While Christians around the world celebrated Holy Week recently, have you ever wondered what other religions believe about the death and resurrection of Jesus? Do they even believe in Jesus at all? If they do, what do they know about Jesus Christ?
Today, let's talk about what the Muslims believe about the crucifixion and resurrection.
Jesus is a Muslim
Muslims acknowledge Jesus, but they think of him differently. For them, he was the son of a virgin, but not the son of God. Muslims believe that when Jesus was still a baby, he could already speak sentences. Jesus was able to tell Mary that God made him a prophet. He wasn't the redeemer of mankind, he was just a messenger, but a special one. In Islam, Jesus is believed to be the "anointed one" but he is not almighty - he is regarded as simply a Muslim prophet.
Jesus Did Not Die on the Cross
The Koran talks about Jesus a lot. This is why Jesus is also an important part of the Islamic religion. This is also the reason why plenty of Muslims name their sons and daughters Isa and Mariam, in English it's Jesus and Mary respectively. This goes without saying that every Muslim must believe in Jesus. However, they just believe in Jesus differently.
For instance, the Muslims believe that Jesus did not die on the cross, but was rescued by God from his untimely death. This belief means that Muslims do not believe that Jesus went to the cross willingly, and indeed, they do not believe he died there. The Koran's fourth Sura verses 157-158 says, "And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them."
So who died on the cross? Islam believes that another who looked like Jesus was crucified in his place, and it's just that people's eyes were hidden from the fact that this was not Jesus hanging on the cross. Some believe it was Judas. Some say that God changed the face of the crucified man to resemble the face of Jesus so that he would live. Others believe that it was Jesus who was crucified, but lived.
Jesus Was Not Resurrected
Since Muslims do not believe in the crucifixion of Jesus, they obviously do not believe the resurrection happened either. As said, there are some who believe Jesus was placed up on the cross but that he did not die on the cross. They simply believe Jesus was resuscitated, not resurrected. Muslims do not believe that Jesus is a divine being, but they believe that he is a mortal prophet, just like Abraham.
What to Christians Believe
For Christians, the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus is the central part of our faith and belief. We believe Jesus was sent to Earth to save us, and bring salvation to mankind, reconciling us back to our heavenly father. Since the Fall of Man, man had been separated from the father by our sins, and indeed each of us was piling up sin against ourselves, which would result in us eternally being away from our heavenly father. But Jesus came, and atoned for our sins. He went the path of the cross, and suffered and was crucified, taking away our sins from us and placing them upon himself on the cross. Even though he died, he was resurrected again by God, and through him, mankind has now been forgiven of our sins and are now reconciled back to our heavenly father.
