When dealing with the death of Jesus this isn’t just about the conflicting differences between the Bible and the Quran but this is also a matter of taking into consideration all the other secondary sources which are secular in nature and who are either reporting on the basis of a historical or a hostile view when elaborating about the crucifixion of Christ and therefore they are not sympathetic towards reconciling themselves with Christian doctrine. These sources include the likes of such contemporaries as Mara Bar-Serapion, Jewish Talmud, Thallus, Cornelius Tacitus, and Flavius Josephus which represented both Roman and Jewish authorship.
Also the crucifixion didn’t happen in a corner and for the enemies of Christ this wouldn’t have been a haphazard event of mistaken identity as they accompanied the corpse of Christ to the point of even guarding the tomb. They weren’t worried about His death as they were more concerned about His alleged resurrection and the body being stolen.
From a New Testament perspective it would have been complicated for this scenario to be an act of deception as this would of involved not only the main event but everything leading up to the crucifixion on through to the resurrection appearances of Christ.
Actually Jesus death didn’t begin at the cross but it was inaugurated at the scourging and this was after all the trials from both the Roman and Jewish sectors. So during this whole time they had an up close encounter with Christ which left no doubt to His identity.
The life and ministry of Christ was witnessed by many prior to His public execution and there were all types of people represented at this hanging. This would include the Roman soldiers, religious Jews and then the follower’s of Jesus perhaps even the Apostle John.
Also there were people dialoguing with Jesus during His trial and crucifixion which would have been very difficult or impossible for there to be some type of cosmic deception in blinding the eyes of those who intimately knew Him. Additionally it would be contrary to the nature of God to lie by somehow hiding the truth by fabricating a falsehood to manipulate people into being tricked or fooled into thinking that Judas was somehow Jesus.
The very words spoken during the trial and crucifixion are not consistent with that of Judas as this individual claimed to be the Messiah. This person also used such verbiage as “today you will be with me in paradise” or “forgive them for they know not what they do” and “why God have you forsaken me”. These statements were made by the innocent party not by the one who was doing the forsaking or betraying.
We also understand that there was physical evidence after the resurrection in which Jesus revealed His wounds and so for this whole ordeal to be some kind of conspiracy theory it is just not consistent within the testimony of the new covenant literature along with the evidence from all these other external sources that I have mentioned as well. Even the Old Testament concurs with this theme and can be considered as a complimentary text which couldn’t have been tampered or altered by Christians as the Jews had secured these writings prior to the advent of Christianity. Amazingly when a secular Jew unsuspectingly hears the Old Testament scripture for the first time such as with Isaiah chapter 52:13-53:12 and Psalms chapter 22 they sometimes make an association between the crucifixion of Jesus and this suffering servant. At this point they often object and infer that you have read something to them from the Christian bible not even realizing that these passages came right from their own scriptures. Not only that but these verses contain details of His flagellation and crucifixion which could not of been fabricated especially since this form of execution wasn’t even developed until long after these words were prophetically spoken. Anyway I am sending you a link to these biblical passages in English so you can reference them.
Lastly even the skeptics of today may contest certain aspects of the biblical message but the crucifixion is generally accepted and perhaps there are those who probably think that somehow He deserved this consequence as being a revolutionary.
Finally the message of Jesus prior to His Passion also confirmed His demise in which He told of His impending death prior to its fulfillment even to the embarrassment and amazement of the disciples who denied this outcome. The reason why they initially had these expectations was because the Jews of that time were under the oppression of foreign rule and for them the Messiah was to be their deliverer instead of Him undergoing a brutal death. So why would the disciples portray themselves in less than a favorable light regarding these comments made by Christ regarding His death and what would their motivation be to make up a story which depicted their hero as dieing by the hands of the enemy? From a human perspective this looks like a form of weakness and defeat rather than a victory for their Messiah. It would appear to have been better for them to go along with the understanding of the Koran and have Jesus leaving unscathed and reappearing at the end of the age to restore all things.
Essentially they did not have the foresight in deciphering some of these Old Covenant scriptures and even today the Jewish people are blind sighted to these texts even though many Jews have come to faith through these very scriptures which I have made reference to.
In hindsight to this matter it is much clearer to see this whole matter after the fact regarding this suffering/death motif as it properly fits into the divine plan of God’s eternal purpose and therefore negating any kind of vain or meaningless interpretation.
If you were to do a survey of biblical doctrine this matter would neatly align itself within the context of the biblical worldview of redemption which actually begun before the foundation of the world climaxing with the sacrificial death of Christ alongside of His resurrection and ascension. This is what is termed as the scarlet thread of redemption which weaves itself throughout the fabric of history in dealing with a sacrificial system of atonement.
The nature of the sacrificial system combines both the justice and the mercy of God by which sin and guilt is dealt with. This ceremonial law appropriated a covenant breaker in that this offender was allowed a provisional ransom in the form of offerings and animal sacrifice. In the book of Leviticus it says that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. Therefore this animal served as an innocent and substitutionary offering in that its life blood was exchanged on behalf of the guilty party as a life for life transaction.
This whole drama is what has set the stage for what the New Testament book of Hebrews says about Christ who was the reality of these Old Testament shadows as the fulfillment in being the Lamb of God who was sacrificed once and for all in making His work completely efficacious in reconciling us unto God and giving us peace.
The reason Christ came to earth was to represent mankind and because He was without sin He could only do what you and I could not in being a pure and innocent offering as He willfully took the punishment for sin that was rightfully ours. In comparison to Christ’s righteousness we come up short in that we have all sinned and therefore if we contrast ourselves to each other then perhaps we might have a leg to stand on but when we compare ourselves to a holy and righteous God then this confidence is easily shattered. We are not distinguishing between apples here as when we judge between ourselves and others and therefore as we stand before the judgment seat of God we will be humbly aware that we are God’s creation and like a bad tree we have produced the sweetening putrefaction of rotting fruit. God is the author and perfector of all things and anything less than that is a violation of His character. So what kind of assurance should any of us have before God when we are left to our own insufficient righteousness? We are left naked and bare before Him and ever thought and action is exposed and therefore it is no wonder how our very minds condemn us when we fail to live up to the basic moral laws of life.
That’s why we need a Savior because we can’t save ourselves from the justice of God which demands perfection and yet the God of the bible is also described as a God of love and this love is extended to us by making a provision for our sins according to His mercy.
Also God is not under any kind of compulsion to do this as He would be perfectly just to let us suffer His wrath and judgment. However the good news is that not only are we saved from God but we are saved by God through the life, death and subsequent resurrection of Christ. God provides a solution of which we would have otherwise perished in being condemned but now instead of being alienated from God we can be confident and reassured so that when we pass from this life to the next we aren’t left to gamble by rolling the dice of eternity.
Perhaps all of this love, mercy, and sacrifice stuff doesn’t make sense to you and maybe your are wondering how God can allow this inequality to happen in that at the same time we are both the beneficiary and the perpetrator to this bloody transaction and yet without this allowance then how would any of us be spared?
Also the bible supports the notion of God’s transcendence in which it describes His thoughts are not our thoughts nor are our ways His ways. We reason differently in that we think that God shouldn’t act this way and yet it is His prerogative and without it what hope would we have? Also this is not a contradiction or a compromise to His character and nature as He is providing justice by receiving this salvific work of Christ in recompense for our sin. Jesus had the right to lay down his life and to have it taken up. He willfully forfeited His life for His sheep and even though we were once His enemies Christ died for us and consequently that is why it is referred to as amazing grace.
When you contemplate all of this we can’t even fathom this kind of response and at best we can only relate to the sacrificial love of a parent or a spouse but how much more perfect is the God who created these imperfect beings and therefore I am comforted to know that His infinite love is far greater than that of any finite creature. My friend God didn’t create life to provide fuel for the fire of hell and the bible says it was initially prepared for the devil and his angels and yet how can we escape such judgment if we neglect this gratuitous act of grace by rejecting the provisional source of salvation?
Respectfully, my challenge to you is how do you deal with your guilt? Also have you ever wondered or considered if you have done enough good deeds to earn or merit paradise? Can you know for sure that your life is really acceptable to Allah?
In conclusion God’s love has not abandoned or left us helpless or hopeless as He has lavished poured out His love on us by giving us Jesus who is our confidence for everlasting life.
Finally Jesus is giving you an invitation in which He has shouldered the burden of sin releasing us from this debt of transgression and delivering us from the rigors of religious expectations through an intimate knowledge and personal relationship with Him.
Mt 11:28-30
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”