Legend, Lunatic, Liar or Lord?

Many people deny the existence of Jesus Christ

And their reasons usually fall into one of 3 categories:

He is a Legend, a Myth, and never really existed.

He was a lunatic, a crazy guy, going around doing crazy things

He was a liar, a deceiver, faking his message and his miracles.

A few moments of research will prove Jesus was not a legend, but in fact a real person.

There are many historians that wrote of him,

 most notable was the Jewish historian, Josephus

who wrote of the happenings in Judea for the Romans 

in the 1st century

and included reports on Jesus crucified under Pilate

and the execution of John the Baptist 

and  Christian Leader, James, brother of Jesus Christ.

There are other historical references as well

You can click this link to see a well referenced article called

Ancient Evidence for Jesus from NonChristian Sources

So I feel pretty comfortable in my belief that
Jesus Christ is / was a REAL person.

But what kind of person was he?

If he was just a man, a mere mortal

but claimed to be divine, the Son of God

then he must be a mad man, a lunatic.

But he gave the most intelligent, articulate and powerful sermons.

So great that they are still recited over 2000 years later by people around the world!

How could a madman, an insane person, be so intelligent that he 

could match wits with the greatest intellects and students of Jewish law of that time?

And how could he create such a large following, that grew after his death

to number in over 1 billion today around the world?

So he couldn't have been a lunatic and keep it together so well for so long.

Maybe he was a brilliant liar.

Perhaps with the help of his disciples he faked all the miracles he performed.

And somehow faked his death

 and with their help escaped the tomb 

so he could pretend to be resurrected.

If you believe this, then you do not understand the nature of scourging and crucifixion.

Scourging is being beaten with a whip having 7 leather straps

 with shards of metal embedded in it.

The Romans were so skillful in the delivery of the 39 ordered blows

that they could tear away flesh

expose vital organs (lungs, liver)

and keep a man alive.

Then this man who's body was shredded was nailed to a cross.

The placement of the nails in the hands were such that they hit a specific nerve

to cause excruciating waves of pain according to medical science.

Shoulders, elbows, wrists become dislocated from the weight of the body 

pulling against the nails.

In this position one can not inhale, unless they push themselves upward 

by their feet against the nails driven through them

 (the image on the right is a real victim of crucifixion excavated by archaeologists)

And it is documented that when he appeared dead

to be sure that he was dead, a Romain soldier pierced his side

with a spear and blood pooled in his lungs came gushing out.

you can read more about it here:

Death by Crucifixion

Not This:

But This:

(and nails, not ropes)

It was well known by everyone how terrible crucifixion was.

When arrested, all Jesus had to do is deny

 that he claimed to be the son of God and 

he would be released--he would be freed.

Can you imagine anyone carrying out a lie to the extent of being willing

to be scourged and crucified to keep that lie?

It defies all logic.

So Jesus could not have been a Liar.

Not a Legend, not a Lunatic, not a Liar.

When I first heard all of the above and thought deeply about it

I could not come to any other conclusion than

 Jesus is Lord.

But for the little shadows of doubt that lingered in my mind,

This is what flushed them away:

Imagine you are a disciple of Jesus.

And you are hated as much as He,

When Jesus was arrested, his followers denied him.

They denied being associated with Jesus

because they knew they would be punished as harshly as Jesus was.

So the disciples lied and went into hiding.

(Wouldn't you?)

So why, several days later, would the disciples be almost literally

shouting from the rooftops that Jesus was Messiah

the Son of God?

The penalty was still death.

And many were stoned to death for spreading word that Jesus was the Son of God,

As a matter of fact, all his disciples were executed 

(except John who was imprisoned on an island)

Peter was crucified----upside down.

Paul was beheaded.

Steven was stoned.

And still others continued to spread the word that Jesus is the Son of God.

Where did all this courage come from?

Why did they no longer fear pain, suffering or death?

I can only come to one conclusion....