The aim of this article will be to show that Jesus according to the Bible, is not God, but instead he is a prophet, the messiah sent to the Jews. I will be dividing this article up into 6 sections as follows:
I– The sent one
II– The mission of the sent one
III– The miracles and great works performed by the sent one
IV- The denial of being God by the sent one
V– Conclusion
THE SENT ONE
Who is Jesus? That is one of the most debated topics that has ever taken place. Many say Jesus is God, many others say Jesus is not God but just a prophet, many others say that Jesus is a son of God but not God. Others just don’t believe a Jesus ever existed, and some others believe that Jesus was just a blasphemer.
Well since this main article is directed at Christians, I will be going into the Bible, namely the NT to see what it has to say about Jesus, I will be quoting from the Bible and we will see for ourselves to what the Bible really does say about Jesus.
We first start of by the beginning of Jesus, starting from his virgin birth, being sent into this world.
All prophets have been sent by God into this world to spread the message and bring people to God. Jesus is no exception to this, he himself was also sent by God just like every other prophet was:
Mat 15:24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Here we see Jesus claiming he was SENT to the lost sheep of Israel. Just like every other prophet, prophets were sent to a group of specific people, or their own tribe etc. We find Jesus in the same situation as he also was sent to a specific group of people, the lost sheep of Israel. The one who sent Jesus is of course God, so here is just one verse showing us that Jesus just like all other prophets was sent, and just like all other prophets he was sent to a specific people. Let us quote more verses of Jesus being sent:
Mat 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, [thou] that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under [her] wings, and ye would not!
Now this verse does not mention Jesus being sent, however so it mentions other prophets who were sent to Jerusalem for the Jews. What is interesting about this passage is that Jesus mentions the prophets. He mentions prophets who were sent, and mentions prophets who were sent for a specific group of people. What is interesting is that Jesus himself is in the exact similar position, he was sent, and he was sent to a specific group of people hence we see the exact similarity between Jesus and the other prophets. Not only that, but the Jews stoned the other prophets, the Jews also tried to stone Jesus. Hence from this we already have enough proof that Jesus is a prophet, and just like all other prophets Jesus is sent, and sent to a specific group of people. However let us quote more verses of Jesus being sent to make a strong foundation for the rest:
Luk 10:16 He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.
Jhn 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life
Jhn 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
Jhn 4:34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
Jhn 7:28 Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not.
So it is crystal clear that Jesus was sent, he did not send himself. So just like all other prophets Jesus is sent, and he is sent to a specific group of people.
So this in itself is enough to show that Jesus is indeed a prophet, for prophets are sent by God to do a job just like Jesus said. If Jesus indeed was God he would have sent himself, not let someone send him.
A Christian does not have one single valid argument against that, the fact is before Jesus came into this world he was fully divine as Christians say. So it would be simple for the divine Jesus to send himself into this world since he had the power and so on, Christians cannot jump to the out-dated argument of Jesus was a man, he gave up his powers and so on. The fact is Jesus was fully divine before he came down to earth, so why did the divine Jesus not send himself? Why did he need the Father to send him? The fact is because Jesus is just a man, and cannot send himself because he is not God. Jesus was sent because he is a prophet, and just like all prophets he was sent by God.
Now let us look at some other interesting verses concerning sent people:
Jhn 3:34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure [unto him].
That is the exact position of Jesus. The one whom God has sent speaks the words of God. The fact is that this verse makes it even more solid to the fact that Jesus was just a messenger, speaking the words of God. I would love to see a Christian response to that which actually makes sense. It is simple logic, if someone is God, then they cannot be referred to like that, being sent and speaking the words of God. Now in case Christians want to say Jesus is God so therefore he is indeed speaking the words of God, so since he is God so there is no problem. However so Jesus himself said everything he speaks is not his. So the fact is everything Jesus said, taught and so on were not his own words as he himself stated:
Jhn 14:24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.
Jhn 7:16 Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.
Jhn 8:26 I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him.
Jhn 12:49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
So these verses make it crystal clear that everything he said, everything he spoke was not of his own but of the ONE WHO SENT HIM, which is the Father. Hence Jesus did not even say things of his own! This is further proof that he is indeed a prophet, every prophet speaks what God tells them to speak, Jesus is no exception to this rule. Hence we see the sent ones speak the words of God, Jesus is the sent one, and he speaks the words of God, he does not speak of his own words as we clearly see in those verses. Therefore Jesus is definitely not God. Let us make a summary of what we have so far:
1- All prophets are sent by God, Jesus was sent by God
2- All prophets(except Muhammad) were sent to a specific group of people, Jesus is no exception to this, he to was sent to the lost sheep of Israel.
3- Every prophet spoke the words of God, they did not speak from themselves but rather what God told them to speak, Jesus once again is no exception to this and he himself claimed that all his words and all of what he said is from God. The Bible itself also claims all sent ones by God speak the words of God, Jesus was sent by God and spoke the words of God. Therefore he is not God.
So all this from the NT shows that Jesus cannot be God. Jesus follows a long line of prophets who were all sent by God, if Jesus was some what different he would then arrive on this planet in a somewhat different way, which is to be sent of himself, not being like all other prophets. Jesus’ unique birth is a bit different, but not in the sense to put him on a different level which is making him God. Isaac was born of a barren lady. Adam was born of no mother or father. There are several unique births indeed, but the main thing is that it is God who is essentially sending them and sending them in different ways, but at the end of the day they are being sent by God and all share that common denominator. So this in itself is enough to prove Jesus is not God.
THE MISSION OF THE SENT ONE
Now every prophet has a mission. They have a task to do, which is to bring people to God and spread the message. It has already been proven that Jesus is a prophet, so therefore since Jesus is a prophet we must look at each and every single prophet and see what their mission was. Now it will take too long to show each and every prophet, and show what their mission was.
However so everyone knows that the mission of ALL prophets is to say and claim that ‘ HEAR O ISRAEL, OUR LORD GOD IS ONE GOD’. That is the basic message of each prophet, and to also bring the people back to moral ways, as you can read in Jeremiah and Isaiah how both of them were sent to a nation who were totally backwards and so on.
So the missions of prophets are always consistent and the same. Since Jesus is a prophet this should also apply to him. Of course Christians will say Jesus’ mission was to come and die for us, rise on the third day and so on. However does the NT support this? Let us once again quote Jesus from the NT to show what he really wanted people to do, and what his mission was:
Jhn 12:44 Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me.
Jhn 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. (This without a doubt is the shahada! I bear witness that there is only one God and that Jesus is his messenger, this is the shahada of the time back then.)
Jhn 17:23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
Jhn 17:25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.
Jhn 4:34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
Jhn 6:38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
Jhn 7:28 Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not.
Jhn 8:16 And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me.
Mar 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments [is], Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord
Luk 8:21 And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.
Luk 11:28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed [are] they that hear the word of God, and keep it.
Jhn 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
So from those passages it becomes crystal clear to what Jesus’ mission was. His mission was to make people believe in the ONE WHO SENT HIM. Jesus says it so many times, the one who sent him, believe in the one who sent me. Jesus always makes it clear about the one who sent him which is God, hence Jesus’ mission was not to come and die for us and then rise on the third day, Jesus’ mission was to come and spread the word of God, for people to believe in the word of God and keep it, and for people to believe in God. Jesus could not make it anymore clear, every time he performed a miracle, everything he was given he always said it was from the father, he always wanted to make it clear that someone had sent him, and that the people should believe in the one that sent him!
Now secondly there is a huge problem if Jesus died! If as Christians say Jesus is God, then how can God possibly die? God is above death. God does not die, so the fact that Jesus did die shows he is not God. Believers in trinity will say there are three persons in the God-head, so hence God did not really die since God is triune, however so how does part of God die? That is insane to say the least. I would love to know how part of God dies, and how does God die. These questions have never been given a good answer by any living Christian. So the fact is Jesus did not come to die for your sins, this is a simple myth with no foundation, Jesus came to bring you to God, to make you believe in the one who sent him. That was his overall mission.
Thirdly there are quite a few problems with the entire crucifixion episode. Christians and Jesus claim he died of his own will, however so this is not true, as the Bible says something completely different! Jesus himself states that he does nothing of his own will:
Jhn 6:38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
There are more passages of Jesus saying he does not do his own will but that shall do for now. So Jesus himself made it crystal clear that HE DOES NOT DO HIS OWN WILL. So therefore for Jesus in the Bible to have said I lay down my life on my own will is a contradiction, and is Jesus lying because he said he does only his father’s will. Hence that is just one problem with the supposed Jesus dying for our sins. Secondly Jesus saying I do this of my own will contradicts another passage from the OT in which Christians love to use as a prophecy for Jesus, this prophecy states:
Isaiah 53: Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; AND THE LORD HAS LAID ON HIM THE INIQUITY OF US ALL. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; FOR THE TRANSGRESSION OF MY PEOPLE HE WAS STRICKEN. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, AND HE WILL BEAR THEIR INIQUITIES. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. FOR HE BORE SIN OF MANY, and made intercession for the transgressors.” NIV
Hence even the supposed prophecy from Isaiah. which is supposedly talking about Jesus’ crucifixion says it was THE LORDS WILL to crush him. The lord speaking in Isaiah is not Jesus, so hence Jesus saying I do it on my own will contradicts this prophecy, contradicts himself in the NT when he says he does nothing of his own will and in fact it shows that the Jesus of the NT does not know what he’s talking about and seems to be lying. I for one don’t believe Jesus is any of that, but the NT makes him out to be like that which is sad and which shows the AUTHORS are the ones who had no idea of what they were talking about. Thirdly Jesus saying I do this of my own will causes further problems because Jesus was not being very truthful, he was saying something that was not in his heart, which is that he was ready to give up his life and so on, here are the passages which show his heart did not reflect what his mouth said:
Hebrews 5:1-8:
1 For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: 2 Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. 3 And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins. 4 And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.5 So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee. 6 As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. 7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; 8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered
So it is apparent Jesus did not want do die at all! His heart did not reflect what his mouth was saying, hence in a way he was indeed lying. He was not ready to lay his life down, he was afraid to do so and so on. Christians can say oh well he was a man so of course he would be! There are several men in this world who have said they are willing to die for something, and have died for that something, but in the process they did not get afraid nor cried or became fearful. When you are very convinced about something, and committed, you will not become fearful and start crying and praying to be saved. This only happens if you change your mind, or your oath was not truthful and did not reflect your heart.
So that response by a Christian will not work. So the facts are clear, the supposed mission of Jesus which was to come and die for us and rise on the third day has so many fallacies that it can’t be taken seriously. Unless you choose to call Jesus a liar, a coward, and a man who did not know what he was talking about. I don’t think you would want to do that now would you? But if you do believe in the crucifixion of Jesus and him rising on the third day, then you do certainly believe that which is indeed a grave sin!
THE MIRACLES AND GREAT WORKS PERFORMED BY THE SENT ONE
Now Christians love to always come to us Muslims and say that Jesus did this and Jesus did that to show that he is God. Some of these great miracles they mention is that Jesus forgave sin, granted eternal life, healed the blind etc.
They claim for Jesus to be able to forgive sin must make him God. They claim for him to be able to grant eternal life makes him God. Now this is a major fallacy for one major reason, when Jesus does humanly things, a Christian will immediately quote Philippians to show Jesus became a servant of man so it’s normal. However when Jesus does something great they will jump and say this shows Jesus is God and shows he is MORE THAN A MAN. That is hilarious indeed, but the fact is you can’t have both at once.
If you accept that Jesus is just a normal man, who became a servant, then him performing several great works and miracles is not anything special. It is just God giving him this right since he has become a servant of God. If you say Jesus is more than a man for performing certain miracles this then contradicts the passage from Philippians! You can’t have it both ways, you must pick one, but either choice still leaves you with a problem. 🙂
Now let us quote what Jesus himself said about the miracles and great works he performed, which will show that him being able to forgive sins, grant eternal life is not something very special:
Jhn 13:3 Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;
John 17:6-8: 6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. 7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. 8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me
So Jesus himself said it, EVERYTHING HE HAS IS FROM THE FATHER. So every great miracle he did, is not from himself. Jesus is not independent at all. He is fully dependant on some one else. So him forgiving sin, granting eternal life is not from his own independent power, it is a power given to him, not owned by him, and that is a big difference.
There is a difference when you can forgive sin on your own, or grant eternal life on your own. That is indeed something God does. However, when you are GIVEN that right, that is a total different case, the fact is Jesus was given that right, he did not own it.
So his forgiving sins and granting eternal life is nothing special at all. He was given this power, what is special in that? Every prophet is given blessings and great things from God, just like Jesus.
Jesus himself admitted it, so why don’t Christians say this? Why don’t they say that EVERYTHING that Jesus did was not from himself? Why don’t they give the whole truth? The fact is that this once again proves that Jesus is a prophet, for all prophets are given several great things from God. Jesus was no exception and he himself admitted that all things he had were from God. Therefore these works don’t make Jesus God, not at all!
So this is not really a good argument for Christians. It completely fails.
THE DENIAL OF BEING GOD BY THE SENT ONE
Now many Christians always claim Jesus is God. Yet there is not single passage in the NT of Jesus saying I AM GOD WORSHIP ME. Why is that? In the OT there are several passages in which God says I am God and so on. Why does Jesus not say it once? Coincidence? I think not.
The fact that Jesus says I am not God proves nothing, because if Jesus never made the claim to being God, then why should he go around saying he is something he is not when he never made the claim? Its like I’m not a thief, should I go around telling people I’m not a thief? The burden of proof is on Christian shoulders not mine, if you make a claim on somebody, then you must show that person making the claim, you cannot counter and say show me where he didn’t make the claim. If you make a claim on someone you must provide proof, like men can’t go around calling women an adulterer without proof can they? They need witnesses, so you can’t go making a claim without proof, so hence you must provide the verse where Jesus says I AM GOD WORSHIP ME, not the other way around where I have to get you the verse of Jesus saying I am not God.
Anyway Jesus did in fact deny being God. Jesus denied being God when he denied being good in the sense that God is Good:
Mat 19:16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
Mat 19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? [there is] none good but one, [that is], God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
So Jesus clearly denied being good in the sense that God is good, there is no way around it no matter what you try to say. So the fact Jesus denied this shows he is not God.
Secondly Jesus claimed to be limited in knowledge, God is ALL-KNOWING! Christians will love to say the man Jesus is limited, however lets read the verse and see for ourselves:
Mat 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no [man], no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
So notice what Jesus said, he said his father ONLY. Meaning no one else knows, including the DIVINE Jesus. The divine Jesus is supposed to be the Jesus who is all powerful and all knowing, however so this verse shows that even the divine Jesus was not all-knowing since Jesus said ONLY the Father knows meaning nobody else. So hence the argument that Christians always put up of Jesus the man did not know wont work, because Jesus says ONLY the Father, so that includes divine Jesus so therefore even divine Jesus is not all-knowing so therefore Jesus is not God because God is all-knowing. So hence when Jesus made this statement he did indeed deny being God, because he denied being all-knowing, and God is all-knowing. So Jesus fails the test of being God.
So hence Jesus denied being good in the sense that God is good, and Jesus denied being all-knowing and God is all-knowing. Therefore Jesus is not God. Case closed.
CONCLUSION
So in conclusion, we have seen that the Bible teaches that Jesus is NOT God, rather he was a prophet of God who was sent to the children of Israel with the task of bringing them back to God. All I have done is quoting the Bible, I have not produced a single passage from the Quran, or quoted a single hadith, yet we have still seen that the Bible and the supposed quotes of Jesus show that they fully agree with the Noble Quran!
By::Sami Zaatari
And Allah knows best!
www.muslim-responses.com
