“No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded” (John 10:18 NLT)

Some thought Jesus “demon possessed and out of his mind” when they heard him speak of his coming death and resurrection. Certainly, they are closer to the truth than those who would make Jesus merely a good man or a good teacher. A mere man doesn’t speak of having the “authority,” the power to control his life, so that no one can take it from him unless he gives it willingly. And further, that having given it, he could “take it up again.” No, in this his critics rightly understood his claim. For if Jesus doesn’t actually fulfill his outrageous claim to die sacrificially and rise again, then he is either a devilish liar or a raving lunatic. Yet, Jesus did fulfill his promise to die for us and rise again. And so, he spoke the truth and showed himself more than mere man. He is neither liar or lunatic. He is the Lord.