7. What's So Special about Jesus?

Psychologist Milton Rokeach wrote a book called The Three Christs of Ypsilanti. This story is relayed in a book by John Ortberg. He worked in a hospital in Ypsilanti, Michigan with Leon, Joseph, and Clyde, who all suffered from a Messiah complex. “Each one maintained he was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. Each one believed he was the central figure around whom the world revolved: three little messiahs.”
Rokeach decided to try some group therapy. For two years the three self-proclaimed messiahs ate, slept, and worked side by side. “He wanted to see if rubbing up against other would-be messiahs might diminish their delusion – a kind of messianic twelve-step recovery group.
His experiment didn’t seem to help much, but it did lead to some interesting conversations. One of the men would claim, ‘I’m the messiah, the Son of God. I am on a mission. I was sent here to save the earth.’
“’How do you know?’ Rokeach would ask.
“’God told me.’
“And one of the other patients would counter, ‘I never told you any such thing.’”1

Jesus is not the only person who has claimed to be the Messiah. Many people before him gave themselves that title, and many people have claimed it since. What makes Jesus different?
Nicki Gumble, an English pastor, reports that a communist Russian dictionary defined Jesus as “a mythical figure who never existed.” Nicki rightly points out that “no serious historian could maintain that position today. There is a great deal of evidence for Jesus’ existence.”2
A Jewish historian by the name of Josephus wrote about Jesus in A.D. 94. His account says that Jesus performed miracles, taught truth to many people, and was crucified. It also says that he was called the Messiah and that he came back to life on the third day after he was killed.3
Jesus is an unquestioned part of history. What he said and did is debated, but that he existed is an established fact.
Alright, given the fact that he existed, who is he? Many people say that he was just a human being. One frequently held view is that Jesus was a good moral teacher, who never claimed to be anything more than that. However, much evidence supports the claim that Jesus was and is the Son of God.
Let’s look first at what Jesus said about himself. A general observation about Jesus teaching is that all of his teachings center on himself.4 He says that he himself satisfies humanity’s deepest needs.
Listen to what he said about himself.
“I am the bread of life. No one who comes to me will ever be hungry again. Those who believe in me will never thirst” (Jn. 6:35).
To a woman at a well, Jesus said, “People soon become thirsty again after drinking this water. But the water I give them takes away thirst altogether. It becomes a perpetual spring within them, giving them eternal life” (Jn. 4:13-14).
“I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t be stumbling through the darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life” (Jn. 8:12).
Jesus told anyone that would listen that if they wanted to satisfy their deepest hungers they should come to him. He said he could fill the aching longing inside that nothing else can fill.
Jesus said that anyone who wants to have a relationship with God has to go through him (John 14:6). “He said to receive Him was to receive God (Matthew 10:40), to welcome him was to welcome God (Mark 9:37), and to have seen him was to have seen God (14:9).”5 Basically, Jesus said, “If you want to get to God, if you want to know what God is like, I’m your man. Right here. It all goes through me.”
Jesus also made some indirect claims that show that he regarded himself as God. First, he forgave people’s sins.
One time, when Jesus was teaching, some people brought a paralyzed man to see him. Jesus said, “My son, your sins are forgiven.” The religious teachers in the crowd went into a quiet uproar. They were whispering back and forth in shock, “Who does this guy think he is, God? You can’t just go around forgiving people’s sins. Only God can do that.”
Jesus was no dummy. He knew what was going on, so he said, “You think I have no right to forgive sins. Well, this ought to settle your doubts.” Then, he turned to the paralyzed man and healed him. The man took up his mat and walked home.
Let’s look at one more indirect claim that indicates that Jesus believed he was God. He said that one day he would judge the world.6 He said that “he will sit upon his glorious throne” and pass judgment upon everyone on earth. He said that he would be the one who decides who goes to heaven and who goes to hell (Matthew 25:31-46). Only God could rightly make that kind of claim. I think we would all agree that any ordinary human being who said things like this would earn a free ticket to Ypsilanti to join Leon, Joseph and Clyde, yet we respect and honor Jesus.
If all of this weren’t enough to convince us that Jesus believed he is God, sometimes Jesus just came right out and said it. First of all, he claimed to be the long awaited Jewish Messiah. When Jesus was on trial the night before he was crucified, “the high priest asked him, ‘Are you the Messiah, the Son of the blessed God?’” Then, Jesus, knowing his life was on the line, answered, “I am, and you will see me, the Son of Man, sitting at God’s right hand in the place of power and coming back on the clouds of heaven” (Mark 14:61-62). That sealed it for his inquisitors. They promptly sentenced him to death for blasphemy.7
In the tenth chapter of John, Jesus’ critics restate Jesus’ claim even more directly. The Jewish leaders surrounded Jesus and demanded, “If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” Jesus responds by saying that he gives eternal life to those who follow him and that he and God the Father are one. At that point the Jewish leaders start grabbing rocks to stone him. Jesus asks them why they would want to kill him, and they reply “For blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God” (John 10:24-33).8
O.K. Jesus clearly believed he was God, but who was he really? We are faced with a decision. We have three options, and “just a good moral teacher” isn’t one of them.
Option 1: Jesus belongs with our crew at the Ypsilanti Psychiatric Hospital. That would not be the kind of person I would want to use as my moral gage.
Option 2: Jesus is possibly crazy but definitely evil, in the same category as a David Koresh or Jim Jones. With this option, Jesus knew he was not divine, but he intentionally lead people astray just for the sake of the power trip. That is not quite up to the standards of a moral teacher.
Option 3: Jesus is right. He is a good moral teacher, but he is much more. He is God come to earth to open the way for everyone to have a lasting, fulfilling friendship with God.

So what do you think? Where does Jesus belong? In a padded room in Ypsilanti, in Hell, or on his throne in heaven and in our hearts guiding our lives? To make an intelligent decision on this question, we ought to look at the evidence. What evidence is there that Jesus is who he said he is?
First, Jesus’ teaching has never been surpassed in 2000 years.9 The Bible is still the best selling book world wide, four books of which center on Jesus life and teaching. We still rely on sayings like “Love your enemies,” “Turn the other cheek,” “Go the extra mile,” “Do for others what you would like them to do for you.” We still pray the Lord’s Prayer. We still tell the story of the Good Samaritan; we even have Good Samaritan laws.
Second, the things Jesus did were God-like. Jesus performed many miracles. He healed the blind, the deaf, the paralyzed. He fed thousands with one kid’s sack lunch. He calmed storms.10 At least three different times, he raised someone from the dead.
But it was not just the miracles. Jesus lived out the compassion and mercy that we have always hoped to find in God. Jesus loved the outcasts of society, the prostitutes, people with leprosy, the traitors and cheaters, as well as ordinary folks. He had genuine compassion for those who were hurting and rejected. Even more, when he was hanging on the cross, he prayed, “Father, forgive these people, because they don’t know what they are doing” (Luke 24:34). Does this sound like a crooked conman to you?
Third, Jesus’ character was supreme and unmatched, perfectly balanced and pure. His enemies couldn’t find any stains in his character. The only case they could bring against him was his own claim to be God. His friends who knew him best said he was without sin. He loved raucous parties, but he often woke up before dawn to pray. He was the most important person around, but he still took time to chat with children. Sounding evil or unbalanced to you?11
Fourth, Jesus fulfilled hundreds of prophecies from the Old Testament. The Old Testament predicted that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem from a virgin, that he would be known as one from Nazareth, that King David would be his ancestor, that he would heal the deaf, the blind, and the lame. The Old Testament predicted the exact manner of his death, even the tomb in which he would be buried. A conman might be able to arrange some of the events in his life to fit prophesy, but could anyone arrange the circumstances of his own birth? It’s a little late by then.12
For many people, though, the most compelling evidence that Jesus claims are true is Jesus’ resurrection. Jesus died on the cross. He was buried in a tomb. Three days later, God raised him back to life. The Bible says that Jesus appeared to some 500 people after that. That God raised Jesus from the dead is the surest proof that Jesus is who he says he is.
Some have argued that Jesus never died, that he was just faking it or was in a comma. Remember though, that for the Roman soldiers in charge of his execution, his certain death was necessary for their continued life. Letting a prisoner go free carried the death penalty.13
Others argue that Jesus’ disciples stole the body and started the rumor that Jesus had come back to life. This just doesn’t make sense when we consider what the disciples went through because they preached that Jesus is risen.14
John was whipped, imprisoned and exiled to a lonely island to die. Peter was whipped, beaten, imprisoned and crucified upside down. James was beheaded. Tradition tells us that all of the other original twelve apostles and many other disciples met similar violent deaths because they held fast to their belief that Jesus rose from the dead and is in fact God.
I hope that I would be as strong if my faith were ever tested like that, but I am certain that I would not go to my death for the sake something I knew was a lie. Josh Hatcher summarizes the point well, “Only God could claim to be God and live it in such a way that people believed it so devotedly.”15
One final piece of evidence that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, is that he is still changing lives. When Pastor Dave Pendleton gave this talk, he shared his personal story. I’d like to share part of that with you now.
I was a preacher’s kid. Sometimes affectionately, or unaffectionately known as a PK. And then, for some reason PK’s tend to have bad reputations, they tend to be bad kids. Well, that was true; I was just a bad kid. In my teen years, I really didn’t have any interest in the Christian faith. I had no use for God; I didn’t want to go to church. I really didn’t want to have anything to do with any of that stuff at all and I kind of let my dad know that and began to live that way, accordingly.
So since I couldn’t live in my home like that, I quit high school when I was a junior. And I went back to Boston and lived in these dive apartments and was evicted from three of them because of my lifestyle. By the time I was evicted from the third one, I really didn’t have anywhere else to go so I had to swallow my pride and call my dad. I asked him if I could come home, and he let me come home but he said, “You can stay here until you finish school, but when you finish school you need to get out again. Or if you go to the military, I’ll let you stay in the house until you go to service.”
There was a song in those days that was pretty popular that said, “Sex and drugs and rock and roll is all you needed to win your soul.” And that’s pretty much what I got involved in. That was my whole life; it was pretty centered in that. I really wanted to be about that, and I hung around guys who shared that, and that was my life. I was very wrapped up in me. I didn’t really care about anyone or anything, including how I treated my parents.
My dad would be preaching the gospel like I do now, and I would fall under what we would call conviction. My heart would be really heavy, and I knew that God was speaking to my heart, if you can understand that. And anytime my father would give an invitation to people who would want to pray to receive Christ, I would run out of the church. I wanted nothing to do with any of that. And I would literally get up and run out of the church, and I wouldn’t go back for weeks.
So the day finally came that I had to go into the Air Force in active duty. I don’t know how many of you have had a military experience but for me this tough, cocky, Bostonian kid, it was pretty eye opening.
So about the fifth night into basic training, we were all in our bunks. All the lights were out, and all those years and all that running and all that teaching that my father would do to try to convince me, well, it kind of came to a head that night in my bunk. I didn’t get out of my bunk. I just kind of bowed my head and said something like, “Lord, I’m sorry. Would you forgive me?” And He did.
The thing I remember is, it felt like there was a pack on my back, I mean literally, physically. And I felt free, like someone had just come and lifted something off of me, and I never felt so free in all my life. And I knew that God in Jesus Christ came to this earth and He suffered death on a cross. And I couldn’t escape that kind of intense love for me. It really wasn’t about fearing hell. I’m not sure it was really about making sure I was going to get in heaven. It was really about Someone who loved me like that. That He would die for me. I just believed in my heart, and He confirmed it inside my soul. My life has never been the same since, ever.

The final evidence that Jesus is God is that he is still changing lives. He changed Pastor Dave’s life.
Jesus changed Bill Todd’s life. Bill Todd decided to follow Jesus after 50+ years apart from him, and since that time Bill has experienced peace and joy like never before.
Jesus changed Melanie Harbold’s life. She was caught in self-destructive cycles and felt out of place and unloved. Jesus lavished her with love and gave her a place to belong, and she has not stopped telling people about Jesus ever since.
Jesus changed my life. I was lonely, arrogant, and dishonest. I thought Christianity was a psychological trick that people played on themselves. But Jesus met me, confronted me and changed me. He has given me joy and peace, and he is in the ongoing process of humbling me.
We aren’t the only ones. Around the world, millions of people have met the risen Christ, have given their lives to him, and have been thoroughly changed.16 If Jesus was just an ordinary man who died 2000 years ago, how could he still be changing lives?
So who is Jesus? He claimed to be God. C. S. Lewis was famous for stating things bluntly. He said, “There is no parallel in other religions. If you had gone to Buddha and asked him, ‘Are you the son of Bramah?’ he would have said, ‘My son, you are still in the veil of illusion.’ If you had gone to Socrates and asked, ‘Are you Zeus?’ he would have laughed at you. If you had gone to Mohammed and asked, ‘Are you Allah?’ he would have [torn] his clothes and then cut off your head.”17
Thomas bowed before Jesus and said, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus didn’t say, “Get up, you fool! Don’t call me God!” He said, “Finally, you believe” (Jn. 20:28-29).
Matthew tells a story about a time when Jesus gathered his disciples together to talk with them. He said, “Who do people say I am?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets who was come back to life.”
Then Jesus focused his question, “But what about you? Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, with a gust of inspiration, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Mt. 16:13-16).
People are going to say a lot of different things about Jesus. He was a good moral teacher. He was the greatest man who ever lived. He is a fable. He was a crazy person.
But it all comes down to this. Jesus is asking you, “Who do you say I am?”

Journaling:
1. Who do people today say Jesus is?
2. Who do you believe Jesus is?