Jesus replied, "If
you knew me, you would know my Father also." –John 8: 19
Jesus Christ is one of
the most relevant names in history. This rabbi (teacher) from Israel is known,
believed and worshipped by at least one third of the World’s population. How
did Jesus become so famous? How did this ordinary carpenter from Israel become
world famous? How could this prophet who worked only for three and a half years
influence the world for more than 2000 years? All religions and even cults have
something to say, reveal or proclaim about his life, teachings and work on
earth. Christianity and Islam have their
own views about this holy man. The Quran claims that Jesus Christ was a Prophet
of God whereas the Bible claims that He is more than a Prophet. The question
is, is Jesus only a prophet or is He someone greater than that? This article is
an attempt to answer this question and to draw your attention to the
personality, work and purpose of Jesus’ life on earth. Let us begin our
analysis with the two major claims of the Quran about the birth and the
personality of Jesus.
Virgin Birth of Jesus:
The Quran accepts that Jesus (Isa’ in Qur’an) was born of the Virgin Mary,
without a father. ‘Isa is called as the son of Mary 23 times in the Qur’an. It
even tries to justify Mary and confirm that she did not give birth to the child
out of wedlock. (Sura Al ‘Imran 3:45-47;
Sura Al Maryam 19: 16-23)
Sinless Life of Jesus:
When announcing the birth of Christ in the Quran, Jibril, who is acknowledged
to be a spirit of Allah and the messenger of his revelations, promised Mary
that he would grant her a pure and flawless boy. (Sura Maryam 19:19) Some commentators of Quran
openly write that ‘Isa was born without sin and was holy, because he was born
of the spirit of Allah. According to the Quran, if Christ had been a sinner, he
would have died and would have had to wait in his grave for the hour of Allah’s
judgment, but Christ, according to the Qur’an, was lifted up to Allah. He lives
with him. He is one of those brought near to Allah.
Jesus talks with him in
a personal dialogue (Sura al-Ma’ida 5: 116-118). No sin separates him from the
holy one. The Qur’an speaks of Abraham’s, Moses’ and Muhammad’s sins (Sura
Ghafir 40: 55; Muhammad 47:19; al-Fath 48: 2; al-Nasr 110: 3), but concerning
Christ there is no hint, not even in Tradition, that he might have sinned,
erred or become weakened.
Now we have two
questions before us, “Why was Jesus born of a virgin?” and “Why did he lead a
sinless life?” If Christ wanted to serve God as a Prophet alone He could have
done that without a virgin birth or a sinless life like the other prophets like
Abraham, Moses and Muhammad. We all know and believe that God does not do
anything without a purpose. What purpose did God fulfill through the virgin
birth and sinless life of Jesus? The Holy Bible unveils the mystery behind this.
God is Just; all human beings are sinners. God, in his justice must punish all
human beings for their sins. The punishment of sin is eternal death in hell.
God loves us and wants to save us from hell. At the same time, God hates sin
and therefore must punish sin. In order to save the sinners and to punish their
sins God sent Jesus (the meaning of the name Jesus is ‘Savior’) on earth. Jesus
took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. God laid on him
the guilt and sins of all human beings. Jesus did not sin yet he accepted the
death of a sinner on a cross. God punished the sins of all human beings in the
body of Jesus. He became a sacrifice for us.
Once a Muslim asked a
missionary, "If you saw a group of thugs attacking your son and could see
they were going to kill him, would you not go to his rescue? Do you not love
your son? Then how can you say that the Loving God let His only son die on a
cross?" The Missionary replied, "What if you saw me walking down the
road with a knife in my own hand and my son in the other, intending to kill him
myself. Would that not be far worse?" The Muslim friend agreed.
He continued,
"Then how can you believe that Abraham was such a great prophet and father
when that is precisely what he did. He prepared one day to kill his own son
according to the Qur’an (Surah 37.102-103).” “God told Moses ‘You shall not
kill’ - How can you proclaim that Abraham is worthy of honor when he resolved
to do this to his very own son?" The Muslim friend emphatically replied:
"You do not understand. That was different! It was a test of his love for
God. If a man will give his son for God, he’ll give anything for him!"
"Exactly", the missionary replied, "and that is precisely what
we are saying about God. He did not stand by watching, he willingly gave his
Son for us to save us from our sins. It was the greatest proof of His love for
us.”
Jesus was oppressed and
afflicted yet He did not open his mouth; He was led like a lamb to the
slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers ever so silent, so He did not
open His mouth. He did not rebel or curse but became obedient to death – even
death on a cross. He was wounded and crushed for our sins; the punishment that
brought us peace with God was upon him. Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our
sins by His substitutionary death on a cross. His blood is the price that God
paid for our sins, once and for all. If Jesus was born normally, like every one
of us, He would have been a sinner himself. A sinner cannot take the bail for
the sins of others. A sinner cannot become a sacrifice. This explains the
mystery behind the virgin birth and sinless life of Jesus.
In the Torah, God
revealed through Prophet Moses the idea behind the sin offerings for the
forgiveness of sins. “If the citizens of Israel do something forbidden by the
Lord, they will be guilty of sin. When they become aware of their sin, they
must bring as their offering a goat with no physical defects. They are to lay a
hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it. The priest will then
offer the sacrifice to the Lord. In this way, the priest will make atonement
for them and they will be forgiven.” (Leviticus 4: 27-31)
In the Gospel according
to St. John, John the Baptist, the last prophet of the Old Testament said to
his disciples, “Look! There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the
world! (John 1: 29) He said this about
Jesus Christ. Jesus became the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of mankind.
For a sacrifice to be acceptable to God the lamb to be offered should be free
from all defects. Jesus, being born of a virgin and having lived a sinless
life, was free from all spiritual defects. He was the best person suited for
such a sacrifice. Therefore, we can conclude that Jesus was born of a virgin
and He lived a sinless life so that God could fulfill the criteria of the
sacrificial lamb in Him. He is not just a prophet. He is the Savior of the
World!
In the Qur’an, God
commanded Abraham not to sacrifice his own son. There Allah says to him “And we
have redeemed him with a great (slaughtered) sacrifice.” (Sura al-Saffat 37:
107) This revelation admits the possibility of a divine reconciliation through
a slain offering. The complete redemption of Abraham’s son was not accomplished
by his faith or his good works, but by a sacrifice. Thus the Qur’an indirectly
admits that a sacrifice is sufficient for redemption. Jesus Christ is the true
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! He came into this world to
save sinners. As Jesus has paid the penalty for our sins we do not need to
suffer in hell. Now, through Jesus our sins can be forgiven, we can be
reconciled with God and inherit a place in heaven. We can be saved from eternal
death in hell.
Let us channel our
focus towards this question “How could this Jesus live a sinless life?” We all
know that God alone is Holy and Perfect. Then, how could this man Jesus claim
perfection? The Holy Bible unveils the mystery behind this as well. In John’s
Gospel Jesus is quoted as saying to the Jews, “Can any of you prove me guilty of
sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me?” [John 8: 46] In
verse 54 he adds “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom
you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me.” According to the Bible
Jesus claimed a sinless life because he was the son of God!
The Qur’an however
rejects the idea of a biological fathering of Christ by Allah in Mary. All
churches rightly reject this idea too without hesitation! A Christian sect in
the Arabian peninsula had called Mary “the mother of God” and considered the
Triune God to be composed of “Father, mother and son” (Sura al-Ma’ida 5: 116).
This rumor was justly rejected by Qur’an. The Bible does not speak of a
biological fathering of Christ by God in Mary. St. Luke explains the conception
of Jesus in Mary like this, “God sent angel Gabriel to Nazareth a village in
Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named
Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “God has
decided to bless you! You will become pregnant and have a son and you are to
name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most
High.” (Luke 2: 26- 31) Mary asked the angel, “How can I have a baby? I am a
virgin.” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power
of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby born to you will be holy, and
he will be called the son of God.” (Luke 2: 34, 35) Jesus being conceived by
the Holy Spirit is the “spiritual” son of God.
The Qur’an states 16
times that Allah has no son. This is true as long as it means that he has no
son sexually. The conception of ‘Isa in Mary was a spiritual act and not a
sexual one; therefore, He was born holy and pure. Further, in Sura al-Nisa 4:
171 we read “…’Isa, the son of Mary, is a messenger of Allah, and His Word that
He put into Mary, and a Spirit from Him…” The Qur’an calls the son of Mary
“Spirit from Allah”. This term testifies that Christ is not an ordinary man,
born of a father and a mother, but He is the incarnation of the Spirit from
Allah. The Almighty put his Word and His Spirit into the Virgin Mary. Jesus is
more than a prophet- he is the incarnation of God’s word! He is the spiritual
son of God!
Jesus claimed to be the
son of God. Apostle John, in his gospel says, “For this reason the Jews tried
all the harder to kill him, not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was
even calling God his own father, making himself equal with God.” (John 5: 18)
In the decisive hour of His life Jesus affirmed before the Sanhedrin that He
was Christ, the son of the living God. (Matthew 26: 63-68, Luke 22: 70) For
this confession He was sentenced to death. He did not rebel or curse but became
obedient to death – even death on a cross because his death had a purpose.
God is Holy and
Perfect, all human beings are sinful and imperfect. Although God loves us and
wants us to be one with him, he cannot associate with us directly because of
our sin. In order to unite with us, God sent Jesus, His Son, to earth. Jesus
took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. God laid on Him
the guilt and sins of all human beings. Jesus did not sin yet he accepted the
death of a sinner on a cross. God punished the sins of all human beings in the
body of Jesus. He became a sacrifice for us. Jesus Christ paid the penalty for
our sins by His substitutionary death on a cross. His blood is the price that
God paid for our sins, once and for all. As Jesus has paid the penalty for our
sins we do not need to be separated from God anymore. Now, through Jesus our
sins can be forgiven and we can be reconciled with God.
Written By: Dr. Manoj
Kumar Khatore,
Copyright © 2012 Dr.
Manoj Kumar Khatore
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