Explaining Jesus to Muslims
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7. Jesus the Messiah

Isa Al-Masihu

Both the Injil and the Quran confirm that Jesus, son of Mary is the Messiah. The Quran says:

"O Mary! Lo! Allah gives you glad tiding of a Word from him, whose name is the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, illustrious in the world and the hereafter, and one of those brought near to Allah."  (3:45)

What does the word Messiah mean? Messiah is a Hebrew word meaning "the Lord's Anointed". In the Greek language Messiah is translated Christ, so Christ and Messiah mean the same thing. In Arabic it is Masih or Al-Masihu. Among the Jews kings and priests were anointed with oil to consecrate them to their service for God. The oil was a symbol of the Holy Spirit who would give them the strength and wisdom to perform their work.

The Lord's Anointed, the Messiah, was a man who would come to save Israel from oppression and restore Israel to the former glory they had under king Solomon (Sulemanu). The Jews saw the Messiah as a king through whom God would do his will. He would be ruler of a theocratic state and from Jerusalem he would establish the kingdom of God in all the world. But there were also prophecies that the Messiah would be a suffering servant. The Jews did not emphasize that so much, it seemed incompatible for a victorious king to also be a suffering servant! But in the person of Jesus we see both of these fulfilled. When Jesus came 2000 years ago, he fulfilled the role of the suffering servant. When he comes again, as taught in both the Injil and the Quran, he will come as a victorious king to rule the whole world.

The first coming of the Messiah

The following passages from the prophet Isaiah were written over 700 years before Jesus was born. They tell of how the Messiah would suffer for God's people so that their sins would be forgiven. For this reason Jesus is called Saviour. Read: Isaiah 42:1-7, 49:1-6, 50:4-11, 52:13 - 53:12

Jesus is a servant the Lord has chosen and in whom he is well pleased. He is filled with the Spirit of God. He is humble and gentle and without compulsion brings justice to the nations. Through the Messiah God will make a covenant with all peoples and bring them light. He will open the eyes of the blind (both physical and spiritual blindness) and set free those who sit in dark prisons (enslaved by sin, death and Satan).

In Isaiah 50:4-7 the Messiah speaks:
"The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakes me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears and I have not been rebellious, I have not drawn back.  I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard, I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know I will not be put to shame."

Here we see the Messiah rising early each morning to pray and listen to God's voice. He is perfect in his obedience to God. Despite this he would be whipped and insulted and spat upon by his enemies. But the Messiah is confident. He knows he will not be disgraced, God will vindicate him.

Isaiah 53:3-7 written over 700 years before Jesus was born, give us a clear picture of his suffering for the sins of mankind on the cross:

"He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth, he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth."

Isaiah 53 is a beautiful passage of holy Scripture. It gives us a picture of the Messiah when he came into the world the first time. He ministered to people, suffered and died. He was the perfect, sinless man. His life was characterized by love, holiness, justice and compassion for his fellow man. He was put to death in a most disgraceful way. But three days later he rose from death and will come again as Muslim tradition affirms. His first coming was in humiliation for our sake, but his second coming will be to reign forever as king as foretold by the prophets.

The second coming of the Messiah

Read the second Psalm (Zabura 2). In this Psalm about the Messiah, written by David (Dauda), we see the nations rebelling against God and his Anointed, Jesus the Messiah. God laughs at man's efforts to oppose him. He has installed his king, Jesus, on Mt Zion in Jerusalem. In verses 7-9 the Messiah declares what God told him.

"I will proclaim the decree of the Lord: He said to me: You are my Son, today I have become your Father.  Ask of me and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter, you will dash them to pieces like pottery."

David called the Messiah the Son of God 1,000 years before Jesus came. The king of Israel was sometimes referred to as a son of God, because as king over God's people Israel, he was God's representative on earth, having God's authority to rule and to judge people. But the Messiah was more than king over Israel, he was to be king over the whole earth.

Psalm 89:3 also speaks of the Messiah:
"I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant, I will establish your line forever and make your throne firm through all generations."

The Messiah, the descendant of David, Jesus, will be king forever. The following prophecy about the Messiah is from Isaiah 9:6-7:

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever."

Just as the Quran gives to the prophet Jesus more lofty titles than to any other prophet (for example: The Word of God, a Spirit from God, Illustrious in this world and the next), so here Jesus has titles that could apply to no other person. He is referred to here as both man and God and as King he will rule with justice for eternity. Read also Isaiah 11:1-10 The final prophecy about the Messiah is from the prophet Daniel who lived over 500 years before Jesus was born. In chapter 7 verses 13-14 he describes a vision he saw:

"In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power, all peoples, nations and men of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”