A CHRISTIAN RESPONSE TO THE ISLAMIC DENIAL OF THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST
Compared to the Bible, the Islamic tradition, based on the Qur’an, Hadith, and Sirat Muhamad, presents an entirely different and antithetical account of the Person and Work of Jesus, the Messiah. The New Testament relates the story as written by the disciples of Jesus Christ, Matthew and John. Paul, a convert from Judaism, became an ardent missionary and spread the Gospel throughout the Mediterranean World. He sent his Epistles (Letters) to churches he had founded and dealt with doctrines relating to the work of Jesus and with ethical matters.
For the last 1400 years, Christians have responded to the Islamic version of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. The following are translated excerpts from an article posted on the French Catholic website, Jésus Le Messie (Jesus the Messiah).
Biblical and Logical responses to the Islamic account.
The Biblical Argument:
“Several people who suffered and died as martyrs had actually seen the resurrected Jesus. (1 Corinthians 15:6; Matthew 27)
“Jesus prayed for his executioners ‘Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing’ (Luke 23:34). His mission was to suffer and die, revealing that there was no limit to God's forgiveness. Had Jesus not died and risen again, how could we understand the historical testimonies reporting the death and resurrection of Jesus, in the Gospels and the Epistles? Had Jesus Christ not died and risen again, how can we explain the very existence of Christianity?”
The Logical Argument:
“Neither Jewish nor pagan authors denied the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. There are numerous testimonies from non-Christians, starting with the Jewish historian Flavius who wrote ’Jesus who was a wise man, if indeed we must consider him as a man, so admirable were his works. The leaders of our nation, having accused him before Pilate, had him crucified. He appeared to them alive and resurrected on the third day…’
“How could God have manifested Himself, other than by the Incarnation of His Son?
“How could Muslims, six centuries before the birth of Muhammad, know what happened in Jerusalem around 33 A.D.? Should we refuse to believe in the fulfillment of God's Promises by the ministry of Jesus Christ, simply because the Quran contradicts them?”