“Jesus spake, Lo, I am the slave of Allah. He hath given me the Scripture and hath appointed me a prophet and hath made me blessed wheresoever I may be and hath enjoined upon me prayer and almsgiving so long as I remain alive. Peace on me the day I was born and the day I die and the day I shall be raised alive” (The Qur’an, 19:30-33)
The Holy Injil tells us that Abraham anticipated the day of Jesus, in that he looked forward to it. He well understood that no animal blood could redeem his son from death, for only a “tremendous Victim” could do that. How did Abraham look forward to the coming of Jesus?
The enemies of Jesus (Issa) were unfair and false when they accused him of trying to make himself God. He never claimed to do such a thing. Man cannot make himself to be God! What Jesus did claim was that God had condescended to reveal himself in a man. The movement was not from earth up to heaven, but from heaven down to earth. We cannot find fault with Allah’s loving revelation of himself, proceeding from heaven to earth. Would not finding fault be blasphemy?
Jesus asked a question of the Jews: “‘What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?’” He asks us the same question. Was he a liar or did he tell the truth? This is a supremely important question, for we cannot get the problems of life straightened out until we answer it correctly.
Jesus will return again, and we shall all see him. Our standing then will depend on the answer we give to this honest question now.
The honoured Qur’an teaches us to expect the second coming of Jesus in power and glory (see chapter 13 of this book). Why will Allah send him again? Would it not seem more reasonable and appropriate for him to send the prophet of Islam a second time? No, we find that it will be Jesus who will be sent the second time. What is the reason for this very special honour to be shown to Jesus?
Consider the many unique aspects of his nature, his character, and his life:
1. Jesus’ birth was different to that of any other human being. He had no earthly father. We read in the honoured Qur’an that Jesus was born of a virgin: “O, Mary! Lo, Allah gives you glad tidings of a Word from Him, whose name is the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary.” Mary replied: “How shall I have a son, since a man hath not touched me?” The angel said, “So God createth that which He pleaseth: when He decreeth a thing, He only saith unto it, Be, and it is.” (The Qur’an, 3:44-46)
Jesus was born by the power of God, as the prophet Isaiah had said 700 years before: “The Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14) The Hebrew word does not necessarily mean “virgin,” but the apostle Matthew quoted it as “virgin.” The scholars who translated Isaiah into Greek more than a century before Christ used parthenos, the word for “virgin.” In the Qur’an, Jesus is referred to as Issa ibn Maryam, Jesus the son of Mary. Abdullah al-Baidawi, the classical commentator on the Qur’an, recognizes the Semitic practice of calling a man as the son of his mother only when his father is unknown. He also recognizes that in Islam Jesus is regarded as the Son of the Virgin Mary, who was begotten by the creative Word of God.
The word “Immanuel” means “Allah with us.” The Injil tells us how Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled:
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. … An angel of the Lord appeared to him [Joseph] in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” — which means, “God with us.”
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. (Matthew 1:18-25)
We are all “children born … of natural descent, … of … a husband’s will.” (John 1:13) Jesus, however, was different. He is called al Manzul — he who descended. How can this be?
The first words of the Holy Bible say: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, … and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” (Genesis 1:1-3) Three names of one God are disclosed here: (a) Allah; (b) the Spirit of Allah; and (c) the Word of Allah. The Injil says, of Jesus:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. …
The Word became flesh and lived for a while among us. (John 1:1-14)
The honoured Qur’an reports the words of the angel to Mary: “Mary, God gives you good tidings of a word from him whose name is Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary; high honoured shall he be in this world and the next, near stationed to God. … Righteous he shall be.” (This name, “A word from him,” Kalimat Allah, is a clear description of Jesus.) We read further in the surah “Mary”: “that is Jesus, son of Mary, the word of truth concerning which they are in doubt.” (The Qur’an, 3:44,45; 19:34)
A man’s word expresses what he is and we can never know what a man is until he speaks that word. For if the word remains hidden in his mind, the man also remains hidden, even if we look at his outward appearance. If the man is open, loving, and honest, he will speak his word so that we can truly know him. The “word” is the disclosure, the unveiling, the revelation, of a person’s character.
Allah is open, loving and honest. He is not hiding himself to deceive us, therefore he sent Jesus in this unique position of being his Word — to reveal himself to us, in language we could understand. That language was “Immanuel, “ “God with us.”
Allah and the Spirit of Allah in the creation are one; in the same way Allah and the Word of Allah are one. There is but one true God. The Scriptures do not teach the blasphemy of “three gods.”
2. The character of Jesus was a perfect demonstration of the active love of Allah. No other man has ever equaled his character, because no other man was declared by Allah to be his Word. He could say to his enemies: “Which of you can silence me by pointing out one sin that I have done?” (John 8.46) All other human beings have needed forgiveness: David asked for it; Abraham asked for it; but Jesus neither asked for nor needed forgiveness.
His close companion, John the apostle, said: “In him is no sin,” while his friend, Peter the apostle, said:
“‘He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.’” (1 John 3:5; 1 Peter 2:22)
The book of Hebrews adds that he was “tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15) What a witness — from those who knew him best!
3. The words of Jesus were different from those of any prophet. He had the gift of speaking in parables and telling stories that gripped the attention of his listeners, even his enemies. These parables are like a spring of water that is so crystal clear that you can see right to the bottom, and yet it is very deep. He told of a shepherd who went in search of one lost sheep, leaving the other 99 safe in the fold; he told of the lost boy who left home and spent all his inheritance on riotous living, yet was welcomed back by his loving father; he told of the woman who searched for her one lost silver coin. Each parable grips our human hearts as no other stories ever could.
Once his enemies, the chief priests, sent soldiers to arrest him and bring him in for trial and condemnation. The soldiers came to where he was speaking to the people. They listened, perhaps for hours. Finally they returned to the priests without him.
“‘Why didn’t you bring him in?’”
“‘No one ever spoke the way this man does,’ the guards declared.” (John 7:32-46)
Jesus was not content to tell people what to do. He said, “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” He said, “I am the light of the world.” (John 13:15; 8:12)
A wise old man once explained the relationship of Jesus to all prophets this way: he is like the sun, while they are like the moon which merely shines with reflected light. Moonlight is a wonderful thing and we are grateful for it in the darkness of night; but when the sun rises no one cares any longer for the moon. The prophet Malachi calls Jesus “the Sun of righteousness.” (Malachi 4:2) He never wanes as the moon does, and he shines on every human heart around the world as does the sun. Even the poorest man can have sunshine!
I was once a visitor in the city of Zurich, Switzerland, looking for a camping place. I asked a Swiss gentleman if he would kindly tell me how to find it. “No,” he replied, “it will be better if I take you there.” So he graciously took me all the way across that great city up and down hills, around drives and circles where I would have become hopelessly lost, until we arrived at the camping place. Jesus is not like a road-map telling us where to go; he says, “I am the way.” (John 14:6)
4. The names and titles of Jesus are unique. He is called our Advocate, the Angel, the Archangel, the Branch, the Bridegroom, the Daystar, the Door, Immanuel, the Faithful and True, the Holy One, the I AM, the Just One, the King of kings, the Lamb of God, the Light of the world, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Man Child, the Messenger of the Covenant, Michael (“Who is like God?”), the Prince of life, the Prince of Peace, the Rock, the Servant, the Saviour, the Good Shepherd, the Son of David, the Water of life, and many other names as well.
Allah said of him, “this is my beloved Son: hear him.” (Luke 9.35) What did he mean when he said that? By saying this he meant that Jesus is unique among all others, as a son is different from anyone else in the world. He did not teach polytheism, or that God had sexual relations with a woman to produce offspring. The Bible nowhere teaches such a thing. A son is the “image” or likeness of his father. Jesus said to his disciples, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” (John 14:9) This illustrates the relationship. Allah spoke through Jesus:
“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being.” (Hebrews 1:3)
Thus Jesus supersedes the prophets. They are known by their distinct titles; as Abraham the “friend of God” (Khalil Allah), or Moses the “spokesman with God” (Kalim Allah), but in the honoured Qur’an Jesus is called the “Spirit of God” (Ruh Allah).
5. His power is unique. The things he did are the same as what God does. Who can raise the dead, except God? Jesus raised the dead son of the widow of Nain, and Lazarus (a man who had been dead four days). (Luke 7.11-16; John 11:1-44) Who can cleanse lepers, except God? Jesus cleansed them. (Luke 5:12, 13) He also opened the eyes of the blind. (John 9:1-7) No one was ever sent away from Jesus as incurable.
There is a difference between the way the ancient prophets healed the sick and the way that Jesus did it. They healed in the name of Allah; the Lord Jesus Christ healed them in his own name.
On one occasion, the Jews, opposing him as usual, said, “‘Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?’
“Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, ‘Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven,” or to say, “Get up, take your mat and walk?” But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,’ … He said to the paralytic, ‘I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.’ He got up, took his mat, and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this!’” (Mark 2:6-12)
When he resurrected Lazarus, he came to the door of the tomb and called out, “Lazarus, come forth”, and Lazarus awoke from death and came forth. On this occasion Jesus said, “I am the resurrection, and the life.” (John 11:43, 25) He is the only hope anyone has of a resurrection from the dead, for all who are now in their graves patiently await hearing his voice. Jesus says: “As the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself . … Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” (John 5:26-29) You and I will be among those who will face him.
As he had power to give life to the dead, so now he has power to give new life to all who will come to him. His business is transforming hearts and lives.
6. His victory over death is the only hope the world has. The prophets foretold his sufferings long before he was born in Bethlehem. Isaiah said of him 700 years earlier:
He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. … the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. …
By oppression and judgment, he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. …
The Lord makes his life a guilt offering. …
He poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many. (Isaiah 53:5-12)
Daniel, 500 years before, predicted that a power inspired by Satan would “take his stand against the Prince of princes”, and that “the Anointed One [the Christ] will be cut off.” (Daniel 8:25; 9:26) He adds that the “Prince of the covenant” would “be broken.” (Daniel 11:22)
Jesus Christ himself knew these Scriptures and told his disciples that he would suffer by “the elders and chief priests and scribes” at Jerusalem. (Matthew 16:21) Which of us knows where he will die, whether at home or in a foreign land? Who of us can predict when he will die? Or how: of old age, or sickness, or an accident, or in war? The Lord Jesus knew and gave all the details of his own death. (Luke 18:31-33)
In the truest sense of the word, however, no one actually killed him, for no one had the power to do that. If he had chosen not to die, he would have been just as free to escape from his tormentors, as Abraham’s healthy young son was free to flee from his aged father on Mt. Moriah, if he had chosen to do so. Jesus did not die as a martyr or as a genuine captive held against his will. He said: “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.” (John 10:17, 18)
Having never sinned, he was not compelled to die. At any moment he could have called for rescue from heaven, but he loves us, and suffered and submitted because he wanted to bear our guilt. Isaiah says of him: “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; … and by his wounds we are healed, … The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:5, 6)
Unlike any other man, he had power to take up his life again, and he did so on the third day. This was predicted by the holy prophets. David (Daud) said concerning him: “Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell [the grave]; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt show me the path of life.” (Psalm 16:10, 11) Allah showed him that “path of life” on his resurrection morning. The apostle Peter quoted these words of David and applied them to the resurrection of Jesus, because, he pointed out, they could not have been fulfilled concerning David, whose tomb was still with them. (Acts 2:25-29)
The Romans and the Jews did all they could to seal Jesus’ tomb so that he would never come forth again. They had no doubt that he was dead when his disciples buried him, for as the Roman soldier pierced his side with a spear, streams of water and blood flowed forth, proving that he died of a ruptured heart. (John 19:33-35) (Even this was predicted by the prophet Zechariah.) (Zechariah 12:10)
For 40 days, the resurrected Jesus remained with his astonished followers, and was seen by 500 of them. (1 Corinthians 15:3-7; Acts 1:1-3) They ate with him and talked with him.
After 40 days were ended and his followers had had opportunity to see him and examine him, including the wounds in his hands, feet, and side, he was taken up into heaven “before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.” Allah highly exalted him, “to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” (Acts 1:9-11; Philippians 2:9-11) Allah gave the highest place to the one who had poured out his soul unto death in order to ransom us as the “tremendous Victim.”
7. Jesus is now installed as our heavenly High Priest. As his cross fulfilled the symbolic antitype of the ram offered in place of Abraham’s son, so he fulfils by his heavenly work the antitypical role of the ancient High Priest. This “highest place” that Allah has given him is a place of continual service. Says the book of Hebrews: “We have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus … we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin.” (Hebrews 4:14, 15) “God said to him, … ‘You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.’” (Hebrews 5:5, 6)
What is the work of a High Priest? He does many things. He is a wise Counsellor. Isaiah says, “His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor.” (Isaiah 9:6) He is a Friend of sinners. (Matthew 11:19) He is the Physician who heals our diseases. (Psalm 103:3) He is a divine Psychiatrist who restores in us our “right mind.” (Mark 5:15) He is an Advocate when Iblis accuses us. (1 John 2:1) He is an Intercessor in the judgment, and an Intercessor even now when we are accused, for “he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest meets our need.” (Hebrews 7:24-26)
He is also a brother, a term of joy to all who know what it is to have a faithful loving brother in time of need. (Hebrews 2:11; Matthew 28:10)
All this is what the great High Priest can mean to you, if you will not resist his love. “He always lives,” and he is on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year. His work is that of preparing a people to be ready for his return.
8. His return is the hope of the world. He said, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14:2, 3) Two angels promised his sorrowing disciples the same: “Why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:9-11) The Revelation says: “Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.” (Revelation 1:7)
The Hadith of Al-Bukhari adds: “Says Muhammed, ‘In the name of God who preserves my soul, verily Jesus, the son of Mary, will come soon as the righteous judge.’” Says the Qur’an: “What do they look for but that God shall come to them in the shadows of the clouds with the angel [or, with angels, tr. by Maulana Muhammed Ali]? Then the case would be already judged. All cases are returned to God.” (The Qur’an, 2:210)
9. Lastly, the invitations and demands of Jesus are unique. Every one can know for himself the truth of his promise: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest . … You will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:29,30) He demands absolutely everything from us, and he has the right to demand this because he has already given everything in sacrifice for us:
If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. … For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. (Matthew 16:24-27)
Is Jesus a real historical character, or just a myth invented by some dreamy visionaries?
The Gospel records of his life are documents that abound in precise historical, geographical, linguistic, and cultural corroborations. Documentary fragments survive from within a few years of the death of one of Jesus’ apostles, providing very early confirmation of the Gospel accounts.
Truth is stranger than fiction. No one, past or present, could have invented a character, in whom there was such profound disclosure of the love of God. A love even willing to go to a cross to die! The love revealed in the records of the Gospels is unworldly, beyond man’s imagination. Its only source must be supernatural — Satanic, or heavenly. It is impossible that Satan could have invented such a pure, selfless love as we see in Jesus. Therefore its source can only be heavenly.
The Jewish priests, the Pharisees, and the doctors of their law, were foremost in rejecting Jesus as their Messiah. Yet the prophecies of the Old Testament Scriptures find precise fulfillment in him. (See Appendix A.) The prophetic searchlight of the ages focuses on Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah, typified in countless blood sacrifices for thousands of years, and foretold in the predictions of the prophets.
When subjected to the closest legal and historical scrutiny, the Gospel accounts of the resurrection of Jesus, and of the disciples’ behaviour, demonstrate that his death and resurrection were valid historical events. (See Appendix B.) It is impossible that eleven disciples of Jesus, plus hundreds of witnesses, could form a conspiracy to convince the world of a mythical resurrection, and not one under torture confess the conspiracy. The notorious Watergate conspiracy in the 1970’s concerned about ten men sworn to be loyal to a central figure. Yet the mere fear of embarrassment or jail impelled all of them to tell the truth in order to save themselves. If the resurrection of Jesus from the dead were not true, surely those eleven apostles would have broken down and confessed that the whole story was a fabrication. Nothing but the truth could have caused those apostles and Paul to maintain to their dying whispers, that Jesus indeed rose from the dead.
If we saw a huge tree flourishing in a desert waste, we would know that it was not only planted there, but that an underground stream of water continually nourishes its buried roots. The teachings of Jesus, accepted by millions of early believers, turned the Roman world upside down. Persecuted, proscribed, martyred, the early followers of Jesus bravely died for their faith