As we have seen on several occasions, the Qur’an recognizes Jesus as a prophet. The word prophet means someone who receives a message directly from God, an inspired message that he was supposed to bring to men. Of course, there have always been false prophets, men who claim to speak for God but who, in fact, deceive their listeners.

The Qur’an treats Jesus as a true prophet, but at the same time it emphasizes the idea that Jesus was nothing more than a prophet, that he was nothing but a simple messenger. But we also have to admit that the Qur’an speaks of “al-Masih” (3:28) or “the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary” (4:171). So if Muhammad recognized Jesus as the Messiah, it is surely worth examining the meaning of this title and determining the mission of the person who was to wear it.

The Messiah

In the Gospel according to John, we see in the first chapters two future apostles of Jesus, Andrew and his brother Simon Peter. John the Baptist had just borne witness to Jesus of Nazareth, and Andrew, who was already a disciple of John the Baptist, heard it. John 1:41 says, “He first found his own brother Simon, and told him, ‘We have found the Messiah (which means ‘Anointed One’).’” In this verse, we have a Hebrew word and a Greek word, which have both been anglicized. The Hebrew word mashiach and the Greek word christos have the same meaning. They mean “anointed” or “the one who has been anointed.” But what is the meaning of this curious term?

In the Bible we find three categories of people who received an anointing of oil, that is to say that oil was poured on their heads before they began their duties. These three categories were the priests who were charged with presenting to God the sacrifices of His people, the prophets who were charged with giving the people messages from God, and the kings who were charged with governing and leading the people in the name of God, the true King of kings.

In Exodus 28:41, we read that God said, “Put these on your brother Aaron and his sons; then anoint, ordain, and consecrate them, so they may serve Me as priests.” In 1 Kings 19:16, God said to the prophet Elijah, “You are to anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi, as king over Israel, and Elisha, son of Shaphat from Abel-meholah as prophet in your place.” On the same occasion, God told him, “Go and return by the way you came to the Wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive, you are to anoint Hazael as king over Aram” (1 Kings 19:15). We could quote many other passages to illustrate this practice.

But the term the Messiah is even more special. He was the subject of different prophecies in the Old Testament. The Messiah would be prophet, priest, and king all at the same time. This is someone who would be anointed, not by the hand of a man, but by God Himself. In the Zabur, David wrote about the enemies of God:

“The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers take counsel against the Lord and against His anointed… The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord ridicules them. Then He speaks to them in His anger and terrifies them in His wrath; ‘I have consecrated My King on Zion, My holy mountain.’” (Psalm 2.2,4-6)

All the Jewish people in the time of Jesus waited earnestly for the coming of this individual anointed by God. Even among the Samaritans, a mixed-race people whose pagan ancestors had married Jews, they were aware of the One who was supposed to come. In John 4:25,26, a Samaritan woman who spoke with Jesus said, “‘I know the Messiah is coming (who is called Christ). When He comes, He will explain everything to us.’ ‘I am He,’ Jesus told her: ‘the One speaking to you.’”

Jesus indeed played all three roles of prophet, priest, and king. In Acts 3:22-26, the apostle Peter reminded the Jews of the prophecy of Moses concerning the prophet God had promised to send. Then he told them that this prophet was Jesus. The author of the book of Hebrews highlighted the fact that Jesus, as priest, served as intermediary between God and men. He said, “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens—Jesus, the Son of God—let us hold fast to the confession” (Hebrews 4:14). Regarding His title of king, Jesus acknowledged it by his own mouth during his trial before Pontius Pilate. He said, “‘My kingdom is not of this world… If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. As it is, my kingdom does not have its origin here.’ ‘You are a king then?’ Pilate asked. ‘You say that I am a king,’ Jesus replied…” (John 18:36,37). In attributing to Jesus the title of Messiah, the Qur’an and the Bible recognize in Him the One whom God had designated as prophet, priest, and king.

The Mission

But what was the mission of the Messiah? A prophet always has one or more messages to give to men, and in the Gospel we have many teachings and exhortations that Jesus gave from God. But did he, as the Messiah prophesied for centuries, have something else to accomplish on Earth? Why exactly was the Messiah supposed to come?

To Bear Witness to the Truth

Jesus himself made many declarations concerning the mission that God had given Him. Some of these statements align easily with the role that we generally attribute to prophets, the role of publishing the words received from God, of making known His will and of calling people to submit themselves to it. For example, after having acknowledged His kingdom before the governor Pilate, Jesus added, “I was born for this and I have come into the world for this: to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice” (John 18:37).

In another passage, Jesus refers to his mission of enlightening the people concerning the Creator: “The one who believes in me believes not in me, but in Him who sent me. And the one who sees me sees Him who sent me. I have come as a light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me would not remain in darkness” (Jean 12:44-46).

To Fulfill the Law and the Prophets

But Jesus came not only to make known the truth concerning God and His will for the people; his coming would also have an effect on the preceding revelations that God had made to them. The Gospel according to Matthew contains these words of Christ:

“Don’t assume that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For I assure you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass from the law until all things are accomplished.” (Matthew 5:17,18)

The law of which Jesus spoke was, of course, the Torah, that we also call the law of Moses. The prophets are the writings of God-inspired servants, many of which are preserved for us in the Bible. Jesus said that he came not to abolish but to fulfill these previously made revelations. The distinction that Jesus made between abolishing and accomplishing or fulfilling is very important. Suppose that you give me money and I write an acknowledgement of debt for you. If I destroy the paper that I signed without paying what I owe, you will no longer be able to use the document to claim the money. I abolished it. But the document was not respected and did not serve the purpose for which it was written. If, on the other hand, I reimburse you the money and we affix our signatures to attest that the debt was completely paid, I have accomplished what was specified in the I.O.U. Also, you are not going to use the document in the future to ask me for money, because it has served its purpose. In this case, it was respected.

Jesus fulfilled the Torah and the writings of the prophets in more than one way. First, he fulfilled the prophecies contained in these books. There are, for example, many direct predictions concerning the Messiah and these prophecies were fulfilled in the life of Jesus. All through the Gospel, we find the expression “This happened so that what had been written by the prophet might be fulfilled.” Many details about Jesus had been predicted, from His miraculous birth in Bethlehem to His betrayal for thirty pieces of silver and the words used by those who mocked him during His crucifixion.

Not only the direct predictions, but also the things and the ceremonies that symbolized Christ and His work in advance were “fulfilled” by Jesus. Thus Moses’ law ordered, for example, that animals be sacrificed on an altar and that their blood be offered for purification from sin. But the Epistle to the Hebrews says concerning these sacrifices that the Jews continued to offer up until the destruction of their temple in Jerusalem:

“Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come, and not the actual form of those realities, it can never perfect the worshippers by the same sacrifices they continually offer year after year… For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin.” (Hebrews 10:1,4)

The text goes on to explain that Jesus, voluntarily accepting death on the cross, offered Himself as the true sacrifice for sin, the only one that has the power to truly erase sins. The animals which were offered according to the commandments in the law of Moses did nothing but symbolize the sacrifice of Christ. Since these symbols have given way to the reality they represented, there is no longer a need to observe the Mosaic ceremonies. The first covenant was replaced by a second one (Hebrews 8:7).

Those who think that the commandments of God have not undergone any change since the beginning and that they are still in effect must face a dilemma: why would God permit the Romans to destroy the Jewish temple in Jerusalem nearly two thousand years ago, and why since that time has God not made its reconstruction possible, if in fact he wanted the ordinances of the Mosaic law to be observed in our time? You see, the Torah is filled with detailed instructions about the place of worship, the priesthood, the sacrifices and many other things that neither the Jews nor any other people are able to follow today. Not only does the Jewish temple no longer exist, but no one today can prove he is from the tribe of Levi and among the descendants of Aaron in order to have the right to fill the very necessary role of priest. The Christian who understands the meaning of Jesus’ words finds no difficulty—Christ has well said that He came to fulfill the law. And when he surrendered his soul on the cross, he said, “It is finished” (John 19:30).