Quest for Truth ... you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free
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Jesus of Nazareth made some fairly radical statements in his day. Here is one of them:

"I am the way and the truth and the life; no-one can come to the Father except through me."
John 14:6
C.S. Lewis observed that we must draw one of three conclusions about Jesus, namely:
  • He was insane
  • He was an evil megalomaniac
  • He was telling the truth
Any attempt to characterise Jesus as a fine moral teacher, or as a great prophet like Moses, is possible only by ignoring many of the things that Jesus said about Himself. The religious leaders of His day did not want Him to be crucified because He was modeling and teaching the righteous life, nor even because He was challenging the sins of the people. They feared Him and wanted to be rid of Him because He challenged to the core the religiosity that they were promulgating, and which formed the foundation of their authority and superiority within society. When Jesus stood before Caiaphas the High Priest and Caiaphas said to Him, "I charge you by the Living God that you tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God!", Jesus answered:
"As you say. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven."
Matthew 26:63-65
Caiaphas's reaction to this is to tear his clothes (an Israeli expression of grief or outrage) and to accuse Him of blasphemy, because Caiaphas well knew that Jesus was associating Himself here with the following prophecy spoken by the prophet Daniel, some six centuries previously:
"I was watching in the night visions,
And behold, one like the Son of Man,
Coming with the clouds of heaven!
He came to the Ancient of Days,
And they brought Him near before Him.
Then to Him was given dominion, and glory, and a kingdom,
That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
Which shall not pass away,
And His kingdom is the one
Which shall never be destroyed."
Daniel 7:13-14
There are those who say that Jesus never claimed to be divine. He clearly did.

So, what is the point I'm trying to make? It is quite simply this:
Jesus leaves you with two options: you must either accept Him or reject Him. You cannot settle for the "fine moral teacher" argument, because He does not allow you to do so. You cannot settle for the "one of a long line of prophets" argument, because He does not allow you to do so. He is either mad or He is bad or He is God. He is either the most arrogant, big-headed, self-obsessed blasphemer who ever lived, or He is the creator and sustainer of the universe and the redeemer and judge of all men.
There are two things to note:

Firstly, that the truth is the truth whether you believe it or not. There is nothing you, or anyone else, can do to change that.

Secondly, that what you believe is going to determine your eternal destiny, so you need to choose very carefully and thoughtfully. No-one can force you to believe the truth. No-one can force you even to see the truth. That choice is up to you and you alone. As he approached the end of his days, Joshua, who succeeded Moses as God's chosen leader and judge of the nation, challenged the Israelites with these words:
"If it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods that your fathers served on the other side of the (Euphrates) river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you now dwell. But, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
Joshua 24:15
In the same way, Jesus of Nazareth challenges you today to either follow Him or walk away. He doesn't plead, He doesn't threaten, He doesn't coax, He doesn't pressurise. He doesn't have to do any of these things, because He knows that He is the truth. But He also knows that you desperately need Him, even though you may not yet know it yourself. And so He sets before you an open door and invites you to come in.

What will you do? It's your move. It's over to you.

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