Liar, Lunatic or Lord?: Lunatic

Most people who know me NOW find it hard to believe, but I have struggled with anger issues my whole life. Now, let me qualify that. What I DON’T mean is that, for instance, my wife or kids have ever felt threatened or anything. In fact, when it comes to them, it is quite the opposite. I have always said that, although I’m a “forgivin’ and forgettin’ Christian”, if someone hurts my family, they’d better hope the police find them first. It would NOT be pretty! 

But all of that aside, anger has been a challenge for me my whole life. I’m the type that is highly unlikely to start something…but more than willing to end something. I have a history of sticking my jaw out and daring someone to back their words up, warning them that they’d better make the first one REALLY good because they won’t get a second chance! From refusing to back down to a school bully through punching another bully who wouldn’t leave a friend of mine alone to driving through a city park, at let’s just say a high rate of speed, chasing an unknown car with an unknown number of people in it who nearly (and intentionally) ran my then girlfriend and me over and having NO idea what I was going to do if I actually caught them, I have been known to quote that great theologian Billy Joel, “You may be right. I may be crazy. But it just may be a lunatic you’re looking for!” 

For two weeks, we’ve talked about author C.S. Lewis- prolific writer of 67 books and countless articles and other publications and how he often wrote about Christian themes. We talked about the piece he wrote about Jesus that basically laid out what we’ve called a trilemma- a choice among three options. Lewis’ three options were, in a nutshell, that Jesus was either A. a liar, B. a lunatic or C. The Lord. If He wasn’t divine, then the only other alternatives were that He was evil or deluded. Lewis said Jesus couldn’t be more than one of them. Therefore, we are left with a choice. 

Today, we continue our current 4-week sermon series designed to delve into those three options, pick them apart and see where they lead us. Last week, we looked at “liar”. Today, we run “lunatic” up the flagpole to see who might salute it. We are trying to be as objective as possible- not simply dismissing the first two because we “know” the third choice is the “right” answer but instead weigh each one from its own merit. With all of that in mind, here is today’s Scripture- 

John 10:27-30 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” 

     So, the Pharisees have come to further investigate the claims being made about Jesus. He is talking to them in this passage. Remember, they are looking for a way to discredit Him, to prove Him to be something other than Who He claims to be, other than Whom others think Him to be. And in the middle of this discourse, Jesus offers up this odd and rather cryptic passage. It’s very short but packed with material.  

     As we unpack this, I want you to imagine that you are hearing these words from the lips of someone you just met. You don’t know them. You’re trying to get a handle on who they are. And they are making some bold and odd claims.  

He starts with a reference to sheep- they listen to his voice. (An aside- He first brings up the sheep analogy right before this passage, but it DOES come out of the blue.) OK, so this guy, whom you don’t know, suddenly starts talking about his sheep and how they listen to him. A bit…odd…to be sure. But…OK. From there, he says that he knows them and they follow him. OK- but what does this have to do with…oh, say…anything?! What are we even talking about? How did we get to sheep? And why is he bragging about how they listen to him?  

From there, the whole discourse takes a hard left turn into even more odd imagery. “I will give them…wait for it…eternal life. They shall never…perish? And no one will snatch them from his hand?” Huh? This has quickly gone from “Why are we talking about sheep?” to “What in the WORLD are you talking about?” I mean, I’m just starting to accept the whole “sheep” analogy and now you’re suddenly talking about how you’re going to make them live forever and how no one can take them away from you. I mean, this is pretty much the same rhetoric that Marshall Applewhite used for his doomsday cult that was going to be teleported to a UFO that was hiding in the tail of a comet. And that was right before they all drank the Kool-Aid, put on their Nikes and climbed into those bunkbeds. And the result of that, besides the tragic death of every one of those people, was a secure spot on a Saturday Night Live spoof.  

     And if that wasn’t enough, he THEN says that his dad, who gave the sheep to him, is greater than anybody and how nobody can snatch these sheep from Dad’s hand. OK- this gets odder by the minute. And then- the “piece de resistance”- he claims that he and his dad are the same person. WOW! I’m dizzy just trying to sort all of that out! They’re your sheep. No one can take them from you. You can make them live forever. Your dad gave them to you and no one can take them from him, either. Oh yeah, and by the way- you ARE him! Let’s be honest- if you heard that from, let’s say ANYBODY outside the context of the Bible- “lunatic” would NOT be a quantum leap to make. This would NOT be “liar”- he believes it. This would be full-blown “lunatic”. We would not be hard-pressed to claim that this man does NOT have both oars in the water! But What can you do against the lunatic who gives your arguments a fair hearing…and then simply persists in his lunacy? 

Last week, I reminded you that we are intentionally being “the devil’s advocate” here. We are intentionally looking at each option on its own merit and just as intentionally ignoring what we KNOW will be the obvious conclusion next week. We need to hang on firmly to that notion- all WILL be revealed in the last act!  

So, one last time- my goal for this series is that you are challenged to take what you know in your head and filter it through your heart and come to some real conclusions about what you believe. Learning from others is essential- you have to start somewhere. But you also have to get to the point where you stop simply taking someone else’s word for it. That will only take you so far. Eventually, you need to get to the point where you are willing and able to look into the tomb for yourself and decide…for yourself…if Jesus is a liar, a lunatic or the Lord. I pray that the “payoff” makes the journey worth the effort!