Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, Gandhi...all of these men are considered great spiritual, moral, or religious teachers and leaders; however, Jesus was singular among them in his claim to be God Himself (John 14:6-10; Mark 2:5-7; John 3:16; John 8:23-26; John 8:57-58; et. al.). This claim, in and of itself, implies one of two things: either Jesus was crazy (or lying), in which case his teachings should be ignored, or he was telling the truth, in which case we must acknowledge that he was and is God. The proof of the validity of Jesus' teachings lies in the fact that he rose from the dead, something to which no other spiritual leader can lay claim.

Some claim that either Jesus went to the cross just to become a martyr, or that he never actually died in the first place. These claims ignore the absolute effectiveness of crucifixion as a means of execution, as well as the unthinkable torture experienced by Jesus as he was physically beaten beyond human recognition, scourged--beaten by a specially-trained soldier using a multi-stranded leather whip having bone and metal fragments imbedded along its length, a procedure which killed most victims before they ever reached the cross--and then crucified. Not only was Jesus dead, but no one, not even a crazy man, would choose to endure that level of agony merely for the sake of martyrdom.

The Proof

The body of Jesus was never found.

The Jewish leadership, with a few notable exceptions, hated Jesus and his teachings because Jesus undermined their authority and power. Throughout the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament, it is clear that they were constantly trying to kill off Christians and Christianity (Matthew 26:3-4; John 19:7; Acts 7:57-58; Acts 8:1-3; et. al.). In reality, all they had to do was find the body! They never could, and, to this day, they never have.

The disciples' lives were radically changed.

Where were Jesus' disciples when he was crucified? They went into hiding, fearing for their lives (John 20:19). They did not dare to speak openly about the teachings of their dead mentor, because they knew that they would be next in line for death if they did. But just a few days later, these same men could be seen in the streets and even in the temple, right under the noses of the Jewish leadership, teaching about salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, who was alive! Were they just trying to save face? Hardly! With the exception of John, all of the disciples died gruesome, torturous deaths. Not one of them ever denied Christ or confessed that it had all been a hoax. That kind of conviction does not arise out of a lie. Would you give your life for a lie?