SEGMENT 4

More Than a Prophet!

 Remember that for 1100 years after Allah sent the Law to the people of Israel, the message of the prophets was the same.  They called the people to follow the Law of Allah; but when they sinned, they were to bring the Qurbani with a sincere heart and genuine sorrow over their sin.  Then for a period of 400 years no prophet came to Israel.  But, they were still, as the Qur’an calls them, “the people of the Book (Scriptures)”.  They had the Tawrat and Zaboor to remind them of the ways of Allah. 

 But then suddenly, Yahya came to Israel.  He lived out in the wilderness and wore rough clothing made of camel hair.   He brought the same message as prophets who had come before.   He still called the people to turn from evil and obey the Law of Allah.   He told the people that they should be baptized (dipped in water) as a sign of being cleansed of their sin and rebellion against Allah.  He told them to repent, which means “turn around”.   He wanted them to make a U-turn from sin and unbelief and turn back to Allah.

 But he also brought a new message.  He said, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the LORD!”[1]

As we have seen, the prophets of Allah spoke of a Coming One who would be called Messiah.  Eshaih said that just before this Coming One was revealed, a messenger of Allah would come to tell the people that the Messiah was coming.  Eshaih said:

Behold, I (Allah) send My messenger before your face.  Who will prepare Your (the Coming One, Messiah) way before You.  The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the LORD; make His paths straight.”[2]

Yahya told the people:

There comes one after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.  I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.[3]

And you remember that when Isa came to him, Yahya said, “Behold, the lamb of Allah that takes away the sin of the world!”  Yahya said plainly that Isa was the one he had been telling them about – Isa was the Coming One, the Messiah that Allah had promised.  From that time on Isa went among the people doing great miracles and teaching them the ways of Allah. 

After a while, Yahya was put in jail by a ruler named Herod.  Herod had Yahya beheaded.  When the followers of Isa heard that Yahya had been put to death they came and told Isa.  When he heard this Isa said:

What did you go to see in the wilderness .... a prophet?  Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.  He is the one of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare Your way before You.’  For I say to you, among those born of women there is not greater than Yahya the baptist (the one who baptized or dipped people).[4]

Yahya was greater than any man ever born.  He was more than a prophet.  Yet, Yahya said that He was not worthy to stoop down and loose Isa’s sandal strap.   Yahya claimed that he was not worthy to touch the feet of Isa!  So Isa is much, much more than a prophet.

Who was this Isa?

In response to this question a Muslim will usually say, “We believe in Isa.  Isa is a very great prophet.” 

Let me say very plainly – that cannot be true!

Why?  Why can’t we say Isa is a great prophet?  Because, as we read the Injiil we find that Isa claimed to be the Son of Allah!

First of all, we see Isa always called Allah “My Father”.   Listen to what else the Injiil says:

Isa rejoiced in the Spirit and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father and no one knows the Son except the Father and no one knows the Father except the Son, and to whoever the Son wills to reveal Him.”[5]

 The Jews clearly understood what Isa meant when He called Allah His Father:

 The Jews took up stones to stone Him.  Isa answered them saying’ “Many good works I have shown you from my Father.  For which of these works will you stone Me?

The Jews answered Him saying, “For a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself out to be Allah.”[6]

Isa affirmed many times that He was indeed the Son of Allah.

Isa said to them (disciples), “Who do you say that I am?”  Simon Peter (a disciple of Isa) answered and said. “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living Allah.”  Isa answered and said to him, “Blessed are you Simon, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”[7]

Isa said, “I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through Me.” 

Phillip (a disciple of Isa) said, “Show us the Father and it is enough for us.”

Isa said to him, “Have I been with you so long and yet you have not known Me, Philip.  He who has seen me has seen the Father, so how can you say ‘Show us the Father’.  Do you not believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?  The words that I speak I speak not of Myself; but the Father in Me, He does the works.[8]

 When Isa was being accused by the Jews and stood before the High Priest:

The high priest said to him, “I put you under oath by the living Allah: Tell us if you are the Messiah (Masih) the Son of the Living Allah.”

Isa said to him, “It is as you say.”

Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy!”[9]

 And the high priest of the Jews was right!  What Isa said was blasphemy – unless Isa is the Son of Allah!   If Isa was only a man, he cannot be a great prophet, because he was a blasphemer – a khafir!  But if he is the Son of Allah, as He claimed, He is much more than a prophet!

 The disciples of Isa lived with Isa for over three years, and they listened to Him and watched Him day after day.  Then they saw Him die and be buried.  Then on the third day they found the tomb empty, and Isa began to appear to them many times over a period of forty days.  With their own eyes they saw that He had been raised from the dead.  On one occasion Isa appeared to over 500 at one time.  Then before their eyes they saw Him taken up to Allah in heaven.  Then, according to His command they began to tell everyone about Isa.  Ten of the 12 original disciples were killed as martyrs, because they would not deny that Isa was the Messiah and had been raised from the dead. 

 Listen, from the Injiil, to what these disciples taught about Isa.

 Isa was declared to be the Son of Allah by the resurrection from the dead.

Messiah Isa, who, being in the form of Allah, did not consider it robbery to be equal with Allah, but made Himself of no reputation, taking on the form of a servant and coming in the likeness of men and being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.  Therefore Allah has highly exalted Him and given Him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Isa every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Isa is Lord to the glory of Allah the Father.[10]

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy or empty deceit according to the tradition (ideas) of men and not according to Christ (Messiah, Masih).  For in Him dwells all the fullness of Deity (Allah) bodily.[11]

Great is the mystery of Godliness – Allah was revealed in the flesh.[12]

But how can this be?  How can the great Allah, maker of heaven and earth, come to this earth as a man?

The answer is very simple – Allah can do anything He wants.  In the Zaboor we read that:

The LORD is great.  Whatever the LORD pleases He does in heaven and in earth.[13]

So Allah can come into this world through a physical body if He chooses to do so!  Both the Quran and the Injiil tell us how He did this: 

Sura Al Anbiya (Sura 21) 91  And remember her who guarded her purity (Maryam): We breathed into her of Our Spirit and her Son became a sign for all peoples.

Injiil The angel (Jabreel) answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you: therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of Allah.”[14]

Sura Al Imran (Sura 3) 45  Behold, the angels said, “O Maryam!  Allah gives you glad tidings of a Word from Him whose name shall be Messiah Isa.”

Injiil  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Allah and the Word was Allah.  And the Word was made flesh and lived among us.[15]

Eight hundred years before Isa was born, Allah’s prophet Eshiah foretold the birth of the Coming One that Allah had promised to Dawood and to His people. 

The LORD Himself shall give you a sign: Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and you shall call His name Immanuel.   For unto us a child is born and unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon His shoulders.  And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the mighty Allah, the everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  And of the increase of His government there shall be no end upon the throne of Dawood and over his kingdom to order it an establish it.[16]

“Immanuel” means “Allah with us”.   When the Injiil tells the story of Isa being born of a virgin it says:

All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:  “Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and you shall call His name Immanuel which is translated “Allah with us”.[17]

So we see that calling Isa the Son of Allah does not mean that Allah had a physical relationship with Maryam.  Of course not!  The Injiil does not say this.  Isa was conceived by the Spirit of Allah.  Allah through His Spirit entered this world. 

Could Allah do this?  Of, course He could.  In the Injiil, He tells that He did!

The Important Question

 So, the important question is not:  How could Allah do this?  The important question is: Why would Allah do this?

Let us begin to answer that question with another question:

Is there anything that Allah cannot do?

The Injiil explains to us that there are two things that Allah can do.  I think you will agree that Allah cannot do these two things:

Allah Who cannot lie.[18]

If we are without faith, He (Allah) remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.[19]

Allah cannot lie because He is truth.    He does not just tell the truth, He is the truth!  Because He is truth, He cannot act in a way that does not agree with Who He is – He cannot deny Himself.   We humans can be hypocrites.   For example, we can say we are honest, but then cheat someone.  But Allah cannot do that.  He cannot be a hypocrite.  He will always do exactly what He says He will do.  He says in the Tawrat, “I am the LORD, I do not change.”  When He says something, it is certain and cannot change.

Allah’s Standard

 So listen to what Allah said to us in the Zaboor:

 But the LORD shall endure forever.  He has prepared His throne for judgment.  He shall judge the world in righteousness.  The ungodly shall not stand (stand firm, hold up) in the judgment, nor sinners stand in the assembly of the righteous.[20]

What will be Allah’s standard for judging the world?  It will be righteousness.  He who is not righteous will be condemned and sent to hell. 

Has Allah showed us how righteous we must be?

Yes he has!  From the very beginning, Allah has made this clear.  Adam and Howa sinned one time and they were sent away from Allah’s presence.   As the Zaboor said, sinners cannot stand in the assembly of the righteous.  Sinners cannot be in Allah’s presence; only the righteous can be in Allah’s presence.

But this is a very big problem, isn’t it?  As, Sulieman said, “There is no one who has not sinned.”  The Injiil tells us what Allah saw when he looked down from heaven:

There is none righteous, no not one; there is no one that does good, no not one.[21]

The Injiil tells us very plainly what we already know in our own hearts:

All have sinned and come short of the glory of Allah.[22]

Allah’s standard is righteousness – His righteousness!  His glory is the standard and we have all come short of it.  He will not compare us to each other, or even to a holy prophet, when He judges us.  He will compare us to Himself!  And of course, we all fail when that is the standard of judgment. 

We have all sinned.  We have come short of Allah’s righteousness and the Word of Allah is very clear about the penalty. 

The Tawrat says:  The soul that sins shall die.[23]

The Injiil says: The wages (penalty) of sin is death.[24]

 But Allah is very merciful.  He loves us and wants us to be in heaven with Him.  He made us to be with him and live in His presence.  Adam and Howa lived in His presence until they sinned. 

 Listen to the ayyat from the Before Scriptures:

 I have loved you with an everlasting love and with tender mercy I have drawn you.[25]

How shall I let you go, how can I hand you over, O Israel (people of the Scripture).  My heart churns within me, my sympathy is stirred.[26]

 Allah loves us, but here is a great mystery: How can His righteousness and mercy both be satisfied?  If He acts according to His righteousness; He must judge us to death and eternal separation from His presence.  But, because of His great mercy, He wants us to spend eternity in heaven with Him. 

 But how can anyone go to heaven?   We all owe the penalty of death.   But remember that Allah has shown us from the very beginning that He allows the substitute – the Qurbani.   But who can be the substitute?  An animal is not sufficient as the substitute.  It must be a person to be equal and proper.  But if a person would be the Qurbani, he would have to be completely righteous, with no sin at all.  Otherwise he himself would owe the sin’s penalty of death.  And is there is any completely righteous person on earth?

Who Can Be the Substitute?

The Before Scriptures tell how Allah solved this great problem. 

The LORD has made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our Allah.[27]

 If there is something I need to have done for me and I cannot find someone who can do it, what do I do?  I roll up my shirt sleeve and I do it myself.  Allah could not find a righteous man on the earth to take away the sin of His people.   So, He bared His “holy arm” and did it Himself!  Isa is the “arm of the LORD” by which Allah reached into this world to bring salvation.  Remember what the name Isa means – “the Salvation of our Allah”.

 We could not save ourselves, so Allah sent His Son to save us.  Isa alone was completely righteous.   As the Injiil says, “He was at all points tempted, just as we are, but without sin.   Only Isa was pure enough to be the Qurbani for us.  Yahya said that Isa was the “Lamb of Allah who takes away the sin of the world.”  Isa willingly chose to lay down His life as the Qurbani for the whole world.

 As we saw, Eshiah foretold of this Coming One 800 years before Isa came.  Eshiah said. “All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his own way; but the LORD has laid on Him (the Coming One, Messiah) the sin of us all.”  The Injiil confirms that this is what Allah did through Isa:

 He made Messiah who knew no sin to become sin for us, that in Him we might become the righteousness of Allah in Him.[28]

 There was no other way that our sin could be taken away unless Allah did it for us.  This is why Allah poured His Spirit into flesh and lived among us.  Through Isa, Allah took the sin away.  His righteousness was satisfied because the penalty for sin had been paid.  It was only Isa who could pay the penalty.  Why?  Suppose I owed a debt and had no money to pay it back.  Who would I have to get to pay the debt for me?  I would have to get someone who had the money to pay my debt!  Isa did not owe the penalty because He had not sinned.   Allah’s mercy is also satisfied because now He can give the gift of eternal life to those who believe in Isa faith.