Tag: Quran

Muslims believe Jesus is the Messiah – Clash with John 14:6.

I received the following comment on a blog post:

Did you know that Muslims believe Jesus is the Messiah? Where does that fit into John 14:6?

 

Someone else responded to that by saying:

See you can’t speak for all Muslims. Some do believe Jesus is the Messiah, others believe he was just a prophet who died, etc. What does the word Messiah mean to Muslims?

 

I think that was a pretty good response.  Ask the guy for more clarity.  Do all Muslims believe Jesus was the Messiah?  They likely refer to him as the Christ, but do they know that Christ means Messiah, and if they do know this, what exactly does the word Messiah mean to Muslims?  Do they have Messianic expectations that are the same as the Jews?  Do they understand Jesus’ role as the Messiah in the same way as Christians?

The original commenter responded saying:

It’s part of their doctrine. Mainstream Muslims say to not believe Jesus sits even now at the right hand of God and will come again is not to be Muslim. They believe Jesus was born of the virgin Mary. Look it up. It’s in the fundamentals of Islamic doctrin

 

This reply doesn’t exactly address the meaning of Messiah and doesn’t show that Muslims believe everything Christians believe about John 14:6 and the personhood of the God-Man, Jesus Christ.  Here’s the comment I left after this string of comments:

I know that you are right that Muslims believe that Jesus was born of a virgin named Mary.

I also know that they don’t believe he died. That is clearly stated in the Qur’an. If he did not die, then the doctrine of his atoning sacrifice for the sins of mankind is not within Islam, which means that Muslims reject the prophesies of Isaiah 53. Muslims believe that each man must pay for his own sin, that they cannot stick their sins to someone else. This means Christians have quite a different understanding of who Jesus is and what he did for mankind than Muslims do.
The following page shows the verses from the Qur’an that support that Jesus was born of a virgin, did not have an earthly Father just as Adam, and did not die:http://www.islam-guide.com/ch3-10.htm.

 

Help me out, please. Where do you find that Muslims believe that Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Father and that he is the Messiah. Also show me what Muslims believe concerning the Messiah. I know that Christians recognize that Messiah means “anointed one” and that prophets, priests, and kings were anointed in ancient Israel. Christians believe that Jesus as the Messiah fulfills all three offices in such a way that no other person possibly can because Jesus is fully God and fully man (another Doctrine that Muslims reject).

 

Any feedback or additional thoughts or answers to the questions I left in my post on this topic would be appreciated.

 

 

Related articles

Andy Wrasman7 Comments

Did you know that the Qur’an has a lot to say about Jesus?

Virgin Mary and Jesus, old Persian miniature. ...
Virgin Mary and Jesus, old Persian miniature. In Islam, they are called Maryam and Isa.

Did you know that the Qur’an has a lot to say about Jesus?

This link provides verses from the Qur’an that mention Jesus: http://www.quranfromallah.com/Topics/Quran-Jesus.html

Surah 2:136 and Surah 4:163 say Jesus is a prophet.

Surah 22:91 and Surah 23:50 say that Mary was a virgin who Allah made pregnant with Jesus through his Spirit.

Surah 4:157 says that Jesus was not killed, nor crucified, and the next verse, 158, explains that Allah raised Jesus to heaven (The Ascension in Christian terms) in both body and spirit.

Andy Wrasman2 Comments

Qur’an and the Injeel #5

I made a reference in the last blog post in this series that mentioned that the Qur’an claims that the prophets of the Old Testament were prophets of Allah and that the Injeel (The Gospel of Jesus) is also from Allah.  I received a comment asking to provide the citations in the Qur’an in case Muslims deny that the Qur’an teaches this.

The following is a Muslim run website that lists the verses in English that mention the Injeel (The Gospel):  http://www.quranfromallah.com/Topics/Quran-Gospel.html

The first verse listed is a key verse, Surah 3:3, which reads, “It is He Who has sent down the Book (the Quran) to you (Muhammad SAW) with truth, confirming what came before it. And he sent down the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel).”  I’d suggest remembering this Qur’an citation.

This verse directly says Allah sent the Qur’an to confirm the Torah and the Gospel.  If the Qur’an is to confirm the Gospels, then it shouldn’t contradict the Bible, but since it does contradict the Bible, Muslims claim that the Qur’an was sent to “correct” the Bible, to “correct” the corruption that has occurred in the Bible.  The Qur’an however doesn’t say that Allah sent the Qur’an to “correct” what came before, but to “confirm” what had already been given.

We’ll need to ask Muslims some questions.  Who corrupted the Bible?  When was it corrupted?  Why was it corrupted?  What part of the Bible has been corrupted?  Muslims do not have answers to these questions!  I have only met one Muslim who has given an answer to me.  He told me that the apostle Paul corrupted the Bible, because Paul was not a true believer.  He was a pagan.  I shared with the Muslim that this is impossible.  Paul was a contemporary with Jesus and Jesus’ apostles.  If he was changing or corrupting God’s Word, the other apostles would have stopped it.  I also shared that the apostle John definitely outlived Paul.  John would have been able to correct any of Paul’s distortions after Paul’s death, if he actually did corrupt them.  The Muslim responded, “I don’t know anything about John.  I don’t want to speak about what I don’t know.”

Please visit Crescent Project.  The bulk of this series is outlining the Bridges series from Crescent Project.

Andy Wrasman1 Comment

Qur’an and the Injeel #4

Quran
Quran (Photo credit: kevinschoenmakers)

Please visit Crescent Project.  The bulk of this series is outlining the Bridges series from Crescent Project.

The Qur’an says that the Injeel (Muslim’s Arabic name for the Gospels) is the word of Allah.  They however, say that it’s been changed, or corrupted, which is why Allah had to send the Qur’an through Muhhammed.  It’s also why many of them haven’t read the Injeel.  So how can a Christian respond to a Muslim who says, “Yes, the Injeel is the word of God and Jesus was a prophet, but it has been changed!”?

Logical Response

Simply ask questions.

“When was the Injeel (NT) corruptued?”

“How was it been corrupted?”

“Who corrupted it?”

“What parts are corrupted?  Has the whole Injeel been changed?”

Muslims generally won’t have answers to these questions.

You can then ask,”Did Muhammad tell Muslims to read the Bible in the Qur’an?  Did he say it was the word of Allah in the Qur’an?”  The answers to these questions are yes, and if you want check the first post in this series and you’ll see the verses from Qur’an which claim this.

The next statement to follow up the answer to these questions is, “If Muhammad said to read the Bible and didn’t make any mention of it being changed or corrupted, then it must have been changed after Muhammad.”

That then leads into the “Historical Response” which shows that the Bible hasn’t been changed before or after Muhammad.

Andy Wrasman1 Comment

The Qur’an and the Injeel #3

Please visit Crescent Project.  The bulk of this series is outlining the Bridges series from Crescent Project.

This series has shown where the Qur’an states that the the Gospel of Jesus, the Injeel (the Arabic name Muslims use for the Gospels) is from Allah.  This is phenomenal!  From the authoritative word of Allah for Muslims, there is the direct teaching that not only Jesus but other prophets from the Old Testament delivered the word of God to humanity.  It has also been shared in this series that Muslims believe that Allah has revealed his word in succession as previous scriptures were distorted, corrupted, or changed by men.  The differing understandings and views that Muslims and Christians have concerning the Injeel (The Gospels) has also been shared.  To read the rest of this series scroll down, or click on the Islam label at the bottom of this post.

Theological Response

One response to a Christian apologist could give to Muslims for why the Injeel has not been corrupted is a theological response.

When Muslims say the Injeel has bee corrupted, Fouad Masri, founder of Crescent Project, suggests saying, “Astaghfurallah”!  This means, “God forbid.”

Why should this response be given?  It would appear that such a response is instantly setting up a fight, using the name of Allah and throwing it back in a Muslims face that he or she is WRONG!  In fact, this is done from a loving position.  Muslims say “God Forbid” whenever something is said or done that goes against Allah or his will.  The idea is that Christians apologists should respond with “God Forbid” to direct them to the truth that what they just said went against God’s word, because it suggests that humans are stronger than God.

From a theological study of the Qur’an, who is stronger, man or God?  Clearly God.  From a theological study of the Qur’an, is the Injeel (The Gospels) from Allah and is the Injeel Allah’s Word?  The answer is yes.  It then stands to reason, if they were God’s words when they were written down, how could man have the power to change them?  If man can corrupt God’s word, how do you know then if the Qu’ran can’t be corrupted.  God will save and protect his word.
At this point a Christian can encourage a Muslim to know that in the Injeel God has promised to keep his word.  Encourage a Muslim to read the Injeel.  Copies of the New Testament can even be purchased which have the title “Injeel” on the cover and they are written in both Arabic and English.  It would be the perfect time to share the Injeel with a Muslim, ensuring him or her that God’s word cannot be corrupted, because God will preserve his word – man is not stronger than God.
Many Muslims have not read the Injeel, because they have always been told that it is corrupted!  They are taught that it is corrupted because it clearly contradicts what the Qur’an teaches.  Yet, the Qur’an says the Injeel is the word of Allah.  Christians must begin to interact with Muslims to show them that the Qur’an mandates that the Injeel be kept and read and that it came before the Qur’an and God’s word cannot be changed by men, since God is stronger than men and God has promised to keep his word.  Once Muslims begin to read the Injeel, in the view that it is the word of God and can be trusted, they will learn what the Injeel’s teachings about God and the prophets runs contrary to that of the Qur’an, and if they were in fact reading it as God’s word that came before the Qur’an then in hope they will see the Qur’an for what it truly is, the word of a man.

Andy Wrasman5 Comments