{"id":12644,"date":"2013-02-10T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-02-10T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/?p=12644"},"modified":"2016-12-31T19:22:31","modified_gmt":"2017-01-01T02:22:31","slug":"they-did-not-kill-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/2013\/02\/10\/they-did-not-kill-him\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;They did not kill him&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left\">One of the major points of divergence between Islam and Christianity is that, in addition to denying Jesus&#8217; divinity, Islam asserts that Jesus did not die on the cross. We find this assertion in Surah 4 of the Qur&#8217;an:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-14602\" src=\"http:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/4_157.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"492\" height=\"142\" srcset=\"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/4_157.png 675w, https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/4_157-300x86.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 492px) 100vw, 492px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-14603\" src=\"http:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/4_158.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"492\" height=\"41\" srcset=\"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/4_158.png 675w, https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/4_158-300x24.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 492px) 100vw, 492px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">Just in case you don&#8217;t read Arabic(!), here is the English translation:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #000080\"><em>[They said] &#8220;Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah&#8221;&#8230; [But]\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">they did not kill him<\/span>,<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"> nor did they crucify him<\/span>; but <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">[another] was made to resemble him<\/span> to them&#8230; Rather, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Allah raised him to Himself<\/span>&#8230;<\/em>\u00a0&#8211; Surah 4:157-158,\u00a0Sahih International<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\"><!--more--><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">By uttering these forty Arabic words, Muhammad declared\u00a0that Christ did not, in fact, die on the cross.\u00a0These words are not really explained in any detail in the Qur&#8217;an and Muslim scholars have a variety of interpretations as to exactly what these words mean and precisely what happened there on\u00a0Calvary.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"860\" height=\"484\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TOJZRAjvW2U?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">Interestingly, were it not for these forty words, one could read the Qur&#8217;an and easily conclude that Jesus <em>did<\/em> die on the cross. However, with these forty Arabic words the Muslim position is made, that Jesus of Nazareth was not killed on a cross at Golgotha.\u00a0The question is, should this be believed?<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: left\">The Christian Witness<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">The Apostle Paul wrote the following to the Church at Corinth:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #993300\"><em>Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">we preach Christ crucified<\/span>: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles&#8230;<\/em>\u00a0&#8211; 1 Corinthians 1:22-24<\/span><\/p>\n<p>In the Acts of the Apostles we hear again and again in the preaching the the Early Church that Jesus was the Suffering Servant promised by God through His prophet Isaiah:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #993300\"><em>Surely\u00a0he <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">took up our pain<\/span><\/em><em>\u00a0and\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">bore our suffering<\/span>,\u00a0<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #993300\"><em>yet we considered him\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">punished<\/span>\u00a0by God,<\/em><em>\u00a0stricken\u00a0by him, and\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">afflicted<\/span>.<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #993300\"><em>But he was\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">pierced\u00a0for our transgressions<\/span>,\u00a0<\/em><em>he was\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">crushed\u00a0for our iniquities<\/span>;<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #993300\"><em>the\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">punishment\u00a0that brought us peace<\/span>\u00a0was on him,\u00a0<\/em><em>and\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">by his wounds\u00a0we are healed<\/span>.<\/em>\u00a0&#8211; Isaiah 53:4-5<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">It is therefore clear that the witness of the Early Church stands in contrast to the portion of the Qur&#8217;an quoted above. The first followers of Jesus asserted that the Christ suffered, was crucified and died.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: left\">Historical Reliability<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">When studying sources in history, the closer the source is to the events being described, both\u00a0in\u00a0time and geography, the more it is generally considered to be reliable.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">As I mentioned in my\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/2011\/01\/31\/introduction-to-islam-part-1-muhammad\/\" target=\"_blank\">introductory series<\/a>, the religion of Islam was founded by\u00a0Muhammad in the early 7th Century in Arabia.\u00a0For centuries Christians had asserted that Jesus had died on the cross, but when Muhammad arrived on this historical scene\u00a0<strong>six hundred years later<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>seven hundred miles away<\/strong>, this position was disputed.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">I would therefore suggest that if we were asked to reject the witness of the Bible, the Early Church Fathers and other ancient non-Christian historians concerning the events on Calvary, the Qur&#8217;an would have to offer some pretty compelling reasons for its reliability.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: left\">Christ has died, Christ is risen, &#8230;<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">Earlier I said that that Christians asserted that Jesus suffered and died. However, they did not stop there. Not only did they profess His death, but they declared His Resurrection!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;padding-left: 30px\"><span style=\"color: #993300\"><em>You killed the author of life, but <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">God raised him from the dead<\/span><\/em>\u00a0&#8211; Acts 3:15<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">The faith of the early followers of Jesus is beautifully expressed in an early Christian hymn, quoted by St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\"><em><span style=\"color: #993300\">Who, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">being in very nature God<\/span>,\u00a0did not consider equality with God something to be grasped;<\/span><\/em><br \/>\n<em> <span style=\"color: #993300\">rather, he made himself nothing\u00a0by <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">taking the very nature of a servant<\/span>, made in human likeness.<\/span><\/em><br \/>\n<em> <span style=\"color: #993300\">And being found in appearance as a man,\u00a0he humbled himself\u00a0by becoming obedient to death\u2014\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">even death on a cross<\/span>!<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;padding-left: 30px\"><em><span style=\"color: #993300\">Therefore God exalted him\u00a0to the <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">highest place<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/em><em><span style=\"color: #993300\">and gave him <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">the name that is above every name<\/span>,<\/span><\/em><br \/>\n<em><span style=\"color: #993300\">that at the name of Jesus <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">every knee should bow<\/span>,<\/span><\/em><em><span style=\"color: #993300\">\u00a0in heaven and on earth and under the earth,<\/span><\/em><br \/>\n<em><span style=\"color: #993300\">and <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">every tongue<\/span> acknowledge that <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">Jesus Christ is Lord<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span><\/em><span style=\"color: #993300\"><em>to the glory of God the Father.<\/em><br \/>\n&#8211; Philippians 2:6-11<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">This has been the confession of every Christian since the time of the Apostles. This testimony has been repeated in every <a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=uPX7WjYNfhw\" target=\"_blank\">country<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-3L5SJyPpZk\" target=\"_blank\">language<\/a> for two thousand years: Christ is Risen!<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"860\" height=\"484\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0BgySZu0QJg?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the major points of divergence between Islam and Christianity is that, in addition to denying Jesus&#8217; divinity, Islam asserts that Jesus did not die on the cross. We find this assertion in Surah 4 of the Qur&#8217;an: Just in case you don&#8217;t read Arabic(!), here is the English translation: [They said] &#8220;Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[41,1651,2969,29,1652,974,1036],"class_list":["post-12644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faith","tag-christianity","tag-crucifixion","tag-featured","tag-islam","tag-mohammad","tag-passion","tag-resurrection"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12644"}],"version-history":[{"count":46,"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12644\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63629,"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12644\/revisions\/63629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}