A Johannic view of Jesus through the lens of C.S. Lewis’ Trilemma.

The search for God is a quest that most men devote their entire lives to. There exists in the human being this desire, this thirst to discover its origin, its raison d'être, its future, in short, the meaning of life. Even though business and leisure deviate our focus from these concerns, the extenuating circumstances of life have this particular side that they often bring us back to this questioning. Laura Story expressed this it so well in her title "Blessings". She wrote: 

  

"What if my greatest disappointments, or the aching of this life is the revealing of a greater thirst than this world could satisfy?". 

Many have turned out to be opinion leaders in this quest, presenting one way or the other towards this much sought-after God, hence the spawn of a multitude of religions. However, a man stands out, not in his search for God, but in relation to what he has said and demonstrated about his relationship with God. This man is Jesus of Nazareth. His claims and deeds so much shook the world that they prompted British scholar C.S. Lewis to write down these words: 

"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. He did not intend to." 

The Gospels relate wonderful narratives of the life of Jesus. The book of John in particular tells the story with a unique perspective. Apostle John, in conclusion of his gospel, says:

  

"Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written." 

Nevertheless, on the basis of narratives related by John, it is impossible not to conclude with C.S. Lewis that this Jesus was certainly not "normal": either was he a lunatic or a liar, or he is really what he said to be and that which he masterfully demonstrated through his extraordinary deeds.

WHAT JESUS SAID 

Jesus said he is the light of the world 

It would probably have been more cautious for a normal man to restrict this statement to a specific people or area; or better, deviate from the spotlight to reserve the right to claim to have contributed to that light be made on a certain subject. But Jesus goes directly for the whole world, proclaiming not only to bring light, but to be light. 

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 

Jesus said that whosoever believes in Him shall have eternal life  

It is obvious that such a claim seems completely questionable. Can a "normal" man proclaim the existence of an eternal life and at the same time make it subject to belief in his own person? How does he dare say something like that? ... Unless he has the right to do so !

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them. John 3:36 

Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. John 5:24 

Jesus said he is the only way to God  

In a controversy contest, Jesus would certainly win with such statements! What about all other existing “isms”? Some will say. Is there even a God? Others will raise.

  

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 

I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. John 10:9 

In this short formula of John 14:6, Jesus probably condensed, better compressed the whole truth of the universe and intrinsically linked it to his person. The audacity required for such a statement is, figure, monstrous. Do not risk it! I recently watched a video in which great scholars spoke about their extraordinary works as well as those of the brightest minds our world has ever known. Names such as Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Stephen Hawking, Max Planck, Erwin Schrödinger, Richard Feynman, Paul Dirac etc. fired from all over at every speech turn. One of the panellists, however, summed up all the scientific activity as "begging for truth to nature". If on the one hand, even the most erudite of us have only relayed the "noble" task of begging the truth to nature, and on the other hand, a man, Jesus, openly claims to be that truth, THE truth, it is only saying of the huge difference between such a man and mere mortals. As if that were not enough, he goes on to say that he is life, thus making himself the very essence of this truth. 

Jesus hinted to his congeners that he is God 

Needless to say, that he was nearly stoned more than once for claims of this order, deemed blasphemous by his contemporaries. He, nevertheless, repeatedly reiterated it on several occasions. 

For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. John 5:18 

“Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.” “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!” “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds. John 8:56-59 

“We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” John 10:33 

WHAT JESUS DID 

Jesus knows intimate details of unknowns 

Don ‘t you try to hide from him details of your life, no matter where they be in the spectre of good and evil: he already knows them all. This did not fail to arouse astonishment from his peers. 

A Samaritan woman 

Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah? John 4:29 

Nathaniel 

When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” John 1:47-49 

Jesus knows the future 

The future is no secret to Jesus. He knows it in advance, with an astonishing precision!

Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times! John 13:38 

Jesus is stronger than Sin 

Ever thought about categorizing humans? Depending on the chosen classification factor, we will almost always fall in different categories. Think about skin colour, eyes colour, profession, hobbies … Very few classifiers will not partition the human race. Sin nearly does that, with the emphasis on nearly... One man actually lived a sin free life, he even forgave sins. 

He lived a sin free life 

Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? John 8:46

He forgave sins 

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” John 8:11

Jesus is stronger than diseases 

It is often said that Jesus did three main things daily: preaching, teaching and healing the sick. The amount of power Jesus demonstrated over sickness is second to none in History.

Healing of an official’s feverous son 

The royal official said, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” “Go,” Jesus replied, “your son will live.” The man took Jesus at his word and departed. While he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was living. When he inquired as to the time when his son got better, they said to him, “Yesterday, at one in the afternoon, the fever left him.” Then the father realized that this was the exact time at which Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he and his whole household believed. John 4:49-53 

Healing of a paralyzed man 

One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. John 5:5-8 

Healing of a blind man 

After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. John 9:6-7 

Jesus is stronger than nature 

Can water be turned into wine (without any other reactant)? Chemistry would vow that it is impossible! Can 5 loads of bread and 3 fishes feed 5000 men plus women plus children? Elementary arithmetic will answer a categorical “No” to this question.  Can a man walk on water? Physics would strongly reject such a possibility! However, with Jesus, it is safe to never say never. 

Jesus turns water into wine 

Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. John 2:7-9 

Jesus feeds the 5000 

When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!” Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. John 6:5-13 

Jesus walks on water 

When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. John 6:16-19

Jesus is stronger than death 

Resurrection of Lazarus 

On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days ... “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” … When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. John 11:17,39,43-44 

Resurrection of Jesus 

Jesus conquered death in his own right. He died, spent days in the grave, and rose again without the help of another man. Search history, first to check the facts, and then to find out whether it could attest of any other unfolding of power matching the level of this remarkable event! 

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) Then the disciples went back to where they were staying. Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her. On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. John 20:1-20 

Jesus accepted worship as God 

This is perhaps the uttermost sign of either great pride for defying God, or ultimate confidence of the reality of him being God. 

Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:28-29 

CONVERGENCE: TICKING BOXES 

If you don’t mind, let’s embark into an adventurous experiment with a fun component: let’s play a game, the game of ticking boxes! The bulk of the experience is to classify the words and deeds (those mentioned previously) of Jesus into categories labelled as in the trilemma of C.S. Lewis with the goal of determining which category best fits Jesus: Liar, Lunatic, Great Human Teacher (philosopher, mathematician, engineer, scientist, physicist, physician, psychologist …) and Lord.

  

The game is, however, slightly more complicated than just ticking boxes. With the aim of more objectivity we are actually going to use a point-based system to measure the likelihood of a person in these categories performing the deeds of Jesus or claiming his claims. We will reward by 0 a person who claims something they aren’t or who can’t perform some deed, by 5 a person who claims something they are likely to be or who are likely to perform some deed, and by 10 a person who claims something they are or can perform some deed. We make the fair assumptions that a liar can claim lies but can’t perform extraordinary deeds, a lunatic can say things they believe is truth but which are obviously false and can’t perform extraordinary deeds, a great human teacher is first of all honest (can’t claim lies), fully understands the implications of Jesus’ statements, and is likely to perform extraordinary deeds to the extends of what science in general allows today (2000 years after Jesus !), and a Lord can claim or do everything.

Ready? Fasten your seat belts, we just might be about to visit some shaky ground, some zone of great turbulence when existing thoughts, beliefs, disbeliefs, anti-beliefs, philosophies etc. will be tried and shaken. However, amazing discoveries are ahead!

Claims/Deeds	Great Human Teacher	Liar	Lunatic	Lord
I am the light of the world	0	10	10	10
Anyone who believes in me will have eternal life	0	10	10	10
I am the way, no one comes to the Father except through me	0	10	10	10
I am the truth	0	10	10	10
I am the life	0	10	10	10
I am the Son of God, God	0	10	10	10
Kowing intimate details of unknowns	5	0	0	10
Live a sin free live	0	0	0	10
Grant forgiveness of sins	5	5	5	10
Heal from fever	10	0	0	10
Heal from (38 years of) paralysis	5	0	0	10
Heal from (over 30 years of) blindness (acquired from birth)	5	0	0	10
Turn water into wine	0	0	0	10
Feed 5000 with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes	0	0	0	10
Walk of water (Literally, not metaphorically)	0	0	0	10
Resurrect someone from the death (after 4 days of passing away)	5	0	0	10
Self-resurrect from the deaths	0	0	0	10
Accept worship as God	0	10	10	10
Totals	35	75	75	180
Proportions	19%	42%	42%	100%

Results time! 

Jesus’ claims and deeds fit into the “Lord” category all the time while other categories struggle to qualify for just a handful. A funny feature of these results is that both lunatic and liar perform better than great human teacher. Ironically enough, it takes a liar or a lunatic to possibly beat the very best of the human race when it comes to comparing to Jesus.

    

Though the overall totals and proportions are intrinsically tied to chosen point-based system used, such a game produces the evident conclusion that Jesus is not just a mere man, a lunatic, a liar, or even a great human teacher, but undoubtably what he claims to be: Lord and God. Not happy with the rules of the game? Choose another objective set of rules, have fun or be shaken! Not content with the facts? Investigate them and find out for yourself! 

JESUS’ RELEVANCE TO THE ‘HERE-NOW-ME' TRIO 

Why should anyone living in the 21st century in a human society which is at its all times best in mastering science, technology, medicine, entertainment etc. be concerned, even remotely, by the words and deeds of a man who lived 2000 years ago? This is not just a rhetorical question, I believe it is a honest and legitimate concern that should be addressed.  

At the end of a talk, a similar concern was brought by a young man (YM) to the famous evangelist Reinhard Bonnke (RB). The conversation (roughly) went like below. 

YM: Preacher, I don’t believe in your book! 

RB: Why is it? 

YM: Because it is very old, almost 2000 years old. It can’t be modern! 

RB: Ok young man. I see your problem. Could please look up to the sky? 

YM: Sure! 

RB: What do you see? 

YM: The sun. 

RB: Well the sun is very old, way older than my book (billions of years)! But you know what? It is still very hot, so is my book! 

Just as the sun is relevant today because it still serves its purpose, the relevance of Jesus’ claims and deeds for you and me, here and now, is that, if they are true, they really mean what they mean, as old as they may be. 

Furthermore, the Gospel of John ends on the beautiful account of the mighty resurrection of Jesus and his post-resurrection life with his disciples. Unlike other Gospels authors, John does not give an account of Jesus’ ascension to heaven. What if John aimed at painting the picture of an ever-present Jesus? What if John is conveying the idea that the story of Jesus never ends? Good news is, it isn’t just an idea, it is a reality. This Jesus described by John is not simply the Jesus of 2000 years ago, but he is the same Jesus that millions or even billions of individuals around the world experiment on a daily basis. He transcends time, showing no shadow of turning or decay in majesty, love and might. Amanda Cook wrote so well:  

"The wind and storm still know his name".

  

I will dare to add: darkness still knows His light, lies still know His truth, sin still bows to his holiness, guilt still knows his forgiving power, distress still causes his tears, rejection still knows his loving arms, loneliness still finds his friendliness, sickness still bows to his healing power, brokenness still knows his redeeming power, chains still know his freeing power, death still knows his resurrection power. 

He is the personal and current Jesus that the African hymn praises:  

You are my Jesus today 

You are my Jesus tomorrow 

You are my Jesus forever 

You are a wonderful God 

YOUR DECISION 

I am convinced that a man or a woman cannot remain indifferent to a clear revelation of even an aspect of the person of Jesus. Revealed in the full extent of his glory, majesty, love, power, holiness, the human spirit would recognize, in the sprinkle of an eye, as if by love at first sight, the subject of his deepest aspirations. 

This article aims at shedding some light on the person of Jesus. Failing to convince on the nature of Jesus Christ as God made Man to bring salvation to humanity, it hopes to at least trigger a sincere questioning on the meaning of life, and Jesus' response to the world. 

However, if you yearn for peace with God, wish to know him more, or if you are going through difficult times, would it be the loss of a loved one, an addiction that has the better over you, guilt that tears you apart, a disease that keeps you bedded, and you are ready to give Jesus a chance, remember, he is present, at your side, here and now, only a prayer away, and you can say it, here and now! 

Lord Jesus, today I know that You loved me so much that You came as a man to reconcile me with You. I acknowledge that You died for me so that I may not perish and I may receive eternal life. Be the Lord of my life and show me the way.