JESUS CHRIST: GOD-MAN - Vital Christianity

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"Jesus of Nazareth, without money and arms, conquered more millions than
Alexander, Caesar, Mohammed and Napoleon; without science and learning,
He shed more light on things human and divine than all the philosophers and
scholars combined; without the eloquence of the school, He spoke words of
life such as were never spoken before, or since, and produced effects which
lie beyond the reach of orator or poet. Without writing a single line, He has
set more pens in motion and furnished themes for more sermons, orations,
discussions, works of art, learned volumes, and sweet songs of praise than the
whole army of great men of ancient and modern times. Born in a manger and
crucified as a malefactor. He now controls the destinies of the civilized world
and rules a spiritual empire which embraces one-third of the inhabitants of the
globe."9
Schaff adds:
"That ministry lasted only three years—and yet in these three years is condensed
the deepest meaning of the history of religion. No greater life ever passed so
swiftly, so quietly, so humbly, so far removed from the noise and commotion
of the world; and no great life after its close excited such universal and lasting
interest."10
Jesus has accomplished more good for mankind than any one who has ever lived. If His
claims are false, a lie has accomplished more good than the truth!
Few, however, seriously hold to the position that Jesus lied about who He was. For even
those who deny His deity affirm His goodness—after all, "He was a great moral teacher." This,
however, is a ludicrous position to hold for the simple fact that those two statements are a
contradiction. Jesus could hardly be a great moral teacher if He were merely a man and said the
sort of things Jesus said. C. S. Lewis makes this point emphatically in his book, Mere
Christianity:
"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often
say about Him: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept
His claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely
a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He
would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—
or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man
was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut
Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at
His feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing
nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us."11
From the very outset of His ministry to its very conclusion, Jesus constantly asserted and
reasserted that He was the Son of God and the Savior of the world. Now, either those claims
were true or they were false. If He is the Son of God and the Savior of the world, then it is
blasphemy and nonsense for us to talk patronizingly about Him as a mere teacher. This is an
option not left open to us. You must make your choice.