The integrity of the Gospel portrait of Jesus must demonstrate truth in response to those who received his recorded teaching. How did Jesus respond to the affirmations of his disciples? Did Jesus counter any misconceptions with candid truth concerning his person or did he encourage egotistic delusions about his nature? Four affirmations by disciples and Jesus' teaching response demonstrate his practice: Simon Peter, the woman of Samaria, the man born blind, and Thomas.

a. Jesus' response to Simon Peter.

Jesus asked his disciples about his identity. Matthew gives a clear record of the conversation:

When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of Man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

Consider the facts established by this conversation. It is a fact that the liberal theologian can read this conversation and declare, "It was Peter who asserted that Jesus was God. Jesus himself did not initiate the claim to be God."

It is also a fact that Jesus' response did not correct Simon Peter, he confirmed Peter's affirmation as true by asserting that his heavenly Father had revealed this truth to Peter.

b. Jesus' Response to the Samaritan.

When Jesus talked with the Samaritan woman, the conversation concluded as follows: The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah cometh, which is called the Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.

What Jesus' response claimed to the woman combined with the later Samaritan affirmation concerning the Savior of the world compel the conclusion that Jesus was confirming their affirmation of his deity as truth.

c. Jesus' Response to the Man Born Blind.

After the Jews had cast the man born blind out of the synagogue, Jesus came to him and said, Dost thou

believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshiped him.

In this conversation Jesus not only confirmed the man's worship as proper but actually claimed to be the Son of God and accepted worship due only to deity.

d. Jesus' Response to Thomas.

To the doubting Thomas, Jesus challenged, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

In this response to Thomas, Jesus confirmed his affirmation of deity and accepted from his apostle the worship and affirmation belonging only to God.

These four responses to the affirmations made by his disciples require a common sense explanation. Common sense cannot escape three alternatives:

1. Jesus knew he was the Son of the living God. He was teaching his followers to believe his true identity and was receiving rightful worship.

2. Jesus believed that he was the Son of God although he was only human. He was deluded and was teaching his followers to share his delusion.

3. Jesus knew he was not the Son of God. He was deceiving his followers to believe a deliberate lie.

These few samples of the response of Jesus to the affirmations of his followers afford sufficient evidence to enable common sense to choose between alternatives:

Choice One. Jesus was good. Jesus was truly God revealing himself to mankind and receiving the worship proper to deity.

Choice Two. Jesus was crazed. Jesus was deluded and, therefore, at least partly insane. Jesus was himself deceived and was deluding others into the same error.

Choice Three. Jesus was evil. Though Jesus knew that he was only human, he sought deliberately to deceive others into believing that he was God.

Only one choice can be correct!

No one has presented the necessity of limited choice concerning Jesus more clearly than C. S. Lewis in his book, Mere Christianity. Lewis climaxed his discussion, saying, " I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people say about Him: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral leader, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who is 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 the 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. 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 patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."

Common sense will accept only the explanation that Jesus was what the Bible claims: the Son of God.

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