Touching Lives With Dr. James Merritt

When “Jesus Christ Superstar” debuted on Broadway in 1971, it became one of the most successful musicals on Broadway, grossing over $240 million since its inception. But Mary Magdalene sings this interesting line: “He’s a man, He’s just a man.” That’s exactly what most Americans believe. A 2020 study found that 52% of U.S. adults say Jesus was just a great teacher and nothing more. But if Jesus was just a man, significant dominoes start to fall. First, Jesus would be a liar, and there would be no New Testament. No Christian faith or early church would exist, and 2.5 billion believers worldwide would be greatly fooled. British pastor John Blanchard said it well, “The deity of Jesus glues the whole of scripture together. Take it away, and the Bible falls apart into meaningless pieces.”2 When Thomas saw the resurrected Jesus, he declared, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28, NIV). What was he seeing? Based on eyewitness accounts of men who lived with, walked with, and followed Jesus, you can be sure that Jesus was