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JESUS CHRIST: GOD-MAN - Vital Christianity

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223<br />

Jesus was accused of being mentally deranged and demon-possessed:<br />

"Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that He and His<br />

disciples were not even able to eat. When His family heard about this, they<br />

went to take charge of Him, for they said, 'He is out of His mind'" (Mk 3:20-21).<br />

"And the teachers of the law who came down from Jersusalem said, 'He is<br />

possessed by Beelzebub! By the prince of demons He is driving out<br />

demons' . . . . He said this because they were saying, 'He has an evil<br />

spirit'" (Mk 3:22;30).<br />

"At this the Jews exclaimed, Now we know that you are demon-possessed!<br />

Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet You say that if a man keeps Your<br />

word, he will never taste death. Are You greater than our father Abraham?<br />

He died, and so did the prophets. Who do You think You are?'" (Jn 8:52-53)<br />

"Many of them said, 'He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen<br />

to Him" (10:20).<br />

John goes on to point out:<br />

"But others said, 'These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon.<br />

Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?'" (v. 21)<br />

TESTIMONIALS<br />

The contemporaries of Jesus testified to His integrity and uprightness:<br />

Judas Iscariot—Just before he committed suicide, after having betrayed Jesus, said:<br />

"I have sinned, for I have betrayed innocent blood" (Mt 27:4).<br />

Pontius Pilate—As a Roman officer he had for years been passing verdict on the<br />

innocent and the guilty according to Roman law, after a thorough investigation of the charges<br />

against Jesus and frequent interrogations of Him, repeated again and again:<br />

"I find no basis for a charge against Him" (Lk 23:4).<br />

The Dying Thief—As one of the dying thieves challenged Jesus to come down from the<br />

cross and save Himself and everyone else, the other thief rebuked him:<br />

"Don't you fear God since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly,<br />

for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."<br />

(Lk 23:40-41)

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