1. TRUTHS ABOUT JESUS IN THE QURAN AND THE BIBLE. a). The Virgin-Birth. This first feature - so strangely denied in some of the peculiar quarters of Islam and Christianity - is one of the most obvious and unambiguous teachings of the Quran and the Bible and is fundamentally upheld by both books. It is referred to more than once in the Quran but is particularly set out in some detail in Surah 19, verses 16 to 34. The following verses from this passage are here quoted to prove the point: And make mention of Mary in the Scripture, when she had withdrawn from her people to a chamber looking East, and had chosen seclusion from them. Then We sent unto her Our spirit and it assumed for her the likeness of a perfect man. She said: Lo! I seek refuge in the Beneficent One from thee, if thou art God-fearing. He said: I am only a messenger from thy Lord, that I may bestow on thee a faultless son. She said: How can I have a son when no mortal hath touched me, neither have I been unchaste? He said: So it will be. Thy Lord saith: It is easy for Me. And it will be that We may make of him a revelation for mankind and a mercy from Us, and it is a thing ordained. And she conceived him, and she withdrew with him to a far place. Surah 19:16-22. If Mary had conceived by another man, why would the angel have appeared to her to explain the conception of her son? Clearly from the text we can see that the angel had come not only to set her mind at rest about the pregnancy she was about to experience but to explain that this unique event was simply the effect of Gods desire to make this son a revelation for mankind. She was to conceive him in a special way because there was to be something special about her son. Secondly, what other interpretation can be derived from the words How can I have a son when no mortal hath touched me, neither have I been unchaste?. These words clearly imply that Mary was a virgin when the child was conceived. It is surely not necessary to press this point further. The language of the Quran is unambiguous about the virgin-birth of Christ and further support for it is found in Surah 4.156. In that verse Mary is cleared from the base charge of the Jews that she had illegitimately conceived Jesus out of wedlock. Again Surah 21:91 explains the conception of Jesus as the direct action of God within an unmarried woman who was completely free of any unchastity. Surely this is even more abundantly proved by the title Jesus is given more often than any other in the Quran - the son of Mary. It is common in Semitic communities to name a man as the son of his father, for example, Muhammad ibn Abdullah, Muhammad ibn Ishaq (early historian of Islam), Zaid ibn Sabet, etc., but we do not find men named as the sons of their mothers. Why then is Jesus so often called the son of Mary (Isa ibn Maryam) in the Quran? Surely the striking repetition of this name as well as its exceptional character demand that Jesus was born of his mother alone. Is not the frequency of this title evidence of the unique manner of the birth of Jesus? In the Quran the names of women are conspicuous by their absence. Surely the mother of Jesus is mentioned by name so regularly because of her significant place in human history as the only woman to bear a son while still a virgin. This alone can explain the prominence Mary receives in the Quran. It is safe to conclude that the Quran teaches the virgin-birth of Jesus Christ. No right-thinking man will deny that the Bible also teaches the virgin-birth of Jesus Christ. Throughout its history the Christian Church has held to this belief and we need only quote this passage to prove that the doctrine is soundly based on the Bible: In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgins name was Mary. And he came to her and said Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you! But she was greatly troubled at the saying and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. Luke 1:26-31. Twice the mother of Jesus is plainly described as a virgin in that passage. When she replied to the angel, How shall this be, since I have no husband? (Luke 1.34), the angel then explained that the conception would not be by human means but by the power of the Holy Spirit of God. We are particularly privileged to have a second, independent account of the virgin-birth in the Bible and it is set forth in this passage: Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered this, behold an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. Matthew 1:18-21. Once again the conception of Jesus is described as being the result of he work of the Holy Spirit and once again, as in the Quran, it is found that an angel appears to explain the phenomenon, in this case to Joseph. Why should there be these instances of angelic manifestations to explain the birth of Jesus if his mother had conceived him through some other man? The texts speak plainly for themselves and there can be no question about the birth of Christ. The angel appeared to Joseph and Mary to explain to them both that the conception of Jesus was by the special intervention of the Holy Spirit. Therefore Christians and Muslims have, in the birth of Jesus, something in which the Quran and the Bible are agreed. These two books both teach as a fact that he was born of a virgin-woman by the will of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. b). The Sinlessness of Jesus Christ. It is a simple matter to prove from the Quran and the Bible that Jesus was absolutely without sin through out his life. When the angel appeared to Mary, the Quran says that he told her I am only a messenger of thy Lord that I may bestow on thee a faultless son (Surah 19.19). The Arabic word for faultless, zakiyya, implies that he was totally without sin. In the Bible there are numerous proofs of the sinlessness of Jesus Christ. Passages proving the point are: He committed no sin, no guile was found on his lips. 1 Peter 2:22 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5. 21 You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in in him there is no sin. 1 John 3:5 At this stage, however, it will be profitable to note that in the Quran and the Bible, Jesus Christ alone is described as sinless. He is emphatically described as such in both books. No other prophet or man is so described. Nevertheless both books describe the sins of other prophets and both leave us with the firm impression that Jesus alone was without sin. (In the Quran, in Surah 19.19, the unique birth of Jesus is explained by the angel as the medium for the faultlessness of the son of Mary. This implies that a man cannot be faultless unless he is born of a virgin-woman. Hence Jesus Christ, being the only man to be born in this way, must of necessity also be the only sinless man who ever lived). The Quran attributes sin to the following prophets: Adam. And their Lord called them, saying: Did I not forbid you from that tree and tell you: Lo! Satan is an open enemy to you? They said: Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If thou forgive us not and have not mercy on us, surely we are of the lost. Surah 7:22-23. Abraham. And Who, I ardently hope, will forgive me my sin on the Day of Judgment. Surah 26:82 Moses. He said: My Lord! Lo! I have wronged my soul, so forgive me. Surah 28:16 Jonah. And the fish swallowed him while he was blameworthy. Surah 37:142 Muhammad. So know, O Muhammad, that there is no God save Allah, and ask forgiveness for thy sin and for believing men and believing women. Surah 47:19 Jesus Christ was never commanded to pray for forgiveness because he was faultless. We also never find him praying for any faults, wrongs and sins such as the Quran attributes in the verses quoted to other prophets. He never wronged his soul, nor was he blameworthy. Instead the Quran emphasizes that he was entirely without sin and was faultless. We can therefore conclude by saying that the Quran teaches that of all men, Jesus Christ alone was sinless. In the Bible the universal effect of sin is recorded often, but it will be sufficient to quote these words to prove the point: None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands, no one seeks for God. All have turned aside, together they have gone wrong; no one does good, not even one. Romans 3:10-12. The Bible plainly teaches that no man, other than Jesus Christ, has ever faithfully sought out God and done good all his days. Every other man has at some time turned away from him and sinned against him. Once again, we find that Jesus Christ alone is sin- less. So we find that as the Quran and the Bible both teach the virgin-birth of Jesus Christ, so they both al- so teach that he alone was sinless and faultless. c). The Ascension of Jesus. One of the standing orthodox beliefs in Islam about Jesus is that he ascended to heaven. The ascension of Jesus is mentioned in the Quran in these words: Allah took him up to Himself. Surah 4:158 The text plainly implies, not that Jesus was taken to the second sky or third heaven, as some suppose, but that God took Jesus to himself. That is, he took him into his own glorious presence in the highest heavens. The Bible confirms this in some detail but we need only quote a few passages here to prove both the ascension of Jesus and his exaltation at the height of the heavens in the presence of Almighty God. And when he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven. Acts 1:9-11 Seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Colossians 3:1 Which God accomplished in Christ when he raised him from the dead and made him sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion. Ephesians 1:20-21. I glorified thee on earth, having accomplished the work which thou gavest me to do; and now, Father, glorify thou me in thy own presence with the glory which I had with thee before the world was made. John 17:4-5. So we see that both the Quran and the Bible teach the ascension of Jesus, not just into heaven, but indeed above the heavens into the ultimate presence of God. (The only Hadith that exist on the ultimate destiny of Jesus confirm that he went to heaven. While there are many Hadith supporting the ascension of Jesus, there are none against it). It is well-known to Christians and Muslims that the Quran and the Bible differ on the time and cause of the ascension of Jesus, but what is of extreme importance is that they both agree on the fact - that Jesus did indeed ascend to heaven and is alive there to this day. d). The Second Coming of Jesus. The last point of agreement between the Quran and the Bible on the life of Jesus that concerns us is the second coming of Jesus. As with the ascension, the Quran is backed by many Hadith on this point. The one verse in the Quran which does appear to clearly teach the second coming of Jesus is this one: And (Jesus) shall be a sign for (the coming of) hour (of Judgement). Surah 43:61 The text is somewhat briefer in the original Arabic but the interpretation of it in the English is ostensibly correct. Again Christians and Muslims differ on the manner and effect of the second coming but agree on the fact. The second coming of Jesus is one of the grandest and most extensive subjects of the prophetic texts of the Bible, but just a few quotes will suffice: Then will appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Matthew 24:30 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangels call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. 1 Thessalonians 4:16 Behold he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, every one who pierced him; and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Revelation 1:7 We can conclude by saying that the second coming of Jesus to herald the Day of Judgment is a fact upon which the Quran and the Bible are agreed Suleyman
Posted on: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 11:14:54 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015