In the last two lessons, we have seen reasons to ask ourselves questions about one of the prophets who is mentioned in the Bible as well as in the Qur’an. Of all the prophets, this is the only one whose coming was foretold by other prophets centuries before his birth and the only one for whom another prophet was sent especially to prepare his generation to receive him in a worthy manner. He is the only prophet about whom it is said that he lived a life without sin, even before beginning his ministry as a prophet; the only one who claimed to exist in heaven before being born on earth and the only one who claimed to have the right to pardon sins. But what about the miracles done by Jesus? Is there a difference between what he did and what the others were able to do?
His Miracles
The Gospels are full of stories of miracles performed by Jesus. The Qur’an, also, attributes miracles to him. In surah 5:110, Allah said to him:
“Jesus, son of Mary, remember My favour to you and to your mother: how I strengthened you with the holy spirit, so that you could speak to people in childhood and in maturity; and how I taught you the Book, and wisdom, the Torah and the Gospel; how by My leave you fashioned from clay the shape of a bird and blew upon it so that, by My leave, it became a bird, and healed the blind and the leper by My permission; and how I prevented the Children of Israel from harming you when you came to them with clear signs.”
The different miraculous works of Jesus manifested his power over the forces of nature, over demons, over sickness and over death; they demonstrate His knowledge even of the secret thoughts of men. They were very often proof of His great compassion in the face of suffering; but more than that, they also testified to His own identity. And Jesus did not hesitate to draw men’s attention to what His miracles meant. In the Gospel of John we read, “Then the Jews surrounded Him and asked, ‘How long are You going to keep us in suspense? If You are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’ ‘I did tell you and you don’t believe,’ Jesus answered them. ‘The works that I do in My Father’s name testify about Me’” (John 10:24,25).
The enemies of Jesus recognized the reality of the miracles of Jesus, but they were not ready to believe despite the evidence. John 11:47,48 said, “So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, ‘What are we going to do since this man does many signs? If we let Him continue in this way, everyone will believe in Him! Then the Romans will come and remove both our place and our nation.’”
Did He Really Die?
The most important miracle that is attributed to Jesus is his resurrection from among the dead. But did Jesus really die in the manner that we are told? To support what is said about Jesus, we have quoted not only the Bible, but the Qur’an and the Muslim tradition also. But what about the idea that Jesus died on the cross? Does the Qur’an literally say that this did not happen? Most Muslims don’t accept the idea that Jesus, whom they recognize nevertheless as a prophet, died on the cross. The most important argument is based on the 4th Surah of the Qur’an which says concerning the Jews:
“But they broke their covenant; and they rejected the signs of God; and put the prophets to death without justification; and said ‘Our hearts are sealed.’ It is God who has sealed their hearts, on account of their denial of the truth. Except for a few of them, they have no faith.
They denied the truth and uttered a monstrous slander against Mary. They declared, ‘We have put to death the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the Messenger of God’ … They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but it only seemed to them [as if it had been so]. And those who differ in this matter are in doubt concerning it. They have no definite knowledge about it, but only follow mere conjecture. But they certainly did not kill him. God raised him toward Himself. God is almighty and wise.” (Al-Nisa’ 4:155-158)
This passage was explained in many ways by Muslims. Some say that Jesus was hidden or that an angel protected him, while one of his companions died in his place. Some say that God made Judas Iscariot take on the appearance of Jesus, and that it was him who was killed. Others say that Simon of Cyrene, who carried the cross behind Jesus, was substituted for him on the way to Calvary. Still others say simply that the Jews tried to kill him but could not do it and that God took Him to heaven without dying.
All these explanations have certain problems. There is, for example, a moral problem if we say that God used trickery or deception to deliberately make people believe a lie. God is perfectly holy, pure and without sin. The Bible says clearly in Hebrews 6:18, “It is impossible for God to lie,” and in Titus 1:2: “God who cannot lie.” The law of Moses commanded, “You must not deal deceptively or lie to one another” (Leviticus 19:11).
He who tells men not to use deception, would He Himself use deception with men? How could we then trust Him? Far be it from God—the God of Truth—far be it from Him to think of deceiving men and making them believe what is false. He would not use His miraculous power to deceive men. It is Satan who acts in this way. Let us not dishonor God.
But can we believe that, without miraculous intervention on God’s part, people could have crucified and buried some else in Jesus’ place? While He was on the cross, he was recognized by the Roman centurion and his soldiers, passers-by who had heard him preach, the Jewish leaders and the two thieves. There were also at the foot of the cross those who had known Him extremely well—women who had accompanied Him from Galilee, his own mother and his disciple John. His body must have been easily recognizable after having been taken down from the cross, not only by his face but also by the scars from the crown of thorns that the soldiers had placed on his head. Besides, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, who buried him, and the women who were observing as His body was being prepared for burial all knew Jesus very well. Without miraculous deception, they could not have taken another to be Him.
Must we add that we cannot deny the suffering and death of Jesus without making liars of all the holy prophets of God who preceded Him? We have seen in a previous lesson that these messengers of God had announced not only the coming of Christ, but also his death. Here is what Jesus said to his disciples after his resurrection:
“‘How unwise and slow you are to believe in your hearts all that the prophets have spoken! Didn’t the Messiah have to suffer these things and enter into His glory?’ […]
‘These are My words that I spoke to you when I was still with you—that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. He also said to them: ‘This is what is written: the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead the third day.’” (Luke 24:25,26,44-46)
But let’s return to the Qur’anic passage which said, “They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but it only seemed to them [as if it had been so].” It should be noted that there is another way to understand this Qur’anic passage. In the context, it is a reproach to the Jews who had rejected the prophets of God, spoken against Mary, and were boasting of having crucified Jesus Christ. In refuting the Jews, the Qur’an says, “They did not kill Him, nor did they crucify Him.” This does not mean that there was no crucifixion, but that even if it did take place, it was God who was responsible for it. The Jews only did what God, the All-Powerful, allowed them to do in order for his plan to be carried out. The same sort of language is found in the 8th surah of the Qur’an, which speaks of the actions of the Muslims at the Battle of Badr: “You did not kill them; it was God who killed them; and when you [Prophet] threw [sand] at them, it was not you, but God who threw it, so that He might confer on the believers a great favour from Himself. Surely God is All-Hearing, All-Knowing” (Al-Anfal 8:17). The faithful Muslims had in fact killed their adversaries, but this was only done (according to the idea of this verse) with the help and according to the will of Allah.
This way of understanding the passage on the crucifixion of Jesus is more in agreement with other passages of the Qur’an which speak of the death of Jesus. For example, in Surah 19:33, Jesus, still a baby in Mary’s arms, said these words: “Blessed was I on the day I was born, and blessed I shall be on the day I die and on the day I am raised to life again.” And in Surah 3, God said, “O Jesus, I shall take you to Me and raise you up to Me” (Al-Imran 3:55).
His Resurrection
Earlier we were talking about Jesus’ miracles. Other prophets had done miracles before Jesus, but as we have suggested, one of his miracles surpassed all the others. Listen to the Gospel of Matthew 12:38-40:
“Some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, ‘Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.’
But He answered them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.’”
Jesus is speaking, of course, of the time that He spent in the tomb before being resurrected. Another time He used another image:
“So the Jews replied to Him: ‘What sign of authority will You show us for doing these things?’
Jesus answered: ‘Destroy this sanctuary, and I will raise it up in three days.’
Therefore the Jews said, ‘This sanctuary took 46 years to build, and will You raise it up in three days?’
But He was speaking of the sanctuary of His body. So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this. And they believed the Scripture and the statement Jesus had made.” (John 2:18-22)
His disciples “believed the Scripture” because they understood that the resurrection of Jesus was part of the things that were announced in advance about Him. The apostle Peter preached to the people of Jerusalem some weeks after the death and resurrection of Jesus. He said:
“God raised Him up, ending the pains of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it. For David says of Him, ‘You will not leave me in Hades or allow Your Holy One to see decay….’ Brothers, I can confidently speak to you about the patriarch David: he is both dead and buried and his tomb is with us to this day. Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn an oath to him to seat one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing this in advance, he spoke concerning the resurrection of the Messiah… God has resurrected this Jesus. We are all witnesses of this.” (Acts 2:24,25, 27, 29-32)
The apostle Paul, also, emphasized this miracle in particular. When he preached in the city of Athens, in Greece, he said: “Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God now commands all people everywhere to repent, because He has set a day when He is going to judge the world in righteousness by the Man He has appointed. He has provided proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:30,31). Muslim tradition, as well, speaks of the return of Jesus and of the judgment which He will administer.
A life without any sin, miracles of every type, the resurrection from the dead, and a return for the judgment—again we must ask ourselves: Isn’t Jesus, son of Mary, much more than a prophet?