Jesus declared himself in the Gospel he
was a Prophet of God
The Quran teaches through Muhammad Jesus was
a mighty messenger of God and like all His messengers he was also sent to
establish the worship of One True God among his people and to guide them to His
Path. But many of my Christian friends think Muhammad is a false teacher and so
is the Quran. It is mainly for them I’ve quoted below some verses from the Gospel
where Jesus declared himself clearly he was a Prophet of God and why he was
sent for.
But he [Jesus] answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep
of the house of Israel. (Matthew 15:24)
And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.
(Matthew 21:11)
But Jesus said unto them, a prophet [referring to him when his own people offended him by their
disrespectful attitude towards him]
is not without honor but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his
own house. (Mark 6:4)
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)
And he [Jesus] said unto them,
What things? And they said unto him,
Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word
before God and all the people: (Luke 24:19)
The woman saith unto him [Jesus]
Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. (John 4:19)
Then those men, when they had seen
the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should
come into the world. (John 6:14)
Many of the people therefore, when
they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. (John 7:40)
And this is life eternal,
that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has
sent.(John 17:3)
The
message of the above-quoted verses is loud and clear. Jesus knew very well that
he was a Prophet of God and why he was sent for. The people of his time knew
that, too. If Jesus knew he were God or His equal, why did he introduce himself
falsely as the prophet of God or allow his people to remain in the dark about
his true identity or status? The fact is, Jesus had nothing to hide about him,
so he told them honestly who he really was and why he was sent for?
Jesus made his own status
and mission absolutely clear
The Gospel also contains
a number of verses where Jesus made his own status and mission absolutely clear.
In the following verses of the Gospel, Jesus has said to his people clearly who
he really was and why he was sent for.
And he said unto them,
I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.
(Luke 4:43)
I must the work the works
of him that sent me, ……(John 9:4)
Jesus cried and said, He
that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. (John
12:44)
And
this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus
Christ, whom thou has sent.(John 17:3)
Reverend, the message of
the above-quoted verses is loud and clear. Jesus knew very well that he was a Prophet
of God and he was sent for the guidance of his own people-the misguided Jews. The
people of his time knew that, too. If Jesus knew he were God or His equal, why did
he introduce himself falsely as the prophet of God or allow his people to remain
in the dark about his true identity or status? The fact is, Jesus had nothing
to hide about him, so he told them honestly who he really was and why he was
sent for?
Statements of the Holy Quran
about Jesus’ status and mission
In the following statements
of the Quran, we shall see what God has revealed through Muhammad testifying of
Jesus’ true status or mission, is in complete harmony with the statements of
the Gospel that I quoted above.
While he [Zakariya] was standing in a prayer in the chamber, the angel
called upon him [saying]: Allah gives you the good news of Yahya [John, the
Baptist], witnessing the truth of a word [meaning Jesus] from Allah who will be
noble, chaste and a Prophet from among the righteous. (3:39)
Behold! The angels said: “O Mary! Allah has chosen you and purified you,
above the women of all nations. … Allah will teach your son the
Book, the Wisdom, the Torah, and the Gospel, and will make him a Messenger to
the children of Israel … … (3:42, 48-49)
The Quran also
tells us that Jesus testified himself as a prophet of God,
from his cradle in response to people’s slander against Mary, his virgin mother.
Then she [Mary] pointed to him [her
son in the cradle]. They said: How can we talk to one who is a child in the
cradle? He [Jesus] said, I am indeed a servant of God; He has given me
revelation and made me a Prophet. (19:29–30)
While reminding people about
Jesus’ true status and mission, the Quran has said through Muhammad:
We gave Moses the Book and followed him with a succession of
Apostles: We gave Jesus, the son of Mary clear Signs and strengthened him with
the Holy Spirit. (2:87)
Then
in the footsteps of those Prophets, We sent Jesus the son of Mary confirming
whatever remained intact from the Torah in his time, and gave him the Gospel
wherein was guidance and light, corroborating what was revealed in the Torah; a
guidance and an abomination to those who fear Allah. (5:46)
Christ the son of Mary
was no more than a Messenger of God; There were many apostles who passed away
before him. His mother was a truthful woman. (5:75)
Reverend, on the basis of those statements from the Quran, which God
revealed to Muhammad about fourteen hundred years ago, all his followers have
accepted, loved, and respected Mary as a chaste, truthful and an illustrious
woman of the world and her son, Jesus, as a noble, righteous and a chosen Messenger
of God, without knowing anything of what the Gospel has really said about him
or about his mother.
Jesus was a
self-surrendered servant of God
There are many verses in
both Bible and the Quran where the messengers of God are addressed as His
slaves or servants. Naturally. God chose His messengers to accomplish His mission
through them, which is to guide His people to His path and to help them return
to Him in heaven, the original and eternal home of their parents. So to help
the people to achieve their goal, they left nothing unsaid or undone of what
God revealed to them for their guidance. It is for their total submission or
surrender to the will and the command of God, they were often addressed in the
Quran as Ibaa-di-naal Mur-saleen (in
Arabic) meaning our slaves, the messengers.
I have quoted below some verses from both parts of the Bible and the Quran in
support of that.
Remember Abraham, Isaac,
and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swearest, by thine own self, and saidst
unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven… (Exodus 32:13)
Now after the death of
Moses, the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua
the son of Nun. (Joshua 1:1)
And what can David say
more unto thee? For thou, Lord God, knowest thy servant. (2 Samuel 7:20)
And the Lord said unto Satan,
Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth,
a perfect and upright man, one that. (Job 2:3)
Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant;
and Israel, whom I have chosen. (Isaiah 44:1)
Now therefore, O our God, hear the
prayer of thy servant [Daniel], and his supplications, and cause thy face to
shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake. (Daniel 9:17)
Verily, verily, I say unto you, The
servant [Jesus compares himself to a servant] is not greater than his lord;
neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. (John 13:16)
The God of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his Son [servant] Jesus. (Acts
3:13)
Of interest is the use or
application of two Greek words, pias
and paida. Both the words are used to
mean son, child, or servant. But while translating the Holy Bible from Greek to
English, the translators used these words mostly to suit their own purpose. Out
of their excessive love for Jesus, they used “Son” in reference to Jesus and “servant”
in reference to all others. Besides that, they also chose to write “Son of God,”
capitalizing “Son” for Jesus but using a lowercase “s” for others, even though
in the original Greek, no such difference exists. I think they did so without
realizing that the level of one’s closeness to God depends entirely upon the
degree or depth of one’s submission to His will and command and also striving
for His cause.
The following passages of the Holy Quran,
tell us about some of the messengers whom God favored many ways for their total
submission to Him.
We gave [in the past] knowledge to
David and Solomon: and they both said: Praise be to Allah Who has favored us
above many of His servants who believe! (27:15)
We have already promised Our servants
whom We sent as our Messengers that they would certainly be helped.
(37:171–172)
He [Jesus] was no more than a servant.
We granted Our favor to him, and We made him an example to the children of
Israel. (Through His miraculous
birth and the miracles he performed to them in the name of God) (43:59)
The Messiah [Jesus] will never be
proud to reject to be a slave to God, nor the angels who are nearest [to God].
(4:172)
Glory to Allah Who did take His servant
[Muhammad] for journey by night from the
Sacred Mosque of Mecca to the Farthest Mosque [in Jerusalem]. (17:1)
Jesus did
everything by the command of God and for the sake of His Pleasure
While reading the Gospel,
I also came across many verses where Jesus admitted himself honestly that he
did not speak or do anything on his own but by the command of God and also for
the sake of His Pleasure. I’ve quoted below a few of them from the Gospel to
justify my claim:
I can of mine own self do nothing:
as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will,
but the will of the Father which hath sent me. (John 5:30)
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. (John 12:49)
And he [God] that sent me is with
me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please
him. (John 8:29)
Reverend, I think the
message of the above quoted verses is distinctly clear. Who but the most
devoted and dedicated servant of God would try to complete his assigned job in
this manner, as did Jesus?
Jesus
showed his complete adherence to the Laws of Moses
Both the Gospel and the Quran describe Jesus’ complete adherence to the
Law, which God revealed to Moses for the guidance of his people. I quoted below
some verses first from the Gospel and then from the Quran to justify my claim.
Think not that I am come to destroy
the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.
For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and
earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all
be fulfilled.
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: but whosoever shall do
and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
(Matthew 5:17–19)
And behold, one came and said
unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal
life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but
one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
(Matthew 19:16–17)
Instances
from the Quran
I [Jesus]
have come to you to attest the Law [Law of Moses] which was before me and to
make lawful to you part of which was forbidden to you before: I have come to
you with a Sign from your Lord. So fear Allah and obey me. It is Allah Who is
my Lord and your Lord; then worship Him. This is a straight way.( 3:50–51)
Then in the footsteps of
those Prophets, We sent Jesus the son of Mary confirming whatever remained
intact from the Torah in his time, and gave him the Gospel wherein was guidance
and light, corroborating what was revealed in the Torah; a guidance and an
abomination to those who fear Allah. (5:46)
Reverend, many of my
missionary friends believe Jesus was God incarnate because of his miraculous
birth and the miracles he performed before his people. But I think the arrival
or existence of a legendary figure described in Hebrews 7:1–4 is more astonishing
than Jesus’ birth without a father. And, the miracles performed by a prophet in
Ezekiel 37 is more stunning than Jesus’ bringing a four-days-dead body back to
life from his grave. (John 11:39–44)
There are also many clear
instances in the Gospel to prove that Jesus was a man of flesh and blood. From
the episode of the fig tree, we came to know that like any other ordinary human
being, Jesus was also a subject to hunger, anger, ignorance, and obliviousness,
including the suffering of pain and feeling of frustration. (Mark 11)
Opinion of
the Anglican Bishops about Jesus’ true status
On June 25, 1984, the London Daily News ran an article titled
“Shock Survey of Anglican Bishops,” which described a survey report regarding
Jesus’ true status. A poll, conducted by the religious television show Credo, showed that more than half of the
Anglican Bishops in England said Christians were not obliged to believe that
Jesus Christ was God. The article further stated that nineteen of the
thirty-one Bishops agreed that “it is sufficient to regard Jesus as God’s supreme
agent.”
God’s
“supreme agents” refer to none but the chosen or designated messengers of God who
were sent to earth from time to time for the guidance of their people. The
Anglican Bishops’ comment about Jesus in the survey report in 1984 is similar
to that which God said about him in the Quran nearly 600 years after his ascent
to heaven.
Jesus declared himself in the Gospel he
was a Prophet of God
The Quran teaches through Muhammad Jesus was
a mighty messenger of God and like all His messengers he was also sent to
establish the worship of One True God among his people and to guide them to His
Path. But many of my Christian friends think Muhammad is a false teacher and so
is the Quran. It is mainly for them I’ve quoted below some verses from the Gospel
where Jesus declared himself clearly he was a Prophet of God and why he was
sent for.
But he [Jesus] answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep
of the house of Israel. (Matthew 15:24)
And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.
(Matthew 21:11)
But Jesus said unto them, a prophet [referring to him when his own people offended him by their
disrespectful attitude towards him]
is not without honor but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his
own house. (Mark 6:4)
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)
And he [Jesus] said unto them,
What things? And they said unto him,
Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word
before God and all the people: (Luke 24:19)
The woman saith unto him [Jesus]
Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. (John 4:19)
Then those men, when they had seen
the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should
come into the world. (John 6:14)
Many of the people therefore, when
they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. (John 7:40)
And this is life eternal,
that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has
sent.(John 17:3)
The
message of the above-quoted verses is loud and clear. Jesus knew very well that
he was a Prophet of God and why he was sent for. The people of his time knew
that, too. If Jesus knew he were God or His equal, why did he introduce himself
falsely as the prophet of God or allow his people to remain in the dark about
his true identity or status? The fact is, Jesus had nothing to hide about him,
so he told them honestly who he really was and why he was sent for?
Jesus made his own status
and mission absolutely clear
The Gospel also contains
a number of verses where Jesus made his own status and mission absolutely clear.
In the following verses of the Gospel, Jesus has said to his people clearly who
he really was and why he was sent for.
And he said unto them,
I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.
(Luke 4:43)
I must the work the works
of him that sent me, ……(John 9:4)
Jesus cried and said, He
that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. (John
12:44)
And
this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus
Christ, whom thou has sent.(John 17:3)
Reverend, the message of
the above-quoted verses is loud and clear. Jesus knew very well that he was a Prophet
of God and he was sent for the guidance of his own people-the misguided Jews. The
people of his time knew that, too. If Jesus knew he were God or His equal, why did
he introduce himself falsely as the prophet of God or allow his people to remain
in the dark about his true identity or status? The fact is, Jesus had nothing
to hide about him, so he told them honestly who he really was and why he was
sent for?
Statements of the Holy Quran
about Jesus’ status and mission
In the following statements
of the Quran, we shall see what God has revealed through Muhammad testifying of
Jesus’ true status or mission, is in complete harmony with the statements of
the Gospel that I quoted above.
While he [Zakariya] was standing in a prayer in the chamber, the angel
called upon him [saying]: Allah gives you the good news of Yahya [John, the
Baptist], witnessing the truth of a word [meaning Jesus] from Allah who will be
noble, chaste and a Prophet from among the righteous. (3:39)
Behold! The angels said: “O Mary! Allah has chosen you and purified you,
above the women of all nations. … Allah will teach your son the
Book, the Wisdom, the Torah, and the Gospel, and will make him a Messenger to
the children of Israel … … (3:42, 48-49)
The Quran also
tells us that Jesus testified himself as a prophet of God,
from his cradle in response to people’s slander against Mary, his virgin mother.
Then she [Mary] pointed to him [her
son in the cradle]. They said: How can we talk to one who is a child in the
cradle? He [Jesus] said, I am indeed a servant of God; He has given me
revelation and made me a Prophet. (19:29–30)
While reminding people about
Jesus’ true status and mission, the Quran has said through Muhammad:
We gave Moses the Book and followed him with a succession of
Apostles: We gave Jesus, the son of Mary clear Signs and strengthened him with
the Holy Spirit. (2:87)
Then
in the footsteps of those Prophets, We sent Jesus the son of Mary confirming
whatever remained intact from the Torah in his time, and gave him the Gospel
wherein was guidance and light, corroborating what was revealed in the Torah; a
guidance and an abomination to those who fear Allah. (5:46)
Christ the son of Mary
was no more than a Messenger of God; There were many apostles who passed away
before him. His mother was a truthful woman. (5:75)
Reverend, on the basis of those statements from the Quran, which God
revealed to Muhammad about fourteen hundred years ago, all his followers have
accepted, loved, and respected Mary as a chaste, truthful and an illustrious
woman of the world and her son, Jesus, as a noble, righteous and a chosen Messenger
of God, without knowing anything of what the Gospel has really said about him
or about his mother.
Jesus was a
self-surrendered servant of God
There are many verses in
both Bible and the Quran where the messengers of God are addressed as His
slaves or servants. Naturally. God chose His messengers to accomplish His mission
through them, which is to guide His people to His path and to help them return
to Him in heaven, the original and eternal home of their parents. So to help
the people to achieve their goal, they left nothing unsaid or undone of what
God revealed to them for their guidance. It is for their total submission or
surrender to the will and the command of God, they were often addressed in the
Quran as Ibaa-di-naal Mur-saleen (in
Arabic) meaning our slaves, the messengers.
I have quoted below some verses from both parts of the Bible and the Quran in
support of that.
Remember Abraham, Isaac,
and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swearest, by thine own self, and saidst
unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven… (Exodus 32:13)
Now after the death of
Moses, the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua
the son of Nun. (Joshua 1:1)
And what can David say
more unto thee? For thou, Lord God, knowest thy servant. (2 Samuel 7:20)
And the Lord said unto Satan,
Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth,
a perfect and upright man, one that. (Job 2:3)
Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant;
and Israel, whom I have chosen. (Isaiah 44:1)
Now therefore, O our God, hear the
prayer of thy servant [Daniel], and his supplications, and cause thy face to
shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake. (Daniel 9:17)
Verily, verily, I say unto you, The
servant [Jesus compares himself to a servant] is not greater than his lord;
neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. (John 13:16)
The God of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his Son [servant] Jesus. (Acts
3:13)
Of interest is the use or
application of two Greek words, pias
and paida. Both the words are used to
mean son, child, or servant. But while translating the Holy Bible from Greek to
English, the translators used these words mostly to suit their own purpose. Out
of their excessive love for Jesus, they used “Son” in reference to Jesus and “servant”
in reference to all others. Besides that, they also chose to write “Son of God,”
capitalizing “Son” for Jesus but using a lowercase “s” for others, even though
in the original Greek, no such difference exists. I think they did so without
realizing that the level of one’s closeness to God depends entirely upon the
degree or depth of one’s submission to His will and command and also striving
for His cause.
The following passages of the Holy Quran,
tell us about some of the messengers whom God favored many ways for their total
submission to Him.
We gave [in the past] knowledge to
David and Solomon: and they both said: Praise be to Allah Who has favored us
above many of His servants who believe! (27:15)
We have already promised Our servants
whom We sent as our Messengers that they would certainly be helped.
(37:171–172)
He [Jesus] was no more than a servant.
We granted Our favor to him, and We made him an example to the children of
Israel. (Through His miraculous
birth and the miracles he performed to them in the name of God) (43:59)
The Messiah [Jesus] will never be
proud to reject to be a slave to God, nor the angels who are nearest [to God].
(4:172)
Glory to Allah Who did take His servant
[Muhammad] for journey by night from the
Sacred Mosque of Mecca to the Farthest Mosque [in Jerusalem]. (17:1)
Jesus did
everything by the command of God and for the sake of His Pleasure
While reading the Gospel,
I also came across many verses where Jesus admitted himself honestly that he
did not speak or do anything on his own but by the command of God and also for
the sake of His Pleasure. I’ve quoted below a few of them from the Gospel to
justify my claim:
I can of mine own self do nothing:
as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will,
but the will of the Father which hath sent me. (John 5:30)
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. (John 12:49)
And he [God] that sent me is with
me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please
him. (John 8:29)
Reverend, I think the
message of the above quoted verses is distinctly clear. Who but the most
devoted and dedicated servant of God would try to complete his assigned job in
this manner, as did Jesus?
Jesus
showed his complete adherence to the Laws of Moses
Both the Gospel and the Quran describe Jesus’ complete adherence to the
Law, which God revealed to Moses for the guidance of his people. I quoted below
some verses first from the Gospel and then from the Quran to justify my claim.
Think not that I am come to destroy
the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.
For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and
earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all
be fulfilled.
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: but whosoever shall do
and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
(Matthew 5:17–19)
And behold, one came and said
unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal
life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but
one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
(Matthew 19:16–17)
Instances
from the Quran
I [Jesus]
have come to you to attest the Law [Law of Moses] which was before me and to
make lawful to you part of which was forbidden to you before: I have come to
you with a Sign from your Lord. So fear Allah and obey me. It is Allah Who is
my Lord and your Lord; then worship Him. This is a straight way.( 3:50–51)
Then in the footsteps of
those Prophets, We sent Jesus the son of Mary confirming whatever remained
intact from the Torah in his time, and gave him the Gospel wherein was guidance
and light, corroborating what was revealed in the Torah; a guidance and an
abomination to those who fear Allah. (5:46)
Reverend, many of my
missionary friends believe Jesus was God incarnate because of his miraculous
birth and the miracles he performed before his people. But I think the arrival
or existence of a legendary figure described in Hebrews 7:1–4 is more astonishing
than Jesus’ birth without a father. And, the miracles performed by a prophet in
Ezekiel 37 is more stunning than Jesus’ bringing a four-days-dead body back to
life from his grave. (John 11:39–44)
There are also many clear
instances in the Gospel to prove that Jesus was a man of flesh and blood. From
the episode of the fig tree, we came to know that like any other ordinary human
being, Jesus was also a subject to hunger, anger, ignorance, and obliviousness,
including the suffering of pain and feeling of frustration. (Mark 11)
Opinion of
the Anglican Bishops about Jesus’ true status
On June 25, 1984, the London Daily News ran an article titled
“Shock Survey of Anglican Bishops,” which described a survey report regarding
Jesus’ true status. A poll, conducted by the religious television show Credo, showed that more than half of the
Anglican Bishops in England said Christians were not obliged to believe that
Jesus Christ was God. The article further stated that nineteen of the
thirty-one Bishops agreed that “it is sufficient to regard Jesus as God’s supreme
agent.”
God’s
“supreme agents” refer to none but the chosen or designated messengers of God who
were sent to earth from time to time for the guidance of their people. The
Anglican Bishops’ comment about Jesus in the survey report in 1984 is similar
to that which God said about him in the Quran nearly 600 years after his ascent
to heaven.
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