The Godhead – Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ was not killed nor crucified

The Muslim religion teaches that Jesus Christ did not die on the cross. For it is written in the Qur’an: ‘(They have incurred divine displeasure): in that they broke their Covenant: that they rejected the Signs of Allah; that they slew the Messengers in defiance of right; that they said "Our hearts are the wrappings (which preserve Allah's Word; we need no more)"; nay Allah hath set the seal on their hearts for their blasphemy and little is it they believe. That they rejected faith: that they uttered against Mary a grave false charge. That they said (in boast) "We killed Christ (Maseeh) Jesus the son of Mary the Apostle of Allah"; but they killed him not nor crucified him but so it was made to appear to them and those who differ therein are full of doubts with no (certain) knowledge but only conjecture to follow for of a surety they killed him not. Nay Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power Wise. And there is none of the People of the Book but must believe in him before his death; and on the Day of Judgment He will be a witness against them’ (Qur'an 4:155-159 Surah An-Nisaa - The Women). In The Fundamental Articles of Faith in Islam it is written: ‘A Muslim does not believe in the crucifixion of Jesus by his enemies because the basis of this doctrine of crucifixion is contrary to Divine mercy and justice as much as it is to human logic and dignity’ (Encyclopedia of American Religions: Religious Creeds, page 780)

Confutation

The Bible clearly teaches that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was put to death by the Jews.

The prophet Isaiah, several centuries prior to the coming of the Messiah into this world, predicted that He would be put to death for our iniquities. For he said: “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:7-12).

And his words were fulfilled, for Jesus Christ was killed by the Jews. The writers of the four Gospels, that is, Matthew and Mark and Luke and John, attest very clearly that the Jews, with the help of wicked men, put Jesus to death by nailing Him to the cross.

The apostles of the Lord, both those who had been with Jesus during the days of His flesh and those who were called by God to be apostles after the ascension of Jesus to heaven, preached and taught that Jesus of Nazareth was crucified.

The apostle Peter said to the Jews on the day of Pentecost (that is, a few days after the ascension of Jesus to heaven): “Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him” (Acts 2:22-24 -NIV).

Paul said in the synagogue of Antioch in Pisidia: “Men and brethren, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to you the word of this salvation has been sent. For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did not know Him [Jesus Christ], nor even the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning Him. And though they found no cause for death in Him, they asked Pilate that He should be put to death. Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. But God raised Him from the dead” (Acts 13:26-30 – NKJV), and he wrote to the Thessalonians: “For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans, who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us” (1 Thessalonians 2:14-15 – NKJV).

In the light of what the Holy Scriptures say, therefore, we proclaim that Jesus of Nazareth, whose mother was Mary the wife of Joseph, was nailed to the cross for our sins, and rose again for our justification. So, if you are a Muslim, we urge you to repent of your sins, and to believe in the death as well as in the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, so that you may obtain the remission of your sins and eternal life.

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