Jesus was not a great man. Either he is the
Lord or he is a liar or a lunatic. There are no
other choices left open to us.
Lord or he is a liar or a lunatic. There are no
other choices left open to us.
Jesus from Nazareth is supposed to be God. Could this claim just be the product of his over zealous followers? Did he really claim deity for himself and if he did, does that make him the world's greatest liar, or was he indeed the Son of the living God? To come to a rational conclusion about the man from Galilee, we must critically examine the nature of the claims and the supporting evidence.
What Did the Disciples Think of Him?
Early in his ministry, before the disciples had begun to follow him full-time, Jesus was speaking to the multitudes by the Sea of Galilee. When the crowd began to press him, he turned to see two boats lying at the edge of the lake. The owners, Simon and his brother Andrew along with James and his brother John, were washing their nets nearby.
Jesus climbed into Simon's boat and told him to push out a little way from the land. From the boat he continued speaking to the crowd.
When he had finished teaching, he turned to Simon and said, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch."
"Master," Peter complained, "we worked hard all night and caught nothing. But . . . I will let down the nets."
When Simon and Andrew had done this, the nets filled with so many fish they began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help, and both boats filled with so many fish they began to sink.
All this was too much for Simon Peter. He fell at Jesus' feet and worshiped him, crying, "Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!" (Luke 5:1-8).
Did Peter know what he was doing? The Jews did not worship anyone but God. The first commandment said plainly only the Lord God was to be worshiped.
We could always guess that poor Peter had just made a mistake. Once he thought about what he had done, he would probably never bow and worship Jesus again. But he did, on several other occasions.
We could also imagine that being an unlearned fisherman, Peter might not have realized that to bow down in front of someone was to imply he was worshiping him as God. But then we read in the book of Acts a Roman soldier fell at Peter's feet. His response? "Stand up; I'm just a man." (Acts 10:25-26). No, it seems obvious that Peter knew what he was doing when he worshiped Jesus.
What Did the Disciples Think of Him?
Early in his ministry, before the disciples had begun to follow him full-time, Jesus was speaking to the multitudes by the Sea of Galilee. When the crowd began to press him, he turned to see two boats lying at the edge of the lake. The owners, Simon and his brother Andrew along with James and his brother John, were washing their nets nearby.
Jesus climbed into Simon's boat and told him to push out a little way from the land. From the boat he continued speaking to the crowd.
When he had finished teaching, he turned to Simon and said, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch."
"Master," Peter complained, "we worked hard all night and caught nothing. But . . . I will let down the nets."
When Simon and Andrew had done this, the nets filled with so many fish they began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help, and both boats filled with so many fish they began to sink.
All this was too much for Simon Peter. He fell at Jesus' feet and worshiped him, crying, "Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!" (Luke 5:1-8).
Did Peter know what he was doing? The Jews did not worship anyone but God. The first commandment said plainly only the Lord God was to be worshiped.
We could always guess that poor Peter had just made a mistake. Once he thought about what he had done, he would probably never bow and worship Jesus again. But he did, on several other occasions.
We could also imagine that being an unlearned fisherman, Peter might not have realized that to bow down in front of someone was to imply he was worshiping him as God. But then we read in the book of Acts a Roman soldier fell at Peter's feet. His response? "Stand up; I'm just a man." (Acts 10:25-26). No, it seems obvious that Peter knew what he was doing when he worshiped Jesus.
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