Understanding Jesus and Muhammad: What the ancient texts say about them

Power

INTRODUCTION

It has been alleged by some that neither Jesus nor Muhammad ever existed.¹ Others have argued that their lives are so overlaid with legend and myth that it is impossible to discover what they really said and did. They also claim that neither the Bible nor the Islamic early documents are reliable records of the events surrounding the lives of Jesus and Muhammad. Both Christian² and Muslim³ scholars have responded to these charges.

It is not the aim of this book to discuss such matters. The view is taken here that these early texts are recognised as authoritative by their respective faith communities. The texts operate as ‘functional truth’ within those communities independently, as it were, of their relative historical merits. Christians and Muslims have built their belief systems, lives and institutions around them, and the texts are generally accepted as historical givens.

Our goal is to examine some aspects of the lives and teaching of Jesus and Muhammad using these texts as data.

This book is written for Muslims and Christians and for others who want to know more about these two very important individuals. A case could be made that Jesus and Muhammad are the most crucial personalities in history, and that the future of civilisation might depend on how the followers of the two great religions they founded, Christianity and Islam, will interact with each other and within themselves.

This book aims to give an introductory understanding of Jesus Christ, with the questions in mind that Muslims might raise. It does not say everything about Jesus that could be said, nor is it an in-depth analysis. It is only an introduction, and to gain a fuller understanding of Jesus, one should read the Bible and other relevant books for oneself.

Likewise, this book seeks to give an introduction to Muhammad based on questions that Christians might raise. It does not say everything about Muhammad that could be said – that would take a significantly larger volume. For a fuller understanding, one needs to read the Qur’an, the Sira literature (biographies of Muhammad) and the hadith (traditions), as well as other books. Another writer might emphasise completely different aspects of Muhammad’s life, and readers are encouraged to look at other sources as well to gain a more comprehensive view of Muhammad.

The topics were chosen because they give a helpful comparison between Jesus and Muhammad and provide a basis for assessment and comparison of both their lives.

It is hoped that, by reading this, Christians and Muslims will come to a deeper understanding of what the other might believe, thus opening the door for further discussions.

1.See Ehrman’s Did Jesus Exist? and Spencer’s Did Muhammad Exist?

2.McDowell, The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict, and Strobel, The Case for Christ.

3.Ahmed Deedat, The Choice.

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IS JESUS ‘GOD’?

‘It is obvious that Jesus cannot be God,’ said the Muslim girl. ‘The Bible itself says that God is not a man. You will find that in the book of Numbers, chapter 23, verse 19. Don’t you believe your own Bible?’

Affirming the deity of Christ is probably the most contentious claim that Christians make. They believe that the Jewish carpenter, Jesus of Nazareth, who lived in Israel in the first century is also the eternal God of the universe. Muslims are mystified that intelligent people could even consider such a concept, and at the same time are scandalised that anyone would try to make a human equal to God Almighty.

Why do Christians say ‘Jesus is God’?

Christians claim that Jesus is God because they believe that is what Jesus claimed for himself. He is able to do things that only God can do, and he has characteristics that only God has. The combined evidence, for Christians, is compelling.

Jesus claimed to be God

Jesus stated publicly: ‘Before Abraham was born, I am.’¹ When he said this, his Jewish audience took up rocks to stone him to death. They recognised that this phrase ‘I am’ was a claim to deity. It was the same term that God used to identify himself in the Old Testament. When Moses met God in the burning bush, he asked:

Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you’ (Exodus 3:13–14).

Jesus used this same term ‘I am’ to describe himself. No wonder the Jews wanted to stone him.

At a later time, Jesus said to the Jews: ‘I and the Father are one.’ Again,

the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, ‘I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?’

‘We are not stoning you for any of these,’ replied the Jews, ‘but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God’ (John 10:30–33).

If this charge of blasphemy for claiming to be God had been a misunderstanding, Jesus would have immediately corrected it, but he did not. When the Jews suggested that Jesus was a Samaritan and had a demon, he denied it (John 8:48–49), but it is significant that Jesus never denied the claim that he was God.

When John the Baptist sent messengers to ask Jesus if he was ‘the one who is to come’,² Jesus quoted from a prophecy of Isaiah which described a divine visitation: "Say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come … he will come to save you.’ Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy".³ Jesus showed them that he had fulfilled that prophecy by performing these miracles.

Others asserted that Jesus is God

John the apostle begins his gospel with: ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning’.⁴ The term ‘Word of God’ is used only of Jesus in both the Bible and the Qur’an.⁵

Earlier, Isaiah had prophesied about a child who would be born: ‘For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.’⁶

After Jesus raised the son of the widow of Nain from the dead, people proclaimed that ‘God has come to help his people’.⁷ And, significantly, when the apostle Thomas addressed Jesus as ‘My Lord and My God’ (John 20:28), Jesus did not rebuke him for this.

Jesus claimed to have existed forever

God is eternal. The Qur’an describes God as ‘the eternal One’ al-samad (Q.112:2) and ‘the ever-living One’ al-qayyum (Q.2:255). The Bible also speaks of ‘the eternal God’ (Deuteronomy 33:27) who is ‘from everlasting’ (Psalm 90:2).

Jesus claimed that he existed from eternity. He spoke of ‘the glory I had with you [the Father] before the world began’ (John 17:5) and said to the Father: ‘you loved me before the creation of the world’ (John 17:24).

He said that he came ‘from heaven’, from ‘where he was before’, ‘from above’, ‘from God’ and ‘from the Father’.⁸ Jesus also declared that he ‘saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven’ (Luke 10:18), which may refer to the fall of Satan before the world was created.⁹

Others also spoke of Jesus’ pre-existence

John the apostle wrote that Isaiah ‘saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him’ (John 12:41). This was a reference to Isaiah’s vision in the temple, 700 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, when Isaiah ‘saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted’ (Isaiah 6:1). John the Baptist also said of Jesus: ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me’ (John 1:30).

The Old Testament also refers to the pre-existence of the coming ‘Messiah’, in Arabic al-Masīh, which means someone who is anointed or chosen by God for a special task, such as a prophet, priest or king. Jesus would be such a ruler ‘whose origins are from of old’ (Micah 5:2). Jesus is also described as the ‘wisdom of God’ (1 Corinthians 1:24) who is ‘appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began’ (Proverbs 8:23). The apostle Paul refers to Jesus as ‘the firstborn over all creation … before all things’ (Colossians 1:15, 17).

Jesus is the Creator

According to the Qur’an, only God is the Creator al-khāliq.¹⁰ This is one of the 99 beautiful names of Allah. Yet the verb ‘create’ khalaq is used of Jesus’ action in Q.3:49 and 5:110.¹¹ This verb, which occurs over 200 times, is used of no one else in the Qur’an except Allah and Jesus. Interestingly, the Qur’an sometimes refers to ‘Creators’ in the plural.¹²

The Bible also describes God as the Creator (Isaiah 40:28), yet Jesus is described as the agent of creation:

•‘Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made … the world was made through him’ (John 1:3, 10).

•‘For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.’¹³

•Jesus is the one ‘through whom he [God] made the universe’ (Hebrews 1:2) and ‘through whom all things came’ (1 Corinthians 8:6).

In the passage from Proverbs 8 mentioned above, Christ as wisdom personified speaks of a role in the creation alongside God (the Father): ‘I was there when he set the heavens in place … I was the craftsman at his side.’¹⁴

Jesus claimed powers and prerogatives only God can claim

Jesus could forgive sin. The Qur’an asks: ‘Who can forgive sins except Allah only?’ (Q.3:135). The 99 names of Allah include the Forgiver al-ghaffar (Q.33:68), the Pardoner al-ghafuur (Q.4:25) and the Excuser al-’afuu (Q.4:146). In the Bible, God forgives sin (Psalm 85:2): The person whose sins God does not count against them is called ‘blessed’ or happy (Psalm 32:2). When a lame man was brought to him, Jesus forgave the man’s sins. Jesus’ critics rightly asked: ‘Who can forgive sins except God alone?’ To prove that he had power to forgive sins, Jesus healed the lame man.¹⁵

In addition,

•Jesus stated that he had authority to judge (John 5:27) and that he would separate the righteous from the sinners at the end of the age (Matthew 25:31–32). Yet God is the Judge al-haakim in the Qur’an (Q.11:45) and in the Bible (Genesis 18:25).

•His sayings would prevail beyond the created universe. Jesus said: ‘Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away’ (Matthew 24:35).

•Jesus spoke with his own authority. While the prophets said ‘Thus says the Lord …’¹⁶ (420 times in the Old Testament), Jesus said ‘Truly, I say to you’¹⁷ (90 times in the New Testament).

•Jesus said: ‘I give them eternal life’ (John 10:28). Only God can give eternal life.

•Jesus made absolute claims. He told his listeners that the greatest commandment was to ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’.¹⁸ God alone demands our ultimate loyalty and love. Yet Jesus also said that ‘anyone who loves their father or mother’ (or their son or daughter, or their own life) ‘more than me is not worthy of me’ (that is, they cannot be his disciple).¹⁹ Only God has the right to make such a demand.

Jesus accepted human worship

It is sometimes said that Jesus never told anyone to worship him. However, he clearly accepted human worship many times:

•‘Then those who were in the boat worshipped him [Jesus], saying, Truly you are the Son of God’ (Matthew 14:33).

•‘[The women] came to him, clasped his feet and worshipped him’ (Matthew 28:9).

•‘When [the disciples] saw [Jesus], they worshipped him’ (Matthew 28:17).

•‘Then [the disciples] worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy’ (Luke 24:52).

•‘Then the man [who Jesus had healed] said, Lord, I believe, and he worshipped him’ (John 9:38).

By contrast, when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard that the people of Lystra were going to offer sacrifices to them after a lame man was healed, they tore their clothes (a sign of extreme emotion) and rushed into the crowd shouting: ‘Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you’ (Acts 14:15). Likewise, a majestic angel twice stopped the apostle John from worshipping him. When John fell at the feet of the angel, the angel rebuked him: ‘Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you … Worship God!’ (Revelation 19:10; 22:8–9). Jesus, however, did not stop or rebuke anyone for worshipping him.

Jesus has the same titles as God in the Bible

In the Bible, many titles and ascriptions of God in the Old Testament are applied to Jesus in the New Testament. (See Table 1.1 over page.)

According to the Qur’an, Jesus has more in common with God than he does with Muhammad

The list in Table 1.2 (over page) shows that in the Qur’an, Jesus does many of the things that only God could do, while Muhammad was unable to do any of them.

The rest of the New Testament teaches Christ’s deity

It is not simply in the Gospels that Jesus’ divine status is taught. The rest of the New Testament uses descriptions of Jesus which point to his deity:

•He is the ‘image of the invisible God’ (Colossians 1:15).

•‘Christ … is the image of God’ (2 Corinthians 4:4). The word ‘image’ (eikon in Greek) in these verses denotes the reflection shown in a mirror. It is identical in every way.

•‘The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being’ (Hebrews 1:3).

Table 1.1. Titles the Bible uses to refer to Jesus

Table 1.2. Actions performed by God, Jesus and Muhammad as recorded in the Qur’an

Other verses simply describe Jesus Christ as God:

•‘Christ, who is God over all’²⁰

•‘Your throne, O God …’ (Hebrews 1:8–9)

•‘Jesus Christ … is the true God’ (1 John 5:20)

•‘[O]ur God and Saviour Jesus Christ’ (2 Peter 1:1)

•‘[O]ur great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ’ (Titus 2:13).

Jesus is seated on the throne in heaven

Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father.²¹ When a king shared his reign, for example with his son the crown prince, both of them sat together on the throne. The co-regent sat at the right hand of the regent, a position of honour and power.²² God’s throne in heaven is referred to as ‘the throne of God and of the Lamb’ (Revelation 22:1, 3). The ‘Lamb of God’ is one of the names used in the Bible to refer to Jesus (John 1:29). In Revelation, the Lamb is described as standing/seated at the centre of the throne.²³ In heaven, the intimate connection between God and the Lamb is unbreakable: ‘the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple’ (Revelation 21:22) and ‘the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp’ (Revelation 21:23).

Christians can rightly ask: If Jesus is not God, then what is he doing sitting on God’s throne?

Conclusion

Jesus made many claims, explicit and implicit, that clearly pointed to his deity. The Jews wanted to stone him for making these claims, but he never backed away from these statements. Others also described Jesus as God, and he never corrected them or rebuked them for saying this. Jesus spoke of his pre-existence, ability to forgive sins and authority to judge all the earth. Many of the titles and actions of God in the Old Testament and in the Qur’an are ascribed to Jesus and no one else. Jesus accepted human worship, which is due only to God. At the end of time, we will see Jesus seated on the throne of God. The overwhelming weight of evidence for Jesus’ deity is compelling.

1.John 8:58–59, NKJV.

2.Matthew 11:2–5, NRSV.

3.Isaiah 35:4–6, italics added.

4.John 1:1–2, italics added.

5.John 1:1, 14; 1 John 1:1, 10; Revelation 19:13. Q.3:45; 4:171.

6.Isaiah 9:6, italics added.

7.Luke 7:16, italics added.

8.John 3:13; 6:33, 38, 41–42, 62; 8:23, 42; 13:3; 16:27–28.

9.Isaiah 14:12; Ezekiel 28:12–16.

10.Q.6:102; 13:16; 39:62; 40:62; 59:24.

11.There are other words like ‘amil (‘make’, e.g. Q.37:96) or sana’ (‘manufacture’, e.g. Q.7:137) that are normally used of human works.

12.Q.23:14; 37:125–126;