The Life of Jesus

Rethinking Jesus’ Teachings

Should we follow them if he was just a good teacher?

Photo by Christopher Sardegna on Unsplash

I’ve always been intrigued by the statement:

Jesus was a good teacher, but nothing more.

Or a similar claim:

Jesus was a real historical figure, but he didn’t save the world.

Many people who don’t believe in Jesus’ divinity still respect what he taught about living a good, selfless life. However, if Jesus is not really God, it might be wise to examine whether he should still be considered a moral teacher.

Here’s why.

Liar, Lunatic, Lord

In his classic Christian apologetics book, Mere Christianity, author C.S. Lewis makes a provocative claim:

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 a 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.

Lewis’ controversial argument highlights the weight of Jesus’ words. He’s saying that, based on the things Jesus taught, he is either completely crazy, a con man, or God.

Jesus was surely a good, moral teacher, but he also made many claims to his divinity during his earthly ministry. He begins making these claims as early as Mark 2, when he told the paralytic that his sins were forgiven and that he could get up and walk.

The scribes listening knew that God alone held the power to forgive sins. They may not have believed Jesus at the time, but they definitely recognized right then who he was claiming to be.

But some of the scribes were sitting there and thinking in their hearts, “Why does this man speak like this? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone? — Mark 2:6–7

They didn’t even have to say it out loud. Jesus knew their thoughts. Kind of like how God knows our thoughts.

He who teaches man knowledge — the LORD — knows the thoughts of man, that they are but a breath. — Psalm 94:10b-11

When the paralytic got up after Jesus told him his sins were forgiven and that he was healed, the people watching were amazed. So it begs the question, could he have done both of those things if he were merely a good teacher?

Here’s what Jesus says to the Scribes:

“Which is easier: to say to a paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, pick up your mat, and walk’?

But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” He said to the paralytic, “I tell you, get up, pick up your mat, and go home. — Mark 2:9–11

Here, Jesus demonstrated that he did, in fact, have both the authority and the power to perform miracles and forgive sins. This was a radical thing for someone to say, and those watching were astounded at it.

In other places, like John 10:30 and 14:6, Jesus claims that he and the Father are one, and that the only way to get to God was through him.

There’s also the time when:

• Jesus was baptized, and God said from heaven that he was his Son (Matthew 3:17)
• Jesus walked on water, something only God can do (Job 9:8)
• Jesus transfigured himself & spoke with Elijah & Moses (Mark 9)

Those are only a few examples, but it’s enough to see that Jesus didn’t beat around the bush about it or hide it. He very clearly stated, and demonstrated, that he was (and is) God.

Anyone making those kinds of claims should be taken seriously, at a minimum. If any religious leaders today claimed the same thing, we wouldn’t simply overlook it, even if they had otherwise impeccable morals.

Most people wouldn’t call them a “great teacher” if they claimed to be God, unless their claim was true. It doesn’t make sense. It’s folly, in Lewis’ opinion.

He goes on to say of Jesus:

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 patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.

These are strong words, but Lewis is trying to communicate the importance of reasoning through all of what Jesus said, not just pieces.

Jesus didn’t leave any room for us to pick and choose the parts of him we want to keep. At some point, we all will have to make a decision. We can disregard Jesus and his teachings completely, or we can bow at his feet and worship him as Lord and Savior.

Or, as Arthur Conan Doyle writes in Sherlock Holmes, The Sign of the Four:

When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.

Either Jesus is crazy, lying, or he’s God. And if he isn’t the first two… 🤍

Thanks for reading! My heart is truly to see others dive deeper into Scripture and reason through things biblically. These are wild times, but together we can chase clarity in a confused world!

If that sounds like something you want to do, please consider following Rooted in Reason so you’ll be notified when there’s a new post.

Press on, friends! 🫶🏻

*Written by a human, but AI did help me check my grammar. 😁

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