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People have doubted Jesus for a long, long time, ever since he walked the sands and hills of Palestine 2,000 years ago.

People who met him then didn't know what to make of him. Some believed he was God in the flesh. Others thought he was the devil himself.

Now, 2,000 years later, people still don't know what to make of Jesus. Is he really who he said he was, the Messiah, the Son of God, the Savior of the World? Or was he just a smooth-talking philosopher, a great teacher with a radical view? Or was he simply insane, a man whose revolutionary ideas were merely demented delusions?

What do we make of this guy Jesus?

And what's so different about him, anyway?

Jesus was nothing more than just a great teacher. But God? No way. Yes, Jesus was a great teacher. But he was much more. He claimed to be the Son of God, to have the power to forgive sins, heal diseases and raise people—including himself—from the dead.

Anyone who makes such claims can only be one of three things: A liar, a kook, or truly the Son of God.

Christians believe Jesus was telling the truth for this reason: He said he would come back to life three days after he died. And he was true to his word.

Jesus walked out of the tomb. Only God could pull off something like that.

Jesus didn't really come back from the dead. That's just a fairy tale. It is hard to believe. But there's just too much evidence to dismiss the resurrection as a hoax. If Jesus wasn't resurrected, why didn't anyone find his body?

Some say his body was stolen. But by whom? It couldn't have been his disciples; there's no way a handful of unarmed men could've stolen a body from a tomb guarded by well-armed Roman soldiers. And it couldn't have been stolen by the religious leaders, those who opposed Jesus. If they had stolen the body, once Jesus' followers started claiming he was alive, the leaders would've said, "Nope. Here's the body. So there." But that didn't happen.

Instead, Jesus appeared to more than 500 people after his resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:6), and their reaction is probably the best evidence of all. They hit the streets with the news: "Jesus is alive!" They shouted the message loud and clear, even though they faced rejection, punishment and even death as a result.

Why were they so bold, even in the face of death? Because they knew that what they said was true: Jesus had come back to life.

Jesus never really did any miracles. That's all made up. Assuming he pulled off the ultimate miracle—coming back to life—it's pretty easy to believe Jesus could do "routine" miracles, like giving sight to the blind, healing the sick, and making the lame walk.

But here's another reason to believe the miracles actually occurred: Thousands and thousands of people followed him around—and it wasn't just to hear his sermons. Jesus also said a lot of controversial things, like this: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and his sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26). And this: "If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away" (Matthew 5:29). Certainly, not everyone was following Jesus around just to get the warm fuzzies inside.

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