الموضوع: Who is Jesus?
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قديم 08-02-2004
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Who is Jesus?

I would like to reply to those passages in the Bible that the Muslim visitor sited.

God is All Knowing.
You site Mark 13:32. "....not even the Son, only the Father knows...."

Some are confused by this. Does this mean that Jesus in not God as the Father is? When Jesus speaks of the Father and the Son, he speaks of himself with his human consciousness in relationship to the Father. God's infinite knowledge cannot be encompassed by the human mind of Jesus. Refer to Luke 3:21 and Mark 6:1. It is the Christian belief that Jesus is fully human and fully Divine.

God the Father can communicate to Jesus prophecies. God may not have fixed the time yet and so Jesus nor the angels know it.

As Jesus commands us to build the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, our willingness to participation in God's plan undoubtedly plays a role in when the end comes.

God All Powerful
You site St. John 5:19.
First, the passage you site actually reads Jesus said to them, "Truly , I assure you, the Son cannot do anything by himself, but only what he sees the Father do. And whatever he does, the Son also does. The Father loves the Son and shows him everything he does; and he will show him even greater things than these so that you will be amazed." (Further reading leads you into Ch. 6 where Jesus multiplies the fishes and loaves).

If you read further, you will see that Jesus does have the Power.

Verse 21 states As the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son gives life to whom HE WILLS. Jesus is stating here that he can raise the dead when he WILLS it. This is apart from God.

God does not need a God
You site St.John 20:17. The background is after Jesus' Resurrection but He has not ascended to the Father. Jesus is reiterating that no one comes to the Father except through him. I indicated in a previous post.

Jesus does not need a god. Jesus is also revealing the great desire which filled his life. He came from God and must return to His Father. This is the "greatest love in world" to be reunited with God our Father. All the love that Jesus has for us is but a manifestation of that other love, because God the Father is the fountain and goal of all Love. See Matt. 19:16.

As for the Lord's Prayer, Jesus is teaching his disciples how to pray to God. In the Greek, Jesus uses the word ABBA which can be translated as "Daddy." It has a more affectionate and intimate tone. God our Father wants to have a relationship with us as HIS children, not as a submissive slave.

If you read further in Chapter 20 you will find verse 26-28. Eight days later, the disciples were in the house again and Thomas was with them. Despite the locked doors Jesus appeared and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hand; stretch out your hand and put it in my side. Doubt no longer and believe."

Thomas then said, "You are my Lord and my God." Jesus replied, "You believe because you see me, don't you? Happy are those who believe although they do not see."

Jesus had an opportunity to rebuke Thomas; He did not. He confirmed what Thomas had confessed.

That exchange also challenges the claim in the Qur'an that Jesus was not crucified. Jesus instructs Thomas to examine his hands and place his finger in the holes and to place his hand in his side. These wounds correspond with what took place at the crucifixion. If Jesus had not been crucified, why did he ask Thomas to examine his wounds?

For a more indepth comparison of Christianity and Islam, I would recommend the book "Answering Islam" by Geisler and Saleem.
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