Jesus Never Said or Did Anything but by the Command
of God
“Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my father: but go to my
brethren and say unto them, I ascend unto my father, and your father, and to my
God, and to your God.”
—John 20:17
Reverend Franklin Graham:
In my last letter, I have tried to explain
those statements of Jesus that were metaphoric in nature. But they were misunderstood
or misinterpreted to such an extent that his followers began to worship him as God
or along with God after his ascent to heaven by ignoring the crystal clear
instruction of the first commandment (Mark 12:29-30) that he preached and
practiced himself all through his life. In this letter, I’d try to draw your
attention to some of his most plain and simple statements where he made his own
status absolutely clear from the eternal and unattainable status of God.
God is greater
than all and Jesus, too.
My Father, which gave them me, is
greater than all. (John 10:29)
… … … If ye loved
me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: For my Father is
greater than I. (John 14:28)
Verily, verily, I say unto you, the
servant is not greater than his Lord; neither, he that is sent greater than he
that sent him. (John 13:16)
Jesus was
sent by God for the guidance of his own people.
But he [Jesus] answered
and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (Matthew
15:24)
And he [Jesus] said unto them, I must
preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent. (Luke
4:43)
I must work the works of him [God] that
sent me. (John 9:4)
Jesus cried and said, he that believeth in
me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. (John 12:44)
Jesus never
said or did anything but by the command of God.
Then Jesus said unto them, when ye
have lifted up the son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do
nothing of myself; but as my father hath taught me, I speak of these things. And
he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always
those things that please him. (John 8:28–29)
For I have not spoken of myself,
but the Father which sent me, He gave me a commandment, what I should say, and
what I should speak. And I know that His commandment is life everlasting:
whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.
(John 12:49–50)
Jesus does
not judge, but God does.
He that rejecteth me, and receiveth
not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same
shall judge him in the last day. (John 12:48)
Jesus does
not forgive; his Father does.
Then said Jesus, Father, Father,
forgive them; for they know not what they do. (Luke 23:34)
Jesus
prayed to God more when he was in agony
And they came to a place …
and he [Jesus] saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray. (Mark
14:32)
And it came to pass in those days, that he
went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
(Luke 6:12)
And being in an agony he prayed
more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down
to the ground. (Luke 22:44)
Reverend, in the verses I
quoted above, Jesus made it absolutely clear that he often prayed to God and he
prayed to Him more when he was in distress. Now the question is, if Jesus and
God were one and the same, who prayed to whom?
Jesus
taught his disciples how to pray to God.
And he said unto them, When ye
pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom
come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily
bread. And forgive our sins; for we also forgive everyone that is indebted to
us. And lead us not unto temptation; but deliver us from evil. (Luke 11:2–4)
Here we see that Jesus
not only prayed to God himself, but he also taught his disciples how to pray to
God and to ask Him to forgive their sin, deliver them from evil, protect them
from temptation, and to provide them with their daily bread. Do you think Jesus
would teach them so if he did not believe himself that God was their only Lord,
the provider, the protector, the redeemer of their sin, and the disposer of all
affairs?
Jesus had
nothing on which to lay his head.
… … Foxes have holes,
and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man Hath not where to lay his
head.(Luke 9:58)
There are plenty of verses
in the Bible and the Quran both, where we have been told repeatedly that God was
the Creator and the controller of the entire heavens and the earth and
everything that exists in them, belonged to Him. But here we see Jesus, whom
you worship as God or as His equal, admitting himself openly that he had no
place to lay his head, when foxes and birds have.
Jesus
needed strength from heaven.
And there appeared an angel unto
him from heaven, strengthening him. (Luke 22:43)
In the verse 110 of the Chapter 5 in the
Quran, God says to Jesus, O Jesus, son of
Mary! Recall my favor upon you and to your mother, how I strengthened you with
the Holy Spirit.
Reverend, could you please
tell us why Jesus needed strength from an angel, if he were God or His equal? You
have no acceptable answer for that. But according to the description of both
the Gospel and the Quran, we came to know, Jesus needed that strength to carry
out his assignment as a messenger of God.
Jesus
became vulnerable at his last hour
And he went a little farther, and
fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my father, if it be possible, let this
cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
O my father, if this cup may not pass away
from me: except I drink it, thy will be done. (Matthew 26:39, 42)
In the above-quoted
verses, Jesus has expressed his state of mind clearly, first as a common and an
ordinary human being and then as a true messenger of God. As a man of flesh and
blood, Jesus expressed his weakness and vulnerability in a crucial situation like
facing death on the Cross. But then as a true messenger of God, he showed to us
his complete surrender to the will and the command of God and to accept
gracefully what He has desired for him.
Jesus felt
himself deserted of God’s mercy in the ninth hour.
And about the ninth hour Jesus
cried with a loud voice, saying, E-li, E-li, la`-ma sa-bach` tha-ni? That is to
say, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46)
I think, this one
statement in the Gospel is enough to prove that though Jesus was a mighty messenger
of God and submitted himself completely to His will and command, he was also a mortal
human being and therefore he could not help himself feeling deserted of God’s
mercy or expressing his grievances to Him openly, when he found his death on
the Cross was imminent on a false charge against him made by his own people.
Jesus was
ignorant of the last hour.
But of that day and that hour
knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but
the Father. (Mark 13:32)
In the above quoted
statement, we find Jesus has included himself with the rest of mankind who are ignorant
of the last hour. Do you think that Jesus, whom you claim as God or His equal,
was ignorant of such an important or major event like the end of this existing
world? But the fact is that by admitting his own ignorance about the last hour,
Jesus proved again undoubtedly that he was not God but he was a true messenger of
God. And like all His messengers, Jesus also admitted honestly that no one was
aware of the last hour except God.
Who is that
God Jesus refers to in each of the following verses?
Reverend, none of my missionary friends
was able to give me a satisfactory or acceptable answer when I asked them who were
that God Jesus referred to in each of the verses that I quoted below from
different parts of the Gospel. I hope, you might help me to know the answer.
Hear,
O’ Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all
thy strength: this the first commandment. (Mark 12:29–30)
Get
thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God,
and Him only shall thou serve. (Luke 4:8)
Jesus
said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded
forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. (John 8:42)
Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended
to my father: but go to my brethren and say unto them, I ascend unto my father,
and your father, and to my God, and to your God. (John 20:17)
Be ye therefore perfect, even
as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. (Matthew 5:48)
At that time, Jesus answered
and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth. (Matthew 11:25)
And he said upon him, Why callest
thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God. (Matthew 19:17)
For whosoever shall do the will of God, the
same is my brother, and my sister, and mother. (Mark 3:35)
And Jesus looking upon them saith,
With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are
possible. (Mark 10:27)
But of that day and that hour
knoweth no man, no, not the angels which
are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. (Mark 13:32)
And Jesus answering saith unto
them, Have faith in God. (Mark 11:22)
But now you seek to kill me, a man
that hath told you the truth, which I heard of God…(John 8:40)
And about the ninth hour Jesus
cried with a loud voice, saying, E-li, E-li, la`-ma sa-bach` tha-ni? That is to
say, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46)
Reverend, I’ll be truly happy
and grateful to you if you kindly tell me how does the God or the Father Who Jesus
has mentioned in each and every verse I quoted above, become Jesus and God both
equally and at the same time?
Jesus’ miraculous
birth in Support of his being equal to God
In spite of those clear
evidences or explanation, many of my missionary friends used to claim Jesus was
more than a prophet.
“May I please know how
much more is it that you could worship him like God?”
In reply to that, one of my young missionary
friends, a college student, mentioned to me of Jesus’ miraculous birth and I
opposed him saying, that Adam’s birth was more miraculous than his, because Adam
had neither father nor mother. He also did not go through the normal procedure
of child-birth like the rest of the mankind. But except for being born to a
virgin mother, Jesus’ birth was similar to any of us.
Looking at his impassive face, I told him again, “Okay, if the instance
of the Quran does not impress you that much, then let me read to you first four
verses of chapter 7 from the book of Hebrew. I’m sure you will find it more
stunning than Jesus’ birth without a father.” Then I read to him the first four
verses from the book of Hebrew.
On
Mel-Chis-E-Dec’s arrival
For this Mel-Chis`-E-Dec,
king of Sa`-lem priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the
slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;
To whom also
Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of
righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;
Without father,
without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of
life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.
Now consider how
great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the
spoils. (Hebrews 7:1–4)
After
I finished reading, I asked him, “Don’t you think this great man’s arrival or
existence was more miraculous than Jesus, who people of his time knew very well
how he was born and what happened to him in the short span of his life?”
Jesus’ miraculous
Acts in support of his being equal to God
In reply to my
question, his
classmate who came with him reminded me politely of Jesus’ miraculous acts and particularly
of his bringing four-days old dead body of his friend Lazarus out of his grave
alive. He then read the incident from John 11:39-44 and then said, “You must know that
there is none but God Who can control life and death. If Jesus were not God as
you think, then,” the young man asked me being very nice and polite, “how could
he bring his four days old dead friend back to life?”
I answered his question with another instance
from the book of Ezekiel. I read to him the first ten verses from the chapter 37,
where we found a thrilling description of how a Prophet of God turned a whole
valley of dried-up bones of a large army of Israel to stand on their feet,
alive. Then I asked them both, “Don’t you think, if the status of God could be
achieved through one’s acts of miracles, then the other prophet’s chance of
being God was invariably better than Jesus?”
When none of them answered, I said, “In fact, it is not only Jesus or
the other Prophet, there are many other messengers of God who also stunned
their people by the acts of their miracles. According to the description of
both Bible and Quran, we came to know that Abraham remained unburned inside the
gulf of fire for three days. Moses turned his dry stick into a live python and
also made a path in the middle of the sea with the touch of his stick.
Similarly, David made the trees and mountains sing with him in praise of God and
his son Solomon could change the course of air by his command. Muhammad also made
the moon split in half with the sign of his forefinger. But none of their
followers worshipped them as God or along with God, because they knew and
believed that God empowered them to perform those miracles to make their people
realize His power and glory and to follow His commands that He delivered through
them for their guidance. The Gospel also tells us,” I continued, “Jesus’ true
followers also believed the same about his acts of miracles. Let me read to you
a verse from the Gospel of John before you leave.” Then I read to them the
verse 2 from the chapter 3.
The same [Nicodemus, a
ruler of the Jews] came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know
that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that
thou doest, except God be with him.”
After I finished reading, I said to them, “The Quran also says more or
less the same thing about Jesus’ acts of miracles. You will find it in the
verse 110 of chapter 5.”
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O Jesus, son of
Mary! Recount My favor upon you and to your mother, how I strengthened you with
the Holy Spirit, so you could speak to the people in cradle … how
you made the figure of a bird out of clay by My permission, and how you
breathed into it and changed it into a real bird by My permission. And how you
could heal the born blind, and the lepers, by My permission. And how you could
bring forth the dead back to life by My permission….
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Both of them left with lots of thanks and
appreciations for sharing my knowledge with them.
The episode
of the fig tree also tells us Jesus was no deity, but a man of flesh and blood.
Reverend, I would like to end this letter with
the episode of the fig tree, as described in the Gospel of Mark 11. I have
reason to believe this one incident could be an eye-opener to them who believe
in Jesus’ deity. On the basis of the quoted verses below, I’ll try to establish
Jesus was no deity, but he was a man of flesh and blood who God chose as His
messenger for the guidance of his own people-the misguided Jews.
And on the
morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he [Jesus] was hungry:
And seeing a fig
tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find anything thereon:
and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was
not yet.
And Jesus
answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter forever. And his
disciples heard it.
And they came to
Jerusalem: And Jesus went into temple, and began to cast out them that sold and
bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money exchangers, and the
seats of them that sold doves; …
And in the
morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.
(Mark 11:12–15, 20)
Reverend, while reading
of this little episode for the first time, I had a weird feeling about Jesus
whom the Muslims love and respect dearly as a mighty messenger of God. I felt
weird, because this kind of intolerance, anger, or ill manner was not expected
of him, who was often addressed in the Quran as being noble, chaste, righteous,
and close to God. How could a rational, righteous, and a beloved person of God
curse a tree for its’ failing to provide him with untimely fruits to appease
his hunger? Did not his predecessors suffer a lot more torture and torment,
hatred and hostility, pains and persecution while striving for the cause of
God?
God has His own unique
way to save the truth or to expose it
Then, it suddenly occurred
to me that God always had His own unique way to save the truth of His message and
messengers or to expose and establish it against all falsehood. In this small incident
of the fig tree, Jesus, who used to say or do everything by the command of God,
left many clear indications for his followers to help them to know about his
true status and why he was sent to them. We will now examine those indications
that Jesus has left for his people to read, to reflect and to know who he really
was, why he was sent for and why they should not worship him as God in any form
or manner.
I already have mentioned before
that Jesus was ignorant of the last hour, but now we came to know that he did
not know even the season of the fig. If Jesus were God, God incarnate, or one
of the Gods in the Trinity, nothing could escape his knowledge. But as Jesus
was a man of flesh and blood, this kind of ignorance, obliviousness, or
forgetfulness was quite expected and understood.
If Jesus were God, he
would be completely free from all kinds of human needs and weakness, like
hunger, thirst, fatigue, or frustration, as God really is. But Jesus was a human
being like any of us. So he felt hungry and also became very angry when he saw
no fruit in the tree to appease his hunger.
If Jesus was the perfect
embodiment of both God and man, as you claim, he should be absolutely patient, polite,
calm and considerate when he saw that the fig tree had no fruit besides the
leaves. Instead, it made him so angry, upset, and offended that he cursed the
fig tree and made it barren forever for no fault of its’ own. In addition to that, his outburst with the
common and ordinary sales persons in the temple of Jerusalem also seemed to me
quite rude for a godly person like him. I think there are many simple and ordinary
persons among his followers, who would score more points than Jesus in the test
of patience, manners, and self-control.
Jesus
behaved like that on purpose
In spite of that, I like
to believe that Jesus acted like that on purpose and by the inspiration of God.
I have quoted before a number of verses from the Gospel where Jesus
claimed that he said or did nothing on
his own accord but by the will and the command of God. (John 12: 49-50) On the
basis of that, I’ll try to justify my point with an instance from the Gospel.
In Matthew 15:32–36, we have noticed how Jesus
felt the pain of hunger of the multitudes and also fed them in full with a few
pieces of bread. In the same way, he could have made the tree full of figs
instead of making it barren forever with his curse. But he did not, because he
wanted to leave this incident as an eye-opener for all his followers so that
they could never mistake him for God but believe he was a man of flesh and
blood who God chose to send for the guidance of his own people, the misguided
Jews.
Have
faith in God. (Mark 11:22).
While passing by the fig tree next morning,
some of Jesus’ disciples drew his attention to the dried-up fig tree, which he
ignored, saying,
Have faith in God. For verily I say
unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be
thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe
that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever
he saith. (Mark 11:22–23)
With this sermon, Jesus
appeared again in his true form, the role of a messenger. He sounded cool and
confident when he started teaching his disciples how to keep their faith in God
without any question or condition and what they could achieve through the
strength of their sincere faith. By this statement, Jesus also wanted them to know
that turning a green tree to a dry log was nothing in comparison to moving a
mountain from its place and throwing it into the sea, if only they could always
remain true to their faith in God and keep it intact or uncontaminated under
all circumstances.
Along with this instance and
advice, Jesus also left for his followers some precautionary notes so that they
could never deviate from the eternal truth of the First Commandment especially
when the false prophets would come with their invented doctrines to deceive them
in his name. I have quoted below only a few of them.
Take heed that no man deceive you.
For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
(Matthew 24:4–5)
But in vain they do worship me,
teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. (Matthew 15:9)
Not everyone that saith unto me,
Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my
Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 7:21)
……Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath
not planted, shall be rooted up.
Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the
blind. And, if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
(Matthew 15:13-14)
If you love me,
keep my commandments. (John 14:15)
Whosoever therefore shall break
one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the
least in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:9)
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye
shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. (Mathew 7:7)
And ye shall know the truth, and
the truth shall make you free. (John 8:32)
Reverend, with those guidelines in the
Gospel, Jesus also wanted his followers to pay heed to the last Prophet
Muhammad who God would send after him fulfilling his prayer and prediction both
in John 14:16 and also testifying of his true status and mission in His final
and everlasting Guidebook, the Quran. You may read again the letter five where
I discussed this matter in details.
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