Could Jesus be a Liar?

By: Hendrik Wieland

One of the best-known and most influential political works of all time was written by Niccolò Machiavelli in 1532.
In his classic, The Prince, Machiavelli exalts power, success, image, and efficiency above loyalty, faith, and honesty.
According to Machiavelli, lying is okay if it accomplishes a political end.
Could Jesus Christ have been motivated by this Machiavellian principle?
In fact, the Jewish opponents of Jesus were constantly trying to expose him as a fraud and liar.
They would barrage him with questions in attempts to trip him up and make him contradict himself.
Yet Jesus responded with remarkable consistency.
The question we must deal with is, what could possibly motivate Jesus to live his entire life as a lie?
He taught that God was opposed to lying and hypocrisy, so he wouldn’t have been doing it to please his Father.
He certainly didn’t lie for his followers’ benefit. (All but one was martyred.)
And so we are left with only two other reasonable explanations, each of which is problematic.
Many people have lied for personal gain.
In fact, the motivation of most lies is some perceived benefit to oneself.
What could Jesus have hoped to gain from lying about his identity?
Power would be the most obvious answer.
If people believed he was God, he would have tremendous power.
(That is why many ancient leaders, such as the Caesars, claimed divine origin.)
May the Lord help you conquer every emotion, in your life, that keeps you from reaching your divine potential.
For in His grace, He will give you the desires of your heart… if you will submit yourself, heart, soul, mind and body, unto Him.
Be blessed with the knowledge that nothing is impossible for you as long as Jesus is guiding you as the Lord of your life, in Jesus' name.