Don Stewart :: Is It Possible That Jesus Lied about Who He Was?

It is possible that Jesus actually made the claims attributed to Him in the New Testament yet His claims were not true. If this is the case then there are two possibilities. The first is that He knew He was not the Son of God yet He lied about His identity. The second option is that Jesus thought He was the Son of God but was deluded.

Was Jesus A Liar

This option identifies Jesus as a liar. As we have seen, Jesus made some fantastic claims about whom He was. He made Himself out to be the eternal God, the Creator of the universe and mankind's only Savior. He consistently made these claims during His time here on earth. The question arises, "Is there any evidence that He lied about who He was?"

1. There Is No Evidence For This Position

While it is theoretically possible that Jesus lied about whom He was, there is certainly no evidence to suggest it. Everything we know about the character of Jesus testifies that He always told the truth. He underscored the fact that His words were truthful:

The Pharisees therefore said to him, 'You bear witness of yourself; your witness is not true.' [Jesus said] 'Even if I bear witness of myself, my witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going . . . I am one who bears witness of myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness of me' (John 8:13,14,18).

Jesus Himself clearly said, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).

The centurion who presided over His crucifixion testified to Jesus' character.

Now when the centurion, who stood opposite him, saw that he had cried out like this and breathed his last, he said, 'Truly this man was the Son of God' (Mark 15:39).

2. Jesus' Testimony Was Consistent

If He were a liar, then He was a consistent liar up until the end. He confessed to being the Messiah before His accusers. When Jesus made His confession, He did it while He was under oath.

And the high priest answered and said to him, 'I adjure you by the living God that you tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.' Jesus said to him, 'It is as you said' (Matthew 26:63,64).

This statement caused the Jews to bring Jesus to Pilate to be crucified.

The Jews answered him [Pilate], 'We have a law, and according to our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God' (John 19:7).

Even when Jesus went to His death, He never changed His testimony as to His identity.

3. There Was No Motivation To Lie

Furthermore, if one contends that Jesus lied about whom He was, a motive needs to be found for His lying. People lie to gain some advantage but one becomes hard-pressed to see any advantage in Jesus' lying. What advantage was there to being pressured night and day by the multitudes to perform acts of healing and forgive sin? What advantage was there to being a traveling preacher who had no place to call home?

What advantage was there to being put to death for claiming to be the Son of God, if He knew His claims were not true? He could have been released if He had only denied being the Christ. Why not simply admit that He was not?

The conclusion is that Jesus did not lie. He was whom he claimed to be.

The evidence indicates that Jesus Christ did not deliberately lie about who He was or why He came to earth. First, there is no evidence that Jesus lied about anything. Second, the portrait the New Testament paints of Jesus is consistent. If He lied about whom He was, He lied all the way to His death. Finally, there is no motivation for Him to lie about anything. There was no personal advantage to be gained for lying. Consequently we conclude that he did not lie about anything that he said - he was the One whom he claimed to be.