If thou wert in doubt as to what We have revealed unto thee, then ask those who have been
reading the Book from before thee.... (Surah,
10, Yunus, verse 94)
DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF
JESUS EXPLAINED TO MUSLIMS!
Rev. Andrew Abraham
*********************************************************
1. INTRODUCTION
2. PROPHECIES PREDICTED THE EVENTS
3. JESUS SPOKE ABOUT HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION
4. WITNESSES CONFIRM EVENTS SURROUNDING JESUS
5. HISTORIANS RECORDED LIFE AND DEATH OF JESUS
6. MUSLIM DISAPPROVAL EXAMINED
A. If Jesus is God how can he die, eat, sleep,
etc.?
B. If Jesus died how comes he was seen in his natural body?
C. Like Jonah, Jesus did not die.
D. Jesus' prayer for deliverance from the cross was answered.
E. Jesus did not die on the cross; he only swooned.
F. Jesus' legs were not broken. His blood did not clot.
G. God desires mercy not sacrifice.
H. Jesus can not die for someone else's sin.
7. WHY DID JESUS HAVE TO DIE AND RISE AGAIN?
8. CONCLUSION
*********************************************************
1. INTRODUCTION
The death and resurrection
of Jesus Christ is without doubt the most important teaching of
Christianity. It is not surprising then that this doctrine is also most
disputed among non-Christians. In the pages that follow we will examine the
evidence and look at common objections. The New Testament, known by Muslims as
the Injil, provides the main historical source for
information on our subject. 'The 'ancient document' principle under the Federal
Rules of Evidence in the USA permits the authentication of a document to be
made by showing that it is in such condition as to create no suspicion
concerning its authenticity; Dr. John Warwick Montgomery, a lawyer, and dean of
the Simon Greenleaf School of Law, comments about the application of the
'ancient document' rule to the New Testament documents: 'Applied to the Gospel
records, and reinforced by responsible lower (textual) criticism, this rule
would establish competency in any court of law.' ('The Resurrection - Proven
Beyond Doubt', J. McDowell, Scripture
2. PROPHECIES PREDICTED
THE EVENTS
The death and resurrection
of Jesus was foretold in the Old Testament, known as Torah to Muslims, hundreds
of years before they took place!
'But he was pierced
for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment
that brought us peace was upon him...For he was cut off from the land of the
living...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. Yet it
was the LORD'S will to crush him and cause him to suffer and though the LORD
makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his
days...After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life
and be satisfied...' (Isaiah 53:5,8-11, see also Psalm
22)
Some have asked, 'Jesus is
never mentioned by name in the Torah. Why do the Christians say he had been
foretold in it?'
While it is true that we do
not find the name "Jesus" literally in the Torah, it is equally true
that we find many prophecies in it that speak about someone to come in order to
die for our sins and to be raised to life again! (e.g.
Isaiah 53:5-11, Psalm 22, etc.) Since Jesus is the only one who has fulfilled those
prophecies in every detail they clearly refer to him! He also confirms this
fact himself! (Compare Luke 7:18-23 with Isaiah 35:1-6, Luke 24:44-47)
Besides that, the Old
Testament book of Daniel, which has God's sovereignty in world history as its
theme, mentions two descriptions of the final, eternal ruler of the world. One
is "son of man" (
3. JESUS SPOKE ABOUT HIS
DEATH AND RESURRECTION
He (Jesus) said to them,
"This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be
fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the
Psalms." Then he opened their minds so they could understand the
Scriptures. He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will
suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and
forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at
H.M. Baagil
argues in his booklet 'Christian Muslim Dialogue' on page 28, 'Suffering is
often exaggerated in the Bible and termed 'dead' as Paul said in 1Cor 15:31:
...I die daily, meaning I suffer daily.'
His statement itself is an
exaggeration as the word "die" is mostly used literally. Only in a
few cases it is synonymous with suffering. In all passages the usage is
easily determined by the context. By looking at it the reader will see for
himself that in Jesus' case it is clearly to be taken literally and in Paul's
case the word is meant symbolically. However, the word "kill" which
occurs in the next verse and is clearly distinguished from the word
"suffer" is always used literally in the Bible!
'From that time on Jesus
began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many
things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and
that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.' (Matthew 16:21)
4. WITNESSES CONFIRM
EVENTS SURROUNDING JESUS
'When he had received
the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head
and gave up his spirit...The man who saw it (John, see verse 26) has
given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the
truth and he testifies so that you also may believe.' (John 19:30,35)
'...and
that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that he appeared to more
than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.
(1 Corinthians 15:5,6)
Besides that direct
evidence here is very considerable circumstantial, indirect evidence,
that can be drawn from the details of the New Testament accounts:
5.
HISTORIANS RECORDED LIFE AND DEATH OF JESUS
Mostly hostile historians
recorded the life and death of Jesus as historical facts. Their names are
Pliny, Cornelius Tacitus, Thallus
and particularly Josephus, a Jewish general who defected to the Romans and
wrote the Jewish history for them:
"Now there was about
this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he
was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with
pleasure. He drew over to him both many Jews and Gentiles. He was the Christ
(Messiah). And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal amongst us,
had him condemned to the cross, those that loved him at the first did
not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as
the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousands other wonderful things
concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct
at this day." (Antiquitates indaicae
Vol.18,III:3)
6. MUSLIM DISAPPROVAL
EXAMINED
A.
Christians say that Jesus is God, but how can God die, eat, sleep, etc.?
The answer is found in
Philippians 2:6-7:
(Jesus) who, being in
very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be
grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he
humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!
God revealed Himself in
Jesus as perfect man. As such he was given birth by his earthly mother Mary, he
had a normal human body, and therefore, he naturally felt hungry weary and
could be put to death on a cross but in his human nature only. In his humanity he
could also make statements like,
'By myself I can do
nothing...' (John 5:30)
'...the Father is
greater than
In other words, Jesus
has two natures; He is fully man and fully God!
God is limitless in His
presence, but by His choice he may manifest himself in a limited way for the
good of man. This is also what he did when he spoke to Moses out of the burning
bush (Exodus 3:4, Surah 28, Al Qasas,
verse 30). Nothing is impossible for God!
A manifestation of the sun
to humans takes place through a tiny reflection on the retina of the eye. This
image shows the whole sun while the sun remains itself. In the same way, Jesus
shows God while God remains the same.
B. At the resurrection
of the dead people will get spiritual bodies. Jesus appeared to his disciples
after the crucifixion in his natural body, which shows that he die not die.
Ahmed Deedat
argues Jesus Christ denied that he died on the cross by showing his disciples
that he was not a ghost (Luke 24:36-47). Deedat
refers to 1 Corinthians 15:35-44 and explains that anyone would receive a
spiritual body when he raises from the dead, in other words he would not have
flesh and bones as Jesus had. Since Jesus denied he would be a ghost who has a
spiritual body, he also denied that he died in the first place. (see Video entitled, "Crucifixion, Fact or
Fiction?" featuring a debate between Ahmed Deedat
and Dr. Robert Douglas)
As Dr. Douglas already
pointed out very well in the debate, the word "spiritual" has
different meanings (Galatians 6:1) depending on the context of the passage. In
1 Corinthians 15;35-44, referred to by Ahmed Deedat, it is the general resurrection of mankind at the
day of judgement.
Hebrews
In all those instances a miracle
took place, which by its very nature had to break the realm of the ordinary.
Normally the resurrection takes place only once and people receive a spiritual
body, but in those cases it occurred before the judgement day and with a
physical body that people would believe Jesus is Lord!
As a miraculous sign
(Matthew
This reasoning is in line
with the general view, "that Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according
to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter and then to the Twelve."
(1 Corinthians 15:3-5)
C. Like
Jonah, Jesus did not die either.
The argument of the Muslims
who hold the above objection is built on the following verses:
'Then some of the
Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, 'Teacher, we want to see a
miraculous sign from you.' He answered, 'A wicked and adulterous generation
asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the
prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three
nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and
three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of
In this passage Jesus
refers to His death on the cross and His subsequent resurrection on the third day.
The words "three days and three nights" refer to a common Jewish
reckoning of time and mean the same as when a European would say "three
days". According to the Talmud, a Jewish commentary to the Mishna (written regulations about life in the Jewish community),
any part of a day is counted as a full day in Jewish thought. Since Jesus was
born into a Jewish culture, His words need to be understood in the Jewish
context. He died on an early Friday evening (Matthew 27:45, reckoned as 1.
day), remained in the grave the whole of Saturday (Matthew 27:62, reckoned as
2. day) and rose from the dead on Sunday morning (Matthew 28:1, reckoned as 3.
day). This same way of counting part of days as whole days is found in other
parts of the Bible:
"Sir", they
(the chief priests and the Pharisees) said, we remember that while he (Jesus)
was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise again.' So
give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day..."
(Matthew 27:63-64)
Here we see that the words
"three days" and "until the third day" are used
interchangeable because they have the same meaning! For more examples please
read Genesis 42:17-20 where Joseph puts his brothers into custody "for
three days" and released all but one "on the third day". These
two phrases are used interchangeably because they express the same truth. The
words "three days and three nights" where an Egyptian was neither eating or drinking in 1 Samuel 30:12 are explained
in verse 13 to be equal to "three days". In Esther
'For as lightening that
comes from the east and is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of
the Son of Man.' (Matthew 24:27)
The context (verses 23-25)
shows that the only point Jesus makes in this verse is that His return will be
visible everywhere. To read into His statement more than this would be a
dangerous speculation. The sign of Jonah has to be studied in its wider
context. Besides many verses that clearly mention Jesus' death and
resurrection, verses 18-22 of John, chapter 2 help to further clarify the
matter:
'Then the Jews demanded of
him, 'What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all
this?' Jesus answered them, 'Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in
three days.' The Jews replied, 'It has taken forty-six years to build this
temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?' But the temple he had
spoken of was his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples
recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scriptures and the words that
Jesus had spoken.'
Here again Jesus is asked
for a miraculous sign and He repeatedly states that they would find it in His
resurrection from the dead after three days! But this time He makes it clear
that they would destroy this temple, meaning they would kill His body!
It is not uncommon for
Jesus to express the same truth (as in the sign of Jonah) but in different
ways, with a slightly different emphasis (here stressing His death as well).
For more examples of this method of teaching, please read Matthew 13: 24-30 and
compare it with verses 47-50, or
D. Jesus' prayer in the
Dr Hasan
M. Baagil built his case mainly on two passages:
i)
'Father, if you are
willing, take this cup from me (Jesus); yet not my will, but yours be done. An
angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish,
he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the
ground.' Luke 22:42
Jesus was about to enter
into the most horrific experience which finds no precedent in the whole of
human history! It is summed up in the words,
'God made him (Jesus)
who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the
righteousness of God.' (1 Corinthians 5:21)
The reader may pause for a
moment and try to take in the deeply profound meaning of that verse. Jesus, the
one who was without sin took all our past and future rebellion and filth upon him
to receive the punishment on our behalf, death! Much worse than the physical
pain the crucifixion involved, is the emotional and the spiritual agony,
expressed in its totality by separation from Him who is the very source of
life! In such a dramatic event time ceases to exist. Death becomes synonymous
with eternity for someone who enjoyed an unceasing relationship at the deepest
level with the Almighty God. The sweat of Jesus was like drops of blood falling
to the ground. This points to a possible hermatidrosis,
the actual mingling of blood and sweat as in cases of extreme anguish, strain
or sensitivity (see N.I.V. Study Bible, Zondervan
Publishers,
An angel came to strengthen
him. All these surrounding circumstances point to a scenario of almost
unbearable distress for which language is devoid of words. This is the real
significance of the cup from which Jesus asked to be delivered by the Father,
stressing that not his will but God's shall be done. In comparison the actual,
physical death was the "least" and not the most important part of it
as H.M. Baagil gave the impression (See,
"Christian Muslim Dialogue" page 28).
Jesus' fully human plea
shows that he indeed became a man like us. That he is without sin, in opposite
to us, is made clear by the way he brings the request before his Father. It is
embedded by the words, '...not my will but yours be done.' These kinds of
wishes are not in themselves sinful as long as they are brought in subjection
to God. If Jesus was first and foremost concerned with avoiding his physical
death then he would be inferior to many brave saints before and after him.
(Hebrews 11:37) Surely this can not be! When Jesus spoke to James and John, the
sons of Zebedee, he said:
'Can you drink the cup I
am going to drink?' 'We can,' they answered. Jesus said to them, 'You will
indeed drink from my cup...' (Matthew 20:22-23)
Here, another reason is
found why the 'cup' mentioned above can not refer to Jesus' physical death
only. James was later to die as a martyr (see Acts 12:2). Not so John, he was
banished to
ii)
During the days of
Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and
tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his
reverent submission. (Hebrews 5:7)
H.M. Baagil
interprets these words to mean that Jesus was actually saved from the physical
death on the cross as an answer to his prayer.
Kenneth S. Wuest, a well known New Testament Greek scholar writes on
Hebrews 5:7: 'There are two words in Greek which mean 'from', 'apo' which means 'from the edge of,' and 'ek' which means 'out from within.' The second is
used here. The Messiah prayed to be saved out form within death. Had the
inspired writer used 'apo', he would have reported
our Lord as praying to be saved form dying a physical death. At no time in his
life did He pray that prayer.' (Wuest's Word Studies,
Eerdmans Publishing Company, Michigan, 1992, page
101) The prayer was indeed answered! Jesus was saved out from within death
through the resurrection! Hebrews 5:7 refers in particular to the prayers Jesus
made while hanging on the cross. For example, his words, "My God, my God,
why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34) are the beginning of a petition
found in Psalm 22 which ends in thanksgiving for answered prayers!
E. Jesus did not die on
the cross he only swooned.
Muslims like Ahmad Deedat (see, "Crucifixion or Crucifiction?", H.M Bageel (see,
"Christian Muslim Dialogue") and the Ahmadiyyas
give new meanings to a number of verses from the Biblical account on the death
and the resurrection. They would like to convince their readers that Jesus
survived the crucifixion because he only became unconscious. Later in the cool
of the tomb he allegedly recovered. By doings so they actually confirm that
Jesus was crucified on the cross even though Surah 4,
Al-Nisa, verse 157 is traditionally interpreted to
mean that he was not crucified:
... 'whereas
they killed him not nor crucified him '(Surah 4, Al Nisa, verse 157)
To say that the words in
the Quran '..nor crucified
him,' mean that Jesus did not die as a result of the crucifixion, in other
words to be crucified means to be killed, is clearly wrong. In Acts 2,23 we read that the words 'to crucify' (to nail on a cross)
do not necessarily mean, 'to kill.' If it was not so why would Peter have been
inspired by God to say:
'This man was handed
over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of
wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.'
If the words 'nailing him
to the cross' would be equal to 'death' there would be
no need for one or the other! For a more detailed explanation of Surah 4, Al Nisa', verses 157-159
see the article 'Easter story found in the Quran?!'
F. Roman soldiers did
not break Jesus' legs which would have caused his death. Did they want to save
him because he was innocent? If he died on the cross, his blood would clot and
not gush out of his body when his side was pierced.
H.M Baagil
and others referred those arguments to John 19:32-34. To give the reader an
idea how they take the issues out of context, he shall be provided with the
surrounding verses 31-37 as well.
31 'Now it was the day
of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews
did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabath,
they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32 The
soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been
crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33 But
when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break
his legs. 34 Instead one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear,
bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 35 The man who saw it has given
testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he
testifies so that you also may believe. 36 These things happened so that the
scripture would be fulfilled: 'Not one of his bones will be broken,' 37 and, as
another scripture says, 'They will look on the one they have pierced.'
Verse 33 states that the
Roman soldiers found Jesus already dead. Mark
In 1986 the world famous
"Journal of the American Medical Association (Vol
255, No.11, pages 1455-1463, March 21) published an article entitled, "On
the Physical Death of Jesus Christ." William. D. Edwards, MD, a
pathologist wrote:
"Some of the
scepticism in accepting John's description has arisen from the difficulty in
explaining, with medical accuracy, the flow of both blood and water. Part of
this difficulty has been based on the assumption that the blood appeared first,
then the water. However, in the ancient Greek, the order of words generally
denoted prominence and not necessarily a time sequence. ("Grammar of the
Greek New Testament in Light of Historical Research," Robertson,
G. The teaching that
Jesus died on the cross for our sins contradicts Hosea 6:6 where God said:
"For I desire mercy not sacrifice, and acknowledgement of God rather than
burnt offerings." (See "Christian Muslim Dialogue" by H.M. Baagil,
page 31)
Hosea 6:6 and all others
passages similar to it (1 Samuel
H. Jesus can not die for
someone else's sin because each one has to be punished for his own sins
according to Ezekiel 18: 4: 'The soul who sins is the one who will die.'
It is true that each person
is responsible for his own sins. A sinner can not take the place of another
sinner and ask God to be punished on behalf of the other. Jesus however was
without sin and therefore the only one able to take our sins and be punished
for them in our place. In opposite to everyone else Jesus was sinless from
birth (Surah 19, Maryam,
verse 19, Hebrews
7. WHY DID JESUS HAVE TO
DIE ON THE CROSS AND RISE AGAIN?
Why does God not simply
forgive man when he committed sin? This is probably the most important question
of all. If we can understand why Jesus had to die, it will be easier for us to
believe that He did so. There are two main reasons for his death on the cross:
A) To restore God's
honour
The Old Testament, known as
the Torah by Muslims, tells the wonderful story of how God created Adam and Eve
and later the Israelites to be his people. We learn how he loved them like a
father loves his children. Time and time again, however, we read with great
sadness how his chosen ones break his commandments, how they become guilty of
lawlessness. Even more disturbing is the fact that their rebellion is only a
fruit of a conscious rejection of the Almighty God. His own people spit in his
face and bring shame upon him before the very nations they were supposed
to be witnessing of his honour and glory. To make matters even worse, they
were not ashamed of themselves:
'Therefore the showers have
been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen. Yet you have the brazen look of
a prostitute; you refuse to blush with shame. Have you not just called
to me (God): 'My Father, my friend from my youth, will you always be angry? Will your wrath continue for ever?' This is how
you talk, but you do all the evil you can.' (Jeremiah 3:3-5)
The people of old did as
they pleased because they had lost a sense of shame. While their
mechanical, outward ritual acts may still have been in place they were not
concerned about God's honour at all. Repentance, the turning round from
one's evil ways, was later expressed in terms of recognition of shame and
disgrace. (Jer. 31:19) Likewise, our disloyalty
to God, our resistance against his work among us is known and is
exceedingly shameful. We too deserve to be punished ever so severely. Since
God is pure, completely removed from all evil, man's sin has cut off,
effectively killed, the relationship between the two. The warning given to Adam
and Eve became a frightening reality:
And the LORD God commanded
the man, 'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat
from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you
will surely die.' (Gen 2:16-17)
'For the wages of sin is
death,...'(Rom
Only through death God's
honour will be restored. Consequently God introduced an elaborate sacrificial system to the
Israelites through Moses. Shame could be removed by getting forgiveness for
sins, but only if an animal would die in their place.
'...without the
shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.' (Heb 9:22)
This all important truth is
also reflected in 'Qisas' the Islamic law of
retaliation. (Surah 2, Al Baqarah,
verses 178-179) It consists in doing to the person who has committed a crime
the very same thing they have done. The life of someone who is wilfully killed
demands the murderer's life in retaliation. However, the next of kin can accept
a financial compensation instead. According to Surah
5, Al Maida, verse 45, retaliation for inflicted wounds is also necessary. A nose for a nose and so on. If a member of the body which
is to be cut off in revenge is defective, a compensation
will be accepted.
From God's perfect
perspective animal and all other sacrifices are defective. They can not take
away sins but were only serving as a cover and a shadow of Jesus, the Messiah,
the perfect sacrifice to come (Heb 10:1-18). He, being without sin, by
taking our shame upon himself through his death on the cross, restored
the honour of God in a most profound and just way:
'Moreover, the Father
judges no-one, but has entrusted all judgement to the Son, that all may
honour the Son just as they honour the Father. He who does not honour
the Son does not honour the Father, who sent him. I (Jesus) tell you the
truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life
and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.' (John
5:22-24)
'Your attitude should be
the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not
consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And
being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became
obedient to death - even death on a cross! Therefore God 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, to the glory of
God the Father.' (Phil 2:5-11)
God raised Jesus from the
dead confirming his authority, loyalty blessedness and blamelessness. Those
who deny the cross refuse to accept God's generosity, his blessing. They
dishonour the giver.
B) To meet the
demands of God's justice and love
The Bible (Leviticus
That is why God revealed
Himself in Jesus and died on the cross for our sins. In Jesus God met the
requirements of His justice and of His love! Jesus died on the cross on our
behalf, for our sin. In Deuteronomy
There was once a king who
possessed a huge kingdom over which he also ruled as a just judge. He wrote
down laws which had to be kept by everyone so that order and justice would be
maintained. One day his very own son, whom he loved so dearly, committed a
terrible crime. The law made it very clear that a perpetrator, such as his
child had become would have to face a fine of £ 100,000,000,000. The
king's son was not able to pay that large amount of money. However, the just
judge could not change the law simply because the sinner was his own son, otherwise he would not have been impartial anymore. He
decided that his child too was guilty, but when he pronounced the judgement,
out of love, he offered to pay the fine on behalf of his son. In that way he
could meet the demands of his justice but also of his love for the disobedient
child. The son sorrowfully repented of his crime and humbly accepted his
father's offer. This incident changed him so completely that he decided to love
and serve his father forever. By doing this he could certainly never pay back
the £100,000,000,000. No, he changed his way of life to express his great
thankfulness towards his just and loving father.
The king in the
illustration symbolises God, the kingdom is the world. The laws are the Holy
Scriptures, the king's son is all mankind and the terrible crime committed by
him is sin. The sum of £100,000,000,000 stands for the punishment of sin,
which is a invincible separation from the Holy God.
The king who took his son's place and paid the fine on behalf of him
illustrates what God has done for all mankind in Jesus. He paid the punishment
for sin by dying on our behalf at the cross. Finally, the complete change that
took place in the life of the son is a picture of the new life of a Christian.
By faith, through a prayer of forgiveness he accepts what Jesus Christ had done
for him. He believes that Jesus took upon him the punishment for men's sin.
Only out of thankfulness he starts to love and serve God, not because he thinks
he could ever earn a place in heaven by doing good. Whatever the newly born Christian now does will be motivated by
love for the One who saved him from a terrible punishment.
Some Muslims might object
to the illustration above by saying that God's attributes of Justice and Mercy
can not be understood. They are completely different from our human concept. It
is true that God's attributes are different from ours, but only in regard to
their perfection rather than their definition. If the meaning of God's
characteristics were so completely different from our understanding then his
ninety-nine names, which allegedly describe them, would be unnecessary! Besides
that, God Himself used illustrations in the Quran: In
Surah 13, Ar-Ra'd, verses 16-17 we read that '...Thus doth Allah set forth parables.'
(See also Surah 16, Al Nahl,
verses 75-76)
A Muslim enquirer recently
asked: 'The Bible states that God sacrificed his Son, but yet we also read that
Jesus was resurrected back to life and is sitting on the right hand of God.
When you sacrifice something, you do not take it back 3 days latter, is this
not a contradiction?'
The reason why Jesus the
perfect sacrifice was raised to live again on the third day is found in the
word 'perfect.' Animal sacrifices were imperfect, they just pointed to the perfect
one. That is the reason why they had to be offered again and again. That is
also the reason why they were not raised to life again. However, Christ being
the perfect, sinless sacrifice only had to die once. Since he paid the
punishment for sin, namely death by his own death, the latter no longer became
a reality! That is precisely why God raised Jesus to live again. This profound
truth is expressed in 1 Corinthians 15:54-57:
'When the perishable has
been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the
saying that is written will come true: 'Death has been swallowed up in
victory.' 'Where, O death, is your victory? Where,
O death, is your sting?' The sting of death is sin,
and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God!
He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.'
Jesus defeats the death
that came as a result of sin! He as the firstfruit
has been raised to life therefore. Those who believe in his perfect
sacrifice will follow his example once they die physically. The following
verses, again quoted from 1 Corinthians 15 confirm this good news:
'But Christ has indeed
been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those
who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man,
the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam
all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.' (Verses 20-22)
Here are some more verses
that speak about the same truth:
'Jesus was delivered
over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.' (Romans
4:25)
'For we know that since
Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has
mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the
life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count
yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let
sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer
the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer
yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer
the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall
not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. What
then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!
Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves,
you are slaves to the one whom you obey - whether you are slaves to sin, which
leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? (Romans
6:9-16)
Wow! What a message! That
Christ was raised to life again after he died sacrificially for us is not a
contradiction. Since death for him was no more, there is nothing that could be
a contradiction to his being raised to life!
The destiny for us who are
living in the time of the New Testament is dependent on our relationship to
Jesus. The New Testament makes it clear that salvation is by faith through
Christ alone:
'That in the time to
come he might make clear the full wealth of his grace in his mercy to us in
Christ Jesus: Because by grace you have salvation through faith; and that not
of yourselves: it is given by God: Not by works, so that no man may take glory
to himself. For by his act we were given existence in Christ Jesus to do
those good works which God before made ready for us so that we might do them.'
(Ephesians 2:7-10)
'Being conscious that a
man does not get righteousness by the works of the law, but through faith in
Jesus Christ, we had faith in Christ Jesus, so that we might get
righteousness (right standing
before God) by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the law:
because by the works of the law will no flesh get righteousness.' (Galatians
2:16)
Salvation by faith in
Jesus is believing with the intellect
that the Bible is right about our sinful condition, about who Jesus is and
about what he did on the cross for us. Passages that speak about judgement
according to works have to be read in the light of what true faith means. This
is confirmed when their immediate context is considered. (e.g.
Joh 5:28-29, compare with verses 23-24, Mat
1. Out of
thankfulness followers of Jesus do what he tells them: To love God and man.
This is the essence and test of true obedience. They desire to follow the
moral law set out in the Old Testament and summarized in what is known as
‘the 10 commandments.’ (Exo 20:1-17)
2. Genuine
faith in Jesus produces a desire to become more like him, to do what is right
and just.
3. Saving
faith creates the awareness that this new obedience can only come
through faith in Christ. It does not come from focusing on the law, the
desperate attempt to meet its demands. Instead it comes from continually fixing
one’s eyes on Jesus and his work, by remaining connected to him through
being in his presence with one’s thoughts.
4. Lastly, Biblical
faith generates a constant abiding in and reliance on Jesus by faith. In
this way only the Holy Spirit of God supplies the power for a changed life
and lasting fruit. (Rom
8. CONCLUSION
Having pointed out the
reliability of the Bible it has become clear that throughout its pages the
death and resurrection of Jesus is foretold and confirmed by him and others,
some of whom were eye witnesses. Numerous historians attest to that truth.
Their accounts are recorded outside the Bible. Answering the most common
objections of Muslims has cleared the way for everyone to join in the bold
declaration of the first believers: 'It is true! The Lord has risen!' (Luke
24:34)
RESPONSE AND FREE OFFERS
These offers apply
to Muslims or those who upon reading this article have decided to believe and
follow Jesus in the way described in the Bible.
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following comments:
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Copyright © 2001, 2003,
by Rev. Andrew Abraham. This publication may be reproduced in part or in full
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