Jesus: Man, Messenger, Messiah · 1. God in Christianity
Jesus preached pure monotheism
In short
- 1.Asked for the greatest commandment, Jesus recites the **Shema**: 'Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one' [Mark 12:29].
- 2.He calls the Father 'the **only** true God' and speaks of himself as the one sent [John 17:3].
- 3.He prays, prostrates, and asks for the cup to pass — God does not petition God [Matthew 26:39].
- 4.He denies knowledge of the Hour: 'no one knows, not even the Son, but only the Father' [Mark 13:32].
- 5.He states plainly 'the Father is greater than I' [John 14:28].
The claim being examined
If Jesus were God incarnate, one expects him to say so plainly and to receive worship as God from those he taught.
The Islamic position
Islam holds that Jesus taught the same undiluted monotheism as every prophet before him, and the Gospels preserve enough of that teaching to show it.
Analysis
The strongest monotheistic material in the Gospels is not in obscure corners but in the central scenes: the greatest commandment, the Gethsemane prayer, the high-priestly prayer. These are passages the tradition had no motive to invent once a high christology was in place, which is precisely what makes them historically weighty. Whatever later theology made of Jesus, the Jesus of these passages worships God and directs others to worship God.
From the Qur'an
Qur'an 5:117
مَا قُلْتُ لَهُمْ إِلَّا مَا أَمَرْتَنِي بِهِ أَنِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ رَبِّي وَرَبَّكُمْ
I said not to them except what You commanded me: to worship God, my Lord and your Lord.
Qur'an 19:36
وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ رَبِّي وَرَبُّكُمْ فَاعْبُدُوهُ ۚ هَٰذَا صِرَاطٌ مُّسْتَقِيمٌ
Indeed, God is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. That is a straight path.
From the Bible
Mark 13:32
περὶ δὲ τῆς ἡμέρας ἐκείνης οὐδεὶς οἶδεν, οὐδὲ ὁ υἱός, εἰ μὴ ὁ πατήρ
About that day or hour no one knows, not even the Son, but only the Father.
Read it in their BibleMatthew 26:39
πάτερ μου, εἰ δυνατόν ἐστιν, παρελθάτω ἀπ᾽ ἐμοῦ τὸ ποτήριον τοῦτο
My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me — yet not as I will, but as you will.
Read it in their BibleSources
Abu Zakariya, Jesus: Man, Messenger, Messiah · Geza Vermes, The Religion of Jesus the Jew · James D.G. Dunn, Christology in the Making · Jesus: Man, Messenger, Messiah — ch. 1, pp. 30-33
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