When he said these things, the people were again divided in their opinions about him. Some said, “He’s demon possessed and out of his mind. Why listen to a man like that?” Others said, “This doesn’t sound like a man possessed by a demon! Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” (John 10:19-21 NLT)One thing for sure: Jesus is not someone you can take or leave.
When people heard him, he evoked all kinds of reactions. And not all of them were good.
Some thought he was crazy. Only a crazy man would say the things he did. Some thought he was a charlatan, just trying to get a position of power for himself. Some, however, began to think that he was real. Maybe he was what he said he was.
CS Lewis, the great theologian, gave what he called the Trilemma. This meant that Jesus was one of three things: he was a liar, a lunatic or Lord.
If he was a liar, he was not to be trusted. No one will follow a liar when they know he is lying. He is not honest, nor scrupulous and you want to get away from him.
If he was crazy, a man that Lewis said was on the order of one who thought he was a poached egg, then you don’t want to follow him either. He is mentally disturbed and needs to be looked after, not emulated.
The third choice in the Trilemma was Lord. If he wasn’t a liar nor crazy, then he had to be what he said he was.
And if he was what he said he was, you stand in mortal danger of losing your soul if you deny him. if that is the case, you are standing against the truth.
A religion based on Jesus as anything but the Son of God, the living and breathing manifestation of the Holy Spirit and the presence of God, is worthless. Who would voluntarily follow a liar or a lunatic?
These people in the passage above were beginning to wonder. Some said that he was possessed by a demon. But others said, that doesn’t make sense. why would a demon heal people. For that matter, why would a demon cast out other demons? In essence, he would be making his friends homeless. To what end?
The problem with Jesus is that you have to do something with him. You can deny him, or you can accept him. You do one or the other. There is no middle ground.
It is the same today. Watch how people receive Jesus. When food and help is sent to other countries by churches, the ones who disburse the aid will allow those in trouble to go hungry and without that help rather than use that which came from Christians.
At the name of Jesus, the ACLU jumps up from its slime and begins to scream, the Americans for Freedom from Religion (a real group) begin to holler. The schools try to deny. So many do their level best to get rid of Jesus.
Or at the name of Jesus, people try to hitch their cause to his name. They claim him for ecology, or alternative energy, or vegetarianism or anything. Both sides of wars claim Jesus for their side. They try to tame him.
Neither are right. Jesus came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19), not to do stuff for people.
And like him or not, he is still here and will be until he comes again to put death under his feet.
You cannot tame him, you cannot use him, you can only accept or deny his name.
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