Tuesday 10 January 2017

Was Jesus عليه السلام Resurrected from the Dead? (Part 2)

Continuing from the previous post, the reader should understand that according to the Mosaic Law, a person who is executed by hanging, such as being hung on a cross or a tree, is accursed by God: “And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.” (Deuteronomy 21:22-23, KJV)
This is why Paul of Tarsus claims that Jesus was cursed (God forbid): “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree” (Galatian 3:13, KJV)
Christians, by arguing that Jesus of Nazareth was put to death on the cross, have no choice but to admit that Jesus in his person became “accursed by God”, as Paul of Tarsus boldly asserted. Yet this is precisely the reason why Jews reject Jesus as the Jewish Messiah and Lion of Judah, because they allege he died an accursed death, and regrettably the Christians who are supposed followers of Christ confirm their ruthless allegation.

Contrary to Jews and Christians, Muslims believe that Jesus was the true Messiah and according to God’s promise, was saved from an accursed death. According to the Book of Psalms, it is clearly written that far from being killed by his enemies or cursed by God, the Lord God will save his Messiah:
עַתָּה יָדַעְתִּי--    כִּי הוֹשִׁיעַ יְהוָה, מְשִׁיחוֹ:
יַעֲנֵהוּ, מִשְּׁמֵי קָדְשׁוֹ--    בִּגְבֻרוֹת, יֵשַׁע יְמִינוֹ.
“Now know I that the LORD saveth His anointed [Messiah]; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the mighty acts of His saving right hand.” (Psalm 20:6/7)
According to the Gospel of John, Jesus stated that his betrayal by Judas Iscariot was prophesied in the Scripture: “but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me” (John 13:18). The quote is found in Psalm 41:9 “Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.” Therefore, Christians consider Psalm 41 a Messianic prophecy and relating to the person of Jesus. However, a fuller examination of that particular Psalm, which Christians themselves admit and cite Jesus’s own statement as a prophecy relating to him, reveals that God promised to deliver Jesus from an accursed death on the cross. The entire Psalm has been reproduced here:
“Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness. I said, Lord, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee. Mine enemies speak evil of me, When shall he die, and his name perish? And if he come to see me, he speaketh vanity: his heart gathereth iniquity to itself; when he goeth abroad, he telleth it. All that hate me whisper together against me: against me do they devise my hurt. An evil disease, say they, cleaveth fast unto him: and now that he lieth he shall rise up no more. Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. But thou, O Lord, be merciful unto me, and raise me up, that I may requite them. By this I know that thou favourest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me. And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face for ever. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen.” (Psalm 41, KJV)
Undoubtedly, this beautiful Psalm is predicting that far from dying on the cross, Jesus will be saved by God from the evil plotting of his enemies, as the Holy Qur’an confirms (Surah 4:197). It says that God will deliver Jesus, “preserve him” and “keep him alive”.
Christians consider Psalm 22 to be another precise prophecy concerning Jesus, especially the following verses: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?” (Psalm 22:1) Incidentally, Jesus spoke these words while on the cross: “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” (Mark 15:34) “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” (Matthew 27:46), quoting directly from Psalm 22, pointing to the fact that it is a Psalm in his honor and a prophecy concerning him. Christians also quote this passage from Psalm 22 as a prophecy relating to Jesus: “For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.” (Psalm 22:16-18) So we have certainly established the fact that Christians consider Psalm 22 as a Messianic prophecy concerning Jesus. Let us therefore examine the rest of the Psalm where God promises He will deliver Jesus from death on the cross (contrary to what Christians believe):
“He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.” (Psalm 22:8)
Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.” (Psalm 22:11)
But be not thou far from me, O Lord: O my strength, haste thee to help me. (Psalm 22:19)
Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog. (Psalm 22:20)
Save me from the lion’s mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns. (Psalm 22:21)
But when he cried unto him, he heard. (Psalm 22:24)
Christians cite Psalm 27:12 as yet another prophecy concerning Jesus. According to Matthew 26 and Mark 14, the chief priests and elders of Israel sought to put Jesus to death through the testimony of false witnesses, which Christians claim is a fulfilment of Psalm 27:12. But when one reads the entire verse, it clearly says that God will deliver Jesus from the will of his enemies (their will being to have him put to death on the cross):
Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.” (Psalm 27:12, KJV)
We have already discussed in our previous post that one of the strong proofs that Jesus did not die on the cross is the fact that his legs were not broken by the Roman guards (while the legs of the other criminals who were being crucified alongside him were broken). Christians, however, claim that this was in fulfilment of a scriptural prophecy: “For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.” (John 19:36, KJV)
But once again, when we read the cited Psalm in context, it reveals the fact that God will save Jesus from an accursed death on the cross:
“The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.” (Psalm 34:17-20)
Christians love to quote Isaiah 53 as a grand prophecy concerning the suffering of Jesus, whom they claim is the “suffering servant” described in that chapter. Although it is not my intention to evaluate the merits of the Christian claim regarding Isaiah 53 being a prophecy of a suffering of Jesus, I will point out that even this chapter, if it is taken to be a prophecy concerning Jesus, is yet another proof that God will deliver him from an accursed death on the cross:
“Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him [not kill him]; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.” (Isaiah 53:10)
We clearly see that Isaiah 53:10 cites God’s promise that Jesus will not be killed on the cross, although it will please God only to bruise or injure him. Instead, the days of Jesus will be prolonged and he shall see his “seed”. Christians ignorantly argue that “seed” or “offspring” refers to the spiritual progeny of Jesus, as they believe he had no biological offspring. However, this is ignorance of the meaning of the Hebrew word זֶ֖רַע (Zera) which can only mean offspring in a biological sense:
“Although missionaries may claim that the ‘offspring’ refers to spiritual descendants, this is based on a distortion and mistranslation. In this verse, the Hebrew word for ‘offspring’ (zera - זֶרַע) always refers to physical descendants (see Genesis 12:7, 15:2-4, 15:13, 46:6; Exodus 28:43). A different word, banim (בנים), generally translated as ‘sons,’ is used to refer to spiritual descendants (see Deut. 14:1).”

In conclusion, the prophecies which Christians themselves cite as concerning Jesus (Psalms 20, 22, 27, 34, 41 and Isaiah 53) all state quite plainly that God will save Jesus from his enemies and deliver him from an accursed death, a fact which the Holy Qur’an confirms (Surah 4:197).

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