Of all men in history, none has had a more profound effect on humanity than Jesus Christ. Yet he never wrote a book, nor travelled more than 120 miles from his home town. He never owned property, and when he died his executioners gambled for the only possession he had - the clothes on his back. His teaching was so revolutionary that the religious leaders of his day plotted how they might kill him throughout the three and a half years of his active ministry. Jesus, while he was alive, foretold the manner of his death, and stated that he would return to life after he had been killed. Both these events proved true. His teaching was so radical that it could not be accommodated by the Jewish religion - one of his sayings was: “No-one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins.” (Mark 2:22) No one has ever made the sort of claims Jesus did. He not only performed healings and miracles that astounded the people of His day - even his enemies had to admit “no-one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him. What are we to do? For this man performs many signs (God-authenticated events)” . They could not explain the source of Jesus’ power unless they discounted a divine source. Jesus claimed authority over his own life, death and resurrection: “’The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No-one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.’ At these words the Jews were again divided. Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?” But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” Though opposed to him, they realised that writing Jesus off as a madman was not possible. Nor was He simply a good man. Jesus angered the Jewish priests of his day by repeatedly claiming he was God - a claim they clearly understood him to be making as witness to their reaction when he did. On one occasion they were intending to stone him to death and gave as their reason: “We are not stoning you for any of these (your miracles),” replied the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” (John 10:33)