Every person must answer this question: Who is Jesus? For some, He’s just a good man, a teacher with wise words. But C.S. Lewis argued that this view misses the heart of who Jesus really claimed to be. Jesus didn’t just teach ethics or share wisdom—He made astonishing claims about His own identity. In Lewis’s words, these claims leave us with only three choices: either Jesus was a liar, deliberately misleading people; a lunatic, genuinely mistaken about who He was; or He was—and is—Lord.
This question about Jesus’ identity isn’t just academic. It’s personal and pressing. What we believe about Jesus shapes how we see the world, how we live, and what we put our hope in. Let’s look closely at the words of Jesus and explore why, in Lewis’s view, we can’t just call Him a good teacher. We’re challenged to look deeper, to wrestle with His words, and to decide, was He a liar, a lunatic, or is He truly Lord?
Hear what Lewis says in Mere Christianity:
“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. 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.”
Lewis wasn’t just making an interesting argument. He was pointing to a dividing line in how we think about Jesus. The trilemma presses us to face what Jesus actually said about Himself, not what we might prefer to believe. If Jesus was telling the truth about His identity, it changes everything. This argument helps people see the full weight of Jesus’ claims—claims that can’t be ignored or watered down. Either He’s Lord of all, or we’re missing the point entirely. In apologetics, this approach stirs people to confront the reality of Jesus’ identity and decide for themselves.
Why do you think it’s easier for some people to think of Jesus as a good teacher instead of embracing Him as Lord?
This question sets us up to see why Lewis felt the trilemma was so important. It’s not enough to stop at what feels comfortable. We need to take a serious look at who Jesus is and why His identity demands a response from each of us.
To understand Lewis’ argument, we need to look at what Jesus actually said about Himself. Lewis argued that Jesus made claims that are impossible to ignore, forcing us to decide who He really is. So let’s explore some of Jesus’ most direct and powerful statements about His identity.
Jesus’ Claims of Divinity
Jesus made clear, direct claims about His divinity that left no room for interpretation. These statements challenge us to confront who He said He was.
John 8:58: “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.’”
In this verse, Jesus takes on the divine name “I AM,” which God used to identify Himself to Moses in Exodus 3:14. This isn’t just a bold statement; it’s a direct claim to be God Himself, existing before all time.
John 10:30: “I and the Father are one.”
Here, Jesus makes a statement that outraged the religious leaders because it was a claim to be equal with God. This wasn’t just a metaphorical ‘oneness’ but a claim of shared identity with God the Father.
Mark 14:61-62: During His trial, the high priest asks Jesus, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” Jesus answers, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
Jesus’ response affirms His identity as the Messiah and references Daniel’s vision of the Son of Man (Daniel 7:13-14), who is given authority and dominion by God. This answer clearly positions Him as more than a prophet; He’s claiming divine authority and a place in the divine plan.
John 14:6: “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”
This is one of the most exclusive statements in all of Scripture. Jesus claims that He alone is the way to God, which means there is no other path to salvation or truth outside of Him. This exclusivity challenges the idea that Jesus can be merely one of many teachers or prophets.
Biblical Claims of Jesus as Lord
Not only did Jesus make statements about His divinity, but Scripture also describes Him with titles and characteristics reserved for God. These passages point to His identity as Lord over all creation.
Philippians 2:9-11: “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
This passage reveals Jesus’ exalted status and affirms that He will be worshipped by all creation. The language echoes Isaiah 45:23, where every knee shall bow to God alone, placing Jesus on the same level as God.
Hebrews 1:3: “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.”
The writer of Hebrews describes Jesus as not only reflecting God’s glory but as the “exact imprint” of God’s nature. This isn’t a metaphor—it’s a direct statement of Jesus’ divinity and authority.
Revelation 1:8: “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’”
In Revelation, Jesus is described as the Alpha and Omega—the beginning and the end. This title is a bold claim to eternal existence and authority over all things, a title given only to God.
Now that we’ve looked at what Jesus claimed about Himself, let’s explore the three options that Lewis presents: Was Jesus a liar, a lunatic, or Lord? This section will examine each possibility, using Scripture and reasoning to understand why Lewis ruled out two options, leading to the powerful conclusion that Jesus is, indeed, Lord.
LIAR: Was Jesus Deliberately Deceptive?
If Jesus was not who He claimed to be and knew it, He would be a liar. This would mean that all His teachings, miracles, and self-sacrificing acts were part of a grand deception.
John 8:46: “Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?”
Jesus challenges His audience to point out any sin in His life. This bold claim reflects His confidence in His moral integrity, a confidence that wouldn’t align with being deceitful about His identity.
Matthew 5:37: “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.”
Jesus teaches the importance of honesty and integrity, making it unlikely that He would base His ministry on a foundational lie about His own identity. He emphasized truth and compassion throughout His ministry, making it contradictory for Him to lie about His identity. And most powerfully, Jesus faced suffering and death without ever retracting His claims. This strongly challenges the idea that He would lie for personal gain.
LUNATIC: Was Jesus Mentally Unstable?
If Jesus was sincere but mistaken about His divinity, then He might be considered deluded—a “lunatic.” This would mean that Jesus truly believed He was God, though He wasn’t.
Matthew 7:28-29: “And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.”
Jesus’ teachings had a profound impact on those who heard Him. His wisdom, clarity, and authority reflect a sound mind, not one clouded by delusion.
Mark 12:17: “Jesus said to them, ‘Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ And they marveled at him.”
This interaction shows Jesus’ clarity of thought and insightful wisdom, qualities inconsistent with mental instability. People with delusions of grandeur often exhibit erratic or irrational behavior, yet Jesus’ life showed coherence, purpose, and wisdom. His teachings remain some of the most respected in human history and don’t fit the pattern of a person struggling with severe mental issues.
Jesus inspired devotion and transformation in His followers, which is unlikely for someone who is mentally unstable Lewis argued that Jesus’ behavior and teachings don’t reflect insanity. He wrote, “He would either be a lunatic… or else He would be the Devil of Hell,” pointing out that a deluded person would not have the profound impact Jesus had.
LORD: The Divine Identity of Jesus
If Jesus wasn’t lying and wasn’t deluded, then we are left with one option: He is who He said He is—the Lord. The biblical evidence overwhelmingly supports this conclusion.
John 1:1, 14: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
The Apostle John directly identifies Jesus as God in human form, calling Him the “Word” who was both with God and was God.
Hebrews 1:3: “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.”
This verse presents Jesus as God’s exact representation, affirming His divine nature and His authority over creation.
Matthew 16:15-16: “He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’”
Peter’s confession reflects the belief of Jesus’ closest followers: They saw Him as more than a teacher—they saw Him as the promised Messiah and Son of God.
Lewis argued that if neither “liar” nor “lunatic” can explain Jesus’ life, then the only reasonable option is to believe that He is Lord. He wrote, “We are faced, then, with a frightening alternative. This man we are talking about either was (and is) just what He said, or else a lunatic, 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.”
In short, Jesus’ claims leave us with no middle ground. His life, teachings, and actions challenge us to accept Him fully as Lord. To follow Lewis’ trilemma is to acknowledge that Jesus was telling the truth and to see Him not only as a historical figure but as the One who calls us to believe in Him, follow Him, and bow our knee to Him.
Common Objections to the Trilemma
While C.S. Lewis’ trilemma is a strong argument, it’s worth looking at some common objections that people raise. By addressing these questions, we get a clearer picture of why the trilemma still holds up and why it’s so difficuly to dismiss Jesus’ claims.
“Jesus was merely a legend.”
One popular objection is that Jesus’ followers exaggerated or invented stories about Him—especially His miracles and claims to be God. This “legend theory” says that while Jesus might have been a good teacher, His divinity was a later addition by followers eager to elevate Him.
The New Testament wasn’t written centuries after Jesus’ life. It was written within the lifetimes of people who saw and knew Him. The Apostle Paul, for instance, wrote letters within 20 years of Jesus’ death, and the Gospels were likely completed within 30 to 60 years after His resurrection. The earliest source we have in our New Testament is dated as early as 8 months after the resurrection by many scholars. It says this:
1 Corinthians 15:3-6: “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive.”
Paul essentially invites his readers to verify the resurrection with living witnesses. This “creed” about Jesus’ death and resurrection is one of the earliest statements in Christianity, showing that belief in Jesus as Lord was foundational and immediate, not a later development.
Not only is there biblical precedence for eyewitness testimony, but even Roman historians like Tacitus and Jewish historians like Josephus mention Jesus’ impact and followers, indicating that Jesus’ influence was recognized outside of Christian circles. Even skeptics of Christianity didn’t deny that He existed or that His followers were willing to die for their belief that He was Lord.
“Jesus’ words have been misinterpreted.”
Another objection is that we’ve misinterpreted Jesus’ words. Some argue that Jesus never claimed to be God in a literal sense—that His followers misunderstood Him or, over time, added divine attributes to His message. According to this view, Jesus was a teacher who pointed people to God, but He wasn’t claiming to be God.
Looking at Jesus’ statements in their cultural and historical context, it’s clear that His claims to divinity were understood as such by His audience. For instance, in John 10:30, Jesus says, “I and the Father are one.” His Jewish listeners immediately tried to stone Him, saying, “You, a man, make yourself God” (John 10:33). Jesus didn’t correct them; instead, He reaffirmed His identity.
Look at Mark 2:5-7: “And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’ Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, ‘Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?’” Here, Jesus forgives sins, which only God could do under Jewish law. The scribes immediately recognize this as a divine claim, showing that Jesus wasn’t just teaching about God—He was taking on authority only God could possess.
If the divinity of Jesus was a misinterpretation, we’d expect contradictions in the New Testament. But from John to Paul to the early church leaders, we see a consistent portrayal of Jesus as Lord.
John 1:1, 14: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John clearly identifies Jesus as God in the flesh. This wasn’t a gradually developed legend; it was a core belief in the early church.
By addressing these objections, we see that Lewis’ trilemma remains a strong framework. The historical evidence, consistency of the New Testament, and Jesus’ own words all point to the same conclusion: He was not just a legend or a misunderstood teacher. Jesus is Lord.
Make Your Choice
Now that we’ve worked through C.S. Lewis’ trilemma, we’re left with a crucial choice. Lewis’ argument isn’t just a clever piece of logic. It’s a challenge to our hearts and minds. If Jesus really is Lord, then this truth changes everything—how we see the world, how we live, and where we place our hope.
When Jesus asked His disciples, “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15), He was calling for a personal response. Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). Each of us has to respond to this same question. If we accept Jesus as Lord, it means yielding our lives to Him and trusting Him as our Savior and King. The trilemma pushes us to take that step and live in alignment with Jesus’ identity as Lord.
John 14:6: “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”
Romans 10:9: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Confessing Jesus as Lord is a one-time decision (justification), but it isn’t just a one-time decision (sanctification). It’s a daily declaration to follow Him, trust Him, and build your life around Him.
Lewis ends the trilemma with a call to action: “You must make your choice.” There’s no middle ground with Jesus. His claims were either false, or they were true. And if they were true, then He is Lord, and His life, death, and resurrection changes everything.
Right now, take a moment to reflect on your own response to Jesus. Are you holding back, treating Him as just one part of your life? Or are you ready to acknowledge Him fully as Lord? This decision shapes everything about your life—your values, your purpose, and your hope.
Reason for Hope 