FOLLOWING JESUS: The Muslim Claim to the Messiah.
Christians do not care much when Muslims tell them that the prophets of the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) are also prophets of Islam. They care a great deal when they find out that Jesus (pbuh) their special savior, is a revered prophet in the Qur’an.
Some Muslims sport slogans such as ‘I love Jesus and follow him because I am a Muslim. And he was too!’ Or: ‘Every Friday is Good Friday' or ‘You have the Cross—but we have Jesus'. Christians feel offended by this and respond in like manner; 'if you look for Jesus in the Qur’an, you will eventually find that he points to the Christ of the New Testament' or If you really look for Allah, you shall find instead the divine Jesus!
In truth, such games of dispossessing the rival—comes with fatal consequences, daily and globally. Our focus shouldn't be for polemical point-scoring or combat and controversy but rather sincere zealousness for the truth. Can Muslims be loyal and sincere followers of Jesus Christ (pbuh)? Can they be loyal to the message of Jesus (pbuh)—without becoming Christians? Some Christians might reply: that is the only way to be loyal to the real Jesus!
The fact that this question does not arise comparably for Jews, never as a part of their faith, shows the GREAT COMMON GROUND that exist between Islam and Christianity. The only faith besides Christianity that makes it an article of faith to believe in Jesus- ISLAM. Messianic Jews are seen, by other Jews, as being Jews only in name and therefore, in effect, Christians. Many even joke that they are only ‘jew-ish’, not Jews!
Prominent Hindus like Mahatma Gandhi chose to honor Jesus of Nazareth as an advocate of pacifism in the context of the brutality of the Roman empire while he was fighting British Emperialism. We must remember that Hinduism by faith, does not require any such position, so anyone, religious or secular, may opt to endorse the moral wisdom of Jesus’ teachings. However for Muslims, this is not optional as their faith requires them to believe in Jesus.
"Say, “We believe in God; and in what was revealed to us; and in what was revealed to Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the Patriarchs; and in what was given to Moses and Jesus; and in what was given to the prophets—from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and to Him we submit” (Q2:136)
The Muslim perspective on Jesus is unique. Muslims claim, on the authority of the Qur’an and the Prophet’s authentic sayings, that theirs is the only fully correct theological view of Jesus’ miraculous origins, true identity, nature, teachings, and ministry. Just as Christians tell Jews that they have rejected and misunderstood Jesus Christ, Muslims tell Christians that they too have rejected and misunderstood the real Jesus in favor of their own invented doctrines about his true nature and real message. If we accept the New Testament and subsequent Christian dogma as the TRUTH, then we have no option but to reject Moses whose teaching was at worlds' end to that of Jesus (Obsolete law, incarnation of God, Trinity etc), yet they are both supposed to be from the SAME ONE TRUE GOD. In sum, the person of Jesus is both divisive and also decisive for relations among the Abrahamic cousins, especially between the two global superpowers of faith, Christianity and Islam.
Did Jesus (pbuh) intend to divide the House of Abraham? Did the last Prophet, Muhammad, (pbuh) successfully unite that family? This is the fundamental question that this series seeks to unpack and answer. The Qur’an’s Jesus (pbuh) was a mighty Prophet and Teacher, honored by commentators as one of the five senior messengers of God, ‘the group of firm resolve’ (Q46:35), said to include the chief champions of monotheism, such as Noah, Abraham and Moses (pbut).
"These messengers: We gave some advantage over others. To some of them God spoke directly, and some He raised in rank. We gave Jesus son of Mary the clear miracles, and We strengthened him with the Holy Spirit. (Q2:253)
"And [mention, O Muhammad], when We took from the prophets their covenant and from you and from Noah and Abraham and Moses and Jesus, the son of Mary; and We took from them a solemn covenant. (Q33:7)
Indeed, all of these prophets supply excellent exemplars for conduct;
"Those are they whom God has guided, so follow their guidance". (Q6:90)
The problem of Jesus' identity will be introduced in the next section.
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