Do Muslims Believe In Jesus?

April 3, 2006

Do Muslims Believe In Jesus?

Ephesians 2:4-2:9 (NKJV)

5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

As far as I can tell, people have always talked about the idea that “all religions are basically saying the same thing.”

Today we want to examine that idea a little more closely when it comes to Christians and Muslims.

I’ll explain why.

The rise in terrorism that we have seen since 9/11 has been led by Muslim extremists.

In some cases their religious leaders have called for Jihad against Americans and Europeans.

If you don’t know it yet, Jihad is a religious war declared by those who claim to speak for the Muslim God, Allah.

Since America’s invasion of Iraq, many have been held captive for a long time by these so called warriors for Allah.

Just a couple of weeks ago a female reporter for the Christian Science Monitor was released by her captors after three months of confinement.

And recently, an Iraqi citizen was put on trial for his life for converting to Christianity.

Both were released only after considerable pressure was applied by the American government.

The point I want to make is that world conditions make it necessary that we know more about the Muslim religion.

It is interesting that Muslims mention Jesus and claim to hold Him in the highest regard, so we ask the question, “What is it that Muslims believe about Jesus?”

In order to answer that question, we’re going to be looking at some of the key differences between Muslim and Christian belief.

I believe there are Nine Fundamental Differences in what Muslim and Christians Believe.

I realize that nine points are a lot for us to cover; to be honest, I wanted to cut it down some, but each of these ideas is so basic and so important that we really need to try to cover them all.

1. CHRISTIAN: The Bible is God’s Word.

VS.

MUSLIM: The Quran is God’s Word.

We as Christians believe that the Bible - Old and New Testament - is our reliable Word from God.

We believe that its words were inspired by God and that every word is truth.

We try to live by its teachings, and we believe that salvation comes only after hearing the Word of God.

Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Muslims, on the other hand, believe that the Torah of Moses, the Psalms of David, and the Gospel of Jesus (while being on their list of holy books) have been corrupted by Christians and Jews to the point where they are not fully reliable.

They believe the Quran is God’s most recent and final work, and that it supercedes all others.

2. CHRISTIAN: Jesus is the Son of God.

VS.

MUSLIM: Jesus is one of the prophets.

This Christian belief is plainly stated in John 10:30 - Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.”

And on two occasions God made it clear that Jesus was His Son.

First, when He was baptized, God spoke these words from heaven: “Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.”

And later, at Jesus transfiguration, God the Father spoke of His Son again.

2 and He (that’s Jesus) was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, 1let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

5 bWhile he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, c“This is My beloved Son, din whom I am well pleased. eHear Him!” 6

I believe that God made it pretty clear on both occasions that Jesus was the Son of God.

On the other hand, Muslims believe that Jesus is a prophet like Ezekiel or Daniel, but not as important a prophet as Muhammad.

In fact, the very idea that God had a son is repugnant to Muslims.

The Quran states in Surah 4:17, “Jesus. . . was only a messenger of Allah. . . Far is it removed from His transcendent majesty that He should have a son.”