Jesus is a figure who is loved and revered by billions of people around in world, yet there is much confusion surrounding this personality. Muslims and Christians both hold Jesus in high regard but view him in very different ways.
This Article aims to clarify the issues surrounding Jesus and the differences in the belief of Muslims and Christians. Some Important questions like:
- Was Jesus God, or was he sent by God?
- Who was the real historical Jesus?
would be answered below.
Jesus- As God?
Some Christians claim that "Jesus is God" or part of a trinity - that he is the incarnation of God on earth, and that God took on a human form. However according to Bible, Jesus was born, he ate, slept, prayed and had limited knowledge- all attributes making him a human and not befitting God.
God has attributes of perfection whereas Man is the opposite. How can anything be two complete opposites occur simultaneously.
Islam teaches that God is always perfect. To believe that God became a man is to claim that God is or was (at some point in time), imperfect. Those who believe that Jesus was God should ask themselves how is it possible for god to be a weak helpless child, who needs food and sleep etc, The answer is a Sure No.
Again one may ask ; '" If God can do anything, why can't he become a man? " The answer to this query is that by definition, God does not do ungodly acts, God does not do anything that would make Him, something other than God. if God became man and took on human attributes, he would, necessarily, no longer be God.
Some ambiguous verses of the Bible can be applied erroneously to show that Jesus is in some way divine, but if we look at the clear direct verses of the Bible, we see again and again that Jesus is being referred to as an extraordinary human being and nothing more. The Bible contains many verses in which Jesus speaks and behaves as if God is a separate being to himself
For example:
Jesus fell on his face and prayed (Matthew 26:39)
If Jesus was god , then would a god fall on his face and pray? and who would he be praying to?
The Bible calls Jesus a Prophet (Matthew 21:10-11), so how could Jesus be God and be God's prophet at the same time?
Jesus said: I am going to Father, because the Father is greater than me. (John 14:28)
Jesus said: I ascend unto my Father, and your Father, and to my God, and your God. (John 20:17)
If Jesus was God, then why would he say "to my God and your God" and who was he ascending to?
If Jesus was God , he would have clearly told people to worship him, and there would be clear verses in the Bible stating this, yet he did the opposite and disapproved anyone worshiping him.
And in vain they worship me (Matthew 15:9)
Son Of God ?
Some Christians claim that Jesus is the son of God. What does this actually mean?Surely God is far removed from having a physical and literal son. Humans have human children, Cats have kittens, What does it mean for God to have a child?
Rather than being taken literally, we find the term " Son of God" is symbolically used in the earliest biblical languages for a 'righteous person' and has been used for David, Solomon and Israel, and not exclusively for Jesus.
In fact, anyone who is righteous is referred to as God's son.