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What If Jesus Is Right?: Examining Jesus' Claims About Himself in a World Full of Falsehoods
“Here’s your chance to meet the real Jesus, not the caricature of him that culture likes to offer.” - Lee Strobel
Should we pay attention to what Jesus actually said?
How is it that two thousand years ago, a young man from an obscure part of ancient Israel, who was an outsider to the religious establishment, and who was killed as both a political dissident and a religious imposter, founded the most influential movement of all time? Today, more than two billion people claim to be Christian, making the Christian faith the largest religion in the world. The influence of Jesus is immense and widespread in Western civilization, not only through Christian churches globally, but in Western culture and history.
Jesus is such an influential figure that even today groups fight over whether Jesus is on their side. An excellent apologetics resource or book for anyone curious about Christianity, What If Jesus Is Right? explores the claims people make about Jesus and compares those ideas to what Jesus actually said about himself. The book presents four of the most popular false claims about Jesus and what the Bible says about him.
In What If Jesus Is Right?, you
explore the most common false claims about Jesusstudy why Jesus is divine and not a mere moral teacherlearn why what Jesus said does not align with radical inclusivitydiscover why you can trust Jesusstudy the actual words of Jesus and what they mean for your life
Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do you say I am?” It is a key question for every person.
What does Jesus say about himself? Do you take him at his word? This book is your invitation to discover the truth and explore in depth the Jesus of the Bible.
Should we pay attention to what Jesus actually said?
How is it that two thousand years ago, a young man from an obscure part of ancient Israel, who was an outsider to the religious establishment, and who was killed as both a political dissident and a religious imposter, founded the most influential movement of all time? Today, more than two billion people claim to be Christian, making the Christian faith the largest religion in the world. The influence of Jesus is immense and widespread in Western civilization, not only through Christian churches globally, but in Western culture and history.
Jesus is such an influential figure that even today groups fight over whether Jesus is on their side. An excellent apologetics resource or book for anyone curious about Christianity, What If Jesus Is Right? explores the claims people make about Jesus and compares those ideas to what Jesus actually said about himself. The book presents four of the most popular false claims about Jesus and what the Bible says about him.
In What If Jesus Is Right?, you
explore the most common false claims about Jesusstudy why Jesus is divine and not a mere moral teacherlearn why what Jesus said does not align with radical inclusivitydiscover why you can trust Jesusstudy the actual words of Jesus and what they mean for your life
Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do you say I am?” It is a key question for every person.
What does Jesus say about himself? Do you take him at his word? This book is your invitation to discover the truth and explore in depth the Jesus of the Bible.
240 pages, Paperback
Published August 18, 2026
About the author
Douglas Groothuis
59 books95 followersDouglas Groothuis (PhD, University of Oregon) is professor of philosophy at Denver Seminary in Denver, Colorado, where he heads the Apologetics and Ethics masters degree program. His articles have been published in professional journals such as Religious Studies, Philosophia Christi, Themelios, Christian Scholar's Review, Inquiry, and Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society. He has written numerous books, including Christian Apologetics and, most recently Philosophy in Seven Sentences.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 2, 2026
If you’re curious about Jesus, who He is or what He said, this is an excellent book with which to start your journey. This book answers many common questions, debunks incorrect claims, and clarifies what Jesus said about Himself and what it means for us.
This book is easy to read with a clear and direct writing style that is engaging and informative without being overly academic. It hits the right note between conversational and practical.
I appreciate that this book covers so many different issues about Jesus so is really a one-stop shop to address the important questions we all need answered about Jesus.
Great gift for open-minded skeptics too.
This book is easy to read with a clear and direct writing style that is engaging and informative without being overly academic. It hits the right note between conversational and practical.
I appreciate that this book covers so many different issues about Jesus so is really a one-stop shop to address the important questions we all need answered about Jesus.
Great gift for open-minded skeptics too.
September 25, 2026
Summary Beyond the influence of Jesus, looks at what he actually said and what it would mean for us if it is true.
The recent interest in The Chosen series shows that, no matter what people think about Christianity or the church, they are fascinated by Jesus. Veteran apologist Douglas Groothuis, joined by one of his former students, Lindsey Medenwalt, would agree and contend that he is worth listening to today. Not only that, they argue in this book that what Jesus says is true and can be trusted.
But before they make their case, they engage in some ground-clearing. They maintain that along with true presentations of Jesus there are “fake Jesuses” and those who make false claims about him. First, some will say he is only a great teacher. Yet, if what Jesus says about himself is false, either he is a liar (and not good) or a lunatic (self-deceived). Neither is good. Only if he is Lord is he also truly a good teacher.
Second, they challenge the idea that he was radically inclusive. Yes, he ate with sinners, but called them out of their sin to live transformed lives. While the writers affirm LGBTQ+ persons, they do not affirm same sex intimacy, on biblical grounds. Finally, they take on the health and prosperity Jesus. They show that trusting Jesus offers no guarantees of either but the presence of Christ even in life’s hardest moments (a testimony to which Groothuis offers in an epilogue about the untimely death of his first wife, Becky).
The second part of the book turns to the positive claims of Jesus. But first they urge the reader to examine the biblical accounts of Jesus for themselves. They offer helps for reading and believe that this is the best way to determine that Jesus is trustworthy. Then they consider four sets of Jesus’ claims. First, there are the “I am” statements, language identifying Jesus with the “I am” God. Second, there is the claim that in him, God’s kingdom is at hand. The Sermon on the Mount, with its high standards, outlines life in that kingdom. Third, Jesus claims the authority to forgive sins. Not only is this audacious, but Jesus asserts that through him, life may begin anew for those who trust him. Lastly, Jesus to know the future, including predicting the fall of Jerusalem.
Groothuis and Medenwalt conclude their case by discussing the evidence for the resurrection, and hence life in his name. They also consider the evidence not only for the deity of Christ but that he, himself, taught this. All this leads up to asking the reader personally to decide, “is Jesus right?” They address points of possible resistance and how one may respond when they are ready to follow Jesus.
The book can be helpful not only for Christians who want to articulate the case for Christ but also for those seriously seeking. Each chapter offers questions for reflection as well as additional resources. Perhaps the best thing would be to read and discuss the book together with a seeking friend. Because the book challenges what the authors call “fake Jesuses” some may put it down. However, this is consistent with the idea that we must meet Jesus on his terms, for who he is, and not who we’d want him to be. That’s what it means for Jesus to be “right.”
_____________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.
The recent interest in The Chosen series shows that, no matter what people think about Christianity or the church, they are fascinated by Jesus. Veteran apologist Douglas Groothuis, joined by one of his former students, Lindsey Medenwalt, would agree and contend that he is worth listening to today. Not only that, they argue in this book that what Jesus says is true and can be trusted.
But before they make their case, they engage in some ground-clearing. They maintain that along with true presentations of Jesus there are “fake Jesuses” and those who make false claims about him. First, some will say he is only a great teacher. Yet, if what Jesus says about himself is false, either he is a liar (and not good) or a lunatic (self-deceived). Neither is good. Only if he is Lord is he also truly a good teacher.
Second, they challenge the idea that he was radically inclusive. Yes, he ate with sinners, but called them out of their sin to live transformed lives. While the writers affirm LGBTQ+ persons, they do not affirm same sex intimacy, on biblical grounds. Finally, they take on the health and prosperity Jesus. They show that trusting Jesus offers no guarantees of either but the presence of Christ even in life’s hardest moments (a testimony to which Groothuis offers in an epilogue about the untimely death of his first wife, Becky).
The second part of the book turns to the positive claims of Jesus. But first they urge the reader to examine the biblical accounts of Jesus for themselves. They offer helps for reading and believe that this is the best way to determine that Jesus is trustworthy. Then they consider four sets of Jesus’ claims. First, there are the “I am” statements, language identifying Jesus with the “I am” God. Second, there is the claim that in him, God’s kingdom is at hand. The Sermon on the Mount, with its high standards, outlines life in that kingdom. Third, Jesus claims the authority to forgive sins. Not only is this audacious, but Jesus asserts that through him, life may begin anew for those who trust him. Lastly, Jesus to know the future, including predicting the fall of Jerusalem.
Groothuis and Medenwalt conclude their case by discussing the evidence for the resurrection, and hence life in his name. They also consider the evidence not only for the deity of Christ but that he, himself, taught this. All this leads up to asking the reader personally to decide, “is Jesus right?” They address points of possible resistance and how one may respond when they are ready to follow Jesus.
The book can be helpful not only for Christians who want to articulate the case for Christ but also for those seriously seeking. Each chapter offers questions for reflection as well as additional resources. Perhaps the best thing would be to read and discuss the book together with a seeking friend. Because the book challenges what the authors call “fake Jesuses” some may put it down. However, this is consistent with the idea that we must meet Jesus on his terms, for who he is, and not who we’d want him to be. That’s what it means for Jesus to be “right.”
_____________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Routine Conservative Christian Apologetics. Two things up front: the single star deduction is for prootexting, which is far too common in books such as this and is an automatic star deduction for me every time I see it in a text. Second, I honestly fail to see why this particular book exists, as it offers nothing particularly new - not even a real discussion of more current social issues and an Apologetics-based response to them. Indeed, in quoting the legends of this field - C.S. Lewis and Lee Strobel - and especially in basing such a decent chunk of the text around Lewis' "Liar, Lunatic, or LORD" argument... there isn't really anything novel at all about this book. It is good enough for what it is, and for those unaware of Christian Apologetics as a field it is a pretty decent summary of a high level view of its arguments, but there's no real "meat" here, and certainly nothing worthy of deep contemplation the way Lewis and Strobel achieved. Hell, I largely left Christian circles 20 ish yrs ago as my faith in Christ deepened while my faith in people faltered, and the arguments presented in this text are remarkably similar to ones that were even then at least a few years old.
So don't get me wrong here, this book is in fact solid for what it is, and again, for those unfamiliar with the topic, it does indeed serve as a decent overview and introduction. Clocking in at 12% bibliography as judged by the Acknowledgements section after yet with documentation at the end of each chapter as well that seemingly bumps the actual total documentation to around the 15% or so I consider the bare minimum for a nonfiction text, there is nothing overly *wrong* here other than the prooftexting. I was just expecting *some* kind of new slant or potentially *some* level of new argumentation, and this book fell rather flat on those accounts.
Recommended, particularly for those who have never considered Christian Apologetics.
So don't get me wrong here, this book is in fact solid for what it is, and again, for those unfamiliar with the topic, it does indeed serve as a decent overview and introduction. Clocking in at 12% bibliography as judged by the Acknowledgements section after yet with documentation at the end of each chapter as well that seemingly bumps the actual total documentation to around the 15% or so I consider the bare minimum for a nonfiction text, there is nothing overly *wrong* here other than the prooftexting. I was just expecting *some* kind of new slant or potentially *some* level of new argumentation, and this book fell rather flat on those accounts.
Recommended, particularly for those who have never considered Christian Apologetics.
October 6, 2026
Absolutely fantastic. I’ve been raised in church, a believer for most of my life and now am on staff at a church personally. I have felt the pull to dive into apologetics to gain a deeper understanding of why I believe what I believe. I know these things to be true for myself, but can I really give a reason for the hope within me? After reading this book, I am encouraged and more on my way of saying “yes” than before. This is very readable, easy to understand and follow. I appreciate both authors words and will spend time looking into the books they recommend and reference as well.
August 23, 2026
A well written overview that gives us all something to talk about. It feels like it is written with the understanding that it is opening the conversation. While I don't, and not everyone will, agree with everything included I understand the perspective. A good read.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews