Jesus: Man, Messenger, Messiah · 1. God in Christianity
Jesus preached pure monotheism
In short
- 1.Asked for the greatest commandment, Jesus (PBUH) 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 (PBUH) 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 (PBUH) 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 tucked away in odd corners; it is in the central scenes — the greatest commandment, the prayer in Gethsemane, the high-priestly prayer. Once a high (a view of Jesus (PBUH) as divine) was established, the tradition had no motive to invent passages like these, and that is exactly what gives them historical weight. Whatever later made of Jesus (PBUH), the Jesus (PBUH) of these passages worships God and tells others to worship God.
From the Qur'an
مَا قُلْتُ لَهُمْ إِلَّا مَآ أَمَرْتَنِى بِهِۦٓ أَنِ ٱعْبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ رَبِّى وَرَبَّكُمْ ۚ
mā qul'tu lahum illā mā amartanī bihi ani uʿ'budū l-laha rabbī warabbakum
I said not to them except what You commanded me: to worship God, my Lord and your Lord.
وَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ رَبِّى وَرَبُّكُمْ فَٱعْبُدُوهُ ۚ هَـٰذَا صِرَٰطٌۭ مُّسْتَقِيمٌۭ
wa-inna l-laha rabbī warabbukum fa-uʿ'budūhu hādhā ṣirāṭun mus'taqīmun
Indeed, God is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. That is a straight path.
From the Bible
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 Bibleπάτερ 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.
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