental illness in the times of Christ was that of one outside of the city walls. Living in caves and scrounging for food scraps. It was quite unhealthy. So unhealthy in-fact that one would not even survive the flogging that Christ undertook before his crucifixion. Many didn't survive anyways just because of the fact that the Romans were such experts at torture. Even the most healthy people died before they got to the cross. The fact that he even made it to the cross is astounding and proof enough that He was in great shape and was free of any illness what so ever.

   Since we have ruled out that Christ lived his life as a lie and He was free of any mental illness, the only conclusion I am able to conclude to is that He was and truly is our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ. Many people still won't believe that He is the true Messiah. You must make that decision for yourself. John the Apostle wrote in John 20:31 "But these words have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and"-more important-"that believing you might have life in His name". It's You're decision. Read the Bible. That is the only way for you to really and truly understand and realize what is the truth. It's right there, just reach out and grab it!