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The Trial Before the Council

Rich Trotter

Mark 14:53-65

For centuries people have been asking the question, "Who is Jesus?"   During the trial of Jesus before the Council, the high priest asked Him directly if He was the Messiah--the unique Son of God. Jesus answered in the affirmative and boldly stated that He had equal power and authority with God the Father. In response to that answer, we see a very strong reaction on the part of the high priest. The way he reacted shows he clearly understood Jesus was making a forceful and definitive claim to be the eternal God.

The discussion of Christ's identity continues even to the present time. In his well-known argument favoring the deity of Christ, author C.S. Lewis presents three possible explanations for who Jesus is and His claim to be God.

The first two possible explanations start with the same basic premise. Lewis points out that many people recognize Jesus as a great moral teacher, yet they can't accept His claim to be God in human form. But there's a problem with this line of reasoning. If Jesus is considered to be a great moral teacher but not God, then we have to ask, "What was His motive for claiming to be God? Was it to mislead people and deceive them into thinking He was God?" If the answer is "yes" then that creates a problem with the assertion that Jesus is a great moral teacher. Great moral teachers don't lie, and if they do, they become disqualified as great moral teachers. So in Lewis' argument, if we start by saying that Jesus was not God, and then we add to that the belief that He was deceptive in His claims, the only conclusion we can come to is that Jesus was a hypocritical liar.

Next we come to a second possibility of explaining who Jesus is. As in the previous hypothetical situation, Lewis once again starts by pointing to the idea held by many that Jesus was a great moral teacher, but not God. However, this time a different answer to the question of Jesus' motive for claiming to be God is presented. In this instance, Jesus is seen to be teaching good moral principles while at the same time genuinely believing He was God. However, if we take the idea once again that Jesus was a good moral teacher but not God, and combine it with the idea that He actually believed He was God, then the only conclusion we can draw from these two points taken together is that Jesus was deluded and self-deceived. In other words according to Lewis' argument, if Jesus claimed to be God and yet He was in fact not God, then we must view Him as nothing more than a lunatic.

The third possibility is that Jesus is exactly who He says He is. He is the Messiah. He is the Son of God. He is the Lord of the universe who has all authority and power (Matthew 28:18). He is the Lord who holds all things together by the word of His power (Hebrews 1:3). He is the Lord of our hearts. He was, is, and always will be God (John 1:1). Jesus was not a liar trying to deceive others nor was He a lunatic suffering from delusions of grandeur. He is the Lord God.

And so, logic causes us to conclude one of three choices on the identity of Christ. Is He a liar, lunatic, or the Lord? Which category do you place Jesus in?