Jesus can be seen as paranoid. He believes he is God and that the world is out to get him. Centuries may pass before it is possible to assess the full extent of the disaster. If Jesus was not the Messiah, then he was a lunatic who thought he was. It is difficult to see how there can be any middle ground.
In his own way, Paul would have perhaps understood either view, Paul as the only one who ever dared speak of the foolishness of God, of the crucifixion itself as folly, of the folly of his own preaching. If the world is sane, then Jesus is the mad hatter and the last supper is the Mad Tea Party. The world says, Mind your own business, and Jesus says, There is no such thing as your own business. The world says, Follow the wisest course and be a success, and Jesus says Follow me and be crucified. The world says Drive carefully- the life you save may be your own- and Jesus says, Whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. The world says Law and order, and Jesus says, Love. The world says, get and Jesus says, give. In terms of the world's sanity, Jesus is crazy as a coot, and anybody who thinks he can follow him without being a little crazy too is laboring less under a cross than under a delusion.
-Frederick Buechner
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