The death and execution of Jesus is not only taught in the Bible but it is also recognized as an historical fact by prominent historians and scholars – both ancient and modern. However, Muslims deny the death of Jesus. Their denial of the death of Jesus is based solely on one single verse in the Qur’an:
Surah 4:157: And for their saying, “Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah.” And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but another was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain. (Sahih International)
Surah 4:157 states that Jesus was neither killed nor executed on the stake. According to this Qur’anic verse, Allah made it appear to the onlookers as if Jesus died on the stake when he did not. To put it bluntly, Allah deceived everyone who witnessed the execution of Jesus – including the Disciples of Jesus – into believing that he died. Allah waited for some 600 years before revealing in the Qur’an that Jesus did not actually die. Meanwhile, billions were deceived into believing the lie. In the preceding article, we addressed this issue quite extensively.
The Law Covenant which God established with the ancient nation of Israel went into effect during the time of Moses. The Law Covenant set apart ancient Israel as God’s chosen nation. Jehovah became their Judge and Lawgiver. And Moses was chosen as the mediator. The Torah clearly states that the Law Covenant was validated through the shed blood of animals. After sprinkling the blood of the sacrificed animals on the people, Moses declared: “This is the blood of the Covenant that Jehovah has made with you.” Thus, God instituted the Law Covenant with ancient Israel:
Exodus 24:6-8: Then Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the book of the Covenant and read it aloud to the people. And they said: “All that Jehovah has spoken we are willing to do, and we will be obedient.” So Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people and said: “This is the blood of the Covenant that Jehovah has made with you in harmony with all these words.”
The Qur’an also acknowledges this divine requirement of animal sacrifices under the Law Covenant which God mediated through Moses:
Surah 2:67: Moses said to his people, “God commands you to sacrifice a heifer.” (Rashad Khalifa)
Before we proceed any further, it is vital to understand the purpose of the Law Covenant. The following verses clearly define the divine purpose of the Law Covenant:
Hebrews 10:1-4: The Law is a shadow of the good things to come, but not the very reality of the things. Therefore, the sacrifices which are offered year after year can never make those offering them perfect. Otherwise, these sacrifices would have been stopped since those once cleansed would not have the burden of sins anymore. On the contrary, these sacrifices are a reminder of sins year after year, for it is not possible for the blood of bulls and of goats to take sins away.
The Bible reveals that the “Law is a shadow of the good things to come.” Therefore, it is only a shadow and not the actual substance or the reality of the things it foreshadows. Thus, the requirement of animal sacrifices under the Law Covenant foreshadows something greater to come. Confirming this, the above verses testify that “it is not possible for the blood of bulls and of goats to take sins away.” Therefore, the animal sacrifices are only a shadow of a greater Sacrifice to come. We do not have to guess to whom the reality of this shadow belongs to. The Bible provides the answer:
Colossians 2:17: Those things are a shadow of the things to come, but the reality belongs to the Christ.
This is why God foretold in advance that the Law Covenant will eventually be replaced with a New Covenant when Jesus Christ to whom the “reality belongs to” arrives. This truth was revealed in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) centuries before the arrival of Jesus. Through the prophet Jeremiah, God foretold:
Jeremiah 31:31-33: “Look! The days are coming,” declares Jehovah, “when I will make with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a New Covenant. It will not be like the Covenant that I made with their forefathers on the day when I led them out of Egypt, which they broke even though I was their true master.”
“After those days I will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel,” declares Jehovah. “I will put my law within them, and in their heart I will write it. And I will become their God, and they will become my people.”
When the time came, God established the New Covenant not with fleshly Israel but with spiritual Israel. In other words, with the anointed members of the Christian congregation. Jesus Christ confirmed this truth when spoke to his faithful apostles on the final night before his death:
Luke 22:20: “This cup means the new covenant by virtue of my blood, which is to be poured out in your behalf.”
Just as the blood of the animals validated the Law Covenant between God and ancient Israel, the blood of Jesus validated the New Covenant. This was fulfilled when Jesus poured out his blood in sacrificial death on the execution stake. Just as Moses was the mediator of the Law Covenant, Jesus became the mediator of the New Covenant. The Christian Greek Scriptures (New Testament) clearly documents both the establishment and the details of the New Covenant:
Hebrews 9:12-17: He (Jesus) entered into the holy place, not with the blood of goats and of young bulls, but with his own blood, once for all time, and obtained an everlasting deliverance for us. For if the blood of goats and of bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who have been defiled sanctifies for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of the Christ, who through an everlasting spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works so that we may render sacred service to the living God?
That is why he is a mediator of a new covenant, in order that because a death has occurred for their release by ransom from the transgressions under the former covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the everlasting inheritance. For where there is a covenant, the death of the human covenanter needs to be established, because a covenant is valid at death.
Hebrews 12:24: “And Jesus the mediator of a new covenant . . .”
Of course, all these Scriptural truths would be far too deep for Muslims to fathom. However, what is essentially for Muslims to understand for now is that in agreement with the Bible’s testimony that God established a Covenant with the Christians, the Qur’an too acknowledges this fact. It confirms that God did make a Covenant with the Christians:
Surah 5:14: “Likewise, We also made a covenant with those who call themselves Christians . . .” (Farook Malik)
Apart from admitting that God made a Covenant with the Christians, the Qur’an provides no other details. That is why the Bible is an indispensable source of information since it alone contains all the facts that are essential for our discussion on this subject. The information that we provided above can only be found in the Bible. Only when we consider all the conditions that are involved in the establishment and validation of the Covenant that God made with the Christians, we will be able to see an irrefutable contradiction in the Qur’an.
For God to establish a Covenant with the Christians, a sacrifice would be absolutely necessary to validate that Covenant. Jesus became that Sacrifice when he was executed on the stake. And history verifies this. Therefore, when Surah 5:14 confirms the fact that God made a Covenant with the Christians, it actually validates the Christian position regarding the sacrificial death of Jesus. Thus, this Qur’anic verse actually proves that the denial of the death of Jesus in the Qur’an is a lie. In fact, Surah 4:157 which denies the death of Jesus contradicts many other verses in the Qur’an which clearly confirm that Jesus died. Please read the previous article.
The Christian Covenant came into force through the shed blood of Jesus. It is crucial for Muslims to understand why this Covenant is important not only for Christians but also for Muslims. The eternal salvation of all Muslims depends not only in understanding God’s purpose for establishing this Covenant but more importantly in accepting this divine arrangement of God:
Romans 3:23-25: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and it is as a free gift that they are being declared righteous by his undeserved kindness through the release by the ransom paid by Christ Jesus. God presented him as an offering for propitiation through faith in his blood.
It is vital for Muslims to note that there is perfect harmony between the Jewish and the Christian Scriptures. There is perfect harmony between the Law Covenant and the New Covenant. One foreshadows the other. The Qur’an does not fit into this equation. The Qur’an is clearly in error for denying the death of Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 13:20: Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus, with the blood of an everlasting Covenant.
We have compelling evidences to put our full trust in this Covenant which Jehovah God has arranged to save mankind from sin and death.
Shalom
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