Jesus: Truth or Hoax?

[Normally, when referring to the Deity, a capital letter is used. It has not been done here, but only for the sake of typographical appearance.]

Some regard everything the Bible says about Jesus as a con. Millions have a different view. Can we really believe that someone perpetrating a massive hoax would suffer for hours nailed to a cross to carry out his deception?

The average con man will go to great lengths to deceive, but if it means any possible pain, he won’t be in it. He wants everything to be easy. He wants to live like a king, ride in limousines, stay at the best hotels. Nowhere in the Bible do we read of Jesus living in affluent style.

If Jesus was indeed a con artist, why would he agree to suffer? The Bible says he knew he would be crucified. Why would he volunteer for it, except to fulfil Old Testament prophecy? He was verbally abused, spat upon, endured thirty-nine lashes of a Roman whip. Then to the cross, gasping, groaning, agonizing in the blazing sun, covered in blood and flies, a spear thrust through his side, a crown of thorns previously jammed on his head.

It was the Roman punishment for criminals, but Jesus’ only crime was saying he was sent by God, and proving it by what he did.

This was a man who performed miracles. The Bible says not just one saw him do the miracles, but dozens, hundreds. Were they all lying? Were Matthew, Mark, Luke and John - the disciples who saw everything and wrote about it - lying also? Did they lie about seeing and talking to Jesus after resurrection?

Surely Jesus could have copped out of the punishment. He could have abandoned his mission to save the human race. He could have capitulated to the religious mob who turned him over to Pontius Pilate, calling for crucifixion. He could have apologized for upsetting them earlier when he rightly called them hypocrites and brood of vipers.

What Jesus did makes sense when we consider the Old Testament custom of atoning for sins by sacrificing animals to God, along with the shedding of blood. Jesus on the cross became the once and for all sacrifice for humanity (Hebrews 9:11-14). The Bible says he is the Lamb of God. He was sinless, without spot or blemish - as were the sacrificial lambs.

So, dear reader, if the whole Bible and Jesus is a fake: if Jesus never rose from the dead, relax, you are safe in your sins. There will be no Judgment Day, no accountability. Can you believe that evil people such as Adolf Hitler, Pol Pot, Milosevic, will not face judgment? They were bad, but the Bible says all have sinned (Romans 3:23). What the Bible says about judgment for all (Hebrews 9:27) follows naturally from that.

Returning to the Old Testament prophecy: the crucifixion of Jesus is described very accurately in Isaiah chapter 53. It was written hundreds of years before Jesus went to the cross. How could his crucifixion have been forecast, and Jesus’ agony described, except by revelation from God to the prophet Isaiah?

Jesus says those who believe in, and trust him, will go on to eternal life (John 3:16). Those who disbelieve will perish.