Explaining Jesus to Muslims
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8. Jesus' Crucifixion

There are three verses in the Quran that speak of the death and resurrection of Jesus. They appear to be contradictory.

"Peace on me the day I was born and the day I die and the day I shall be raised alive." (19:33)
(Spoken by baby Jesus from the cradle.)

"When God said, O Jesus, verily I will cause you to die and I will take you up to me and I will deliver you from the unbelievers." (3:55)

"And because of their saying 'we slew the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, Allah's messenger' - they slew him not nor crucified, but it appeared so to them." (4:157)

No matter what the first two verses mean, it is clear from the third that the Quran teaches that Jesus was not crucified by the Jews. On this point the Quran, written 600 years after Jesus' death, contradicts the clear testimony of the Injil and also clear statements made in other historical records.

The Roman historian Tacitus wrote detailed passages about the crucifixion of Jesus and his sufferings in a large volume written in 55 AD

The Jewish historian Josephus, born a few years after the crucifixion, wrote a history of the Jews in 20 volumes and he gives a detailed account of the crucifixion of Jesus as ordered by the Roman governor Pilate.

The Greek historian Lucius wrote in about 100 AD about the death of Jesus and Christians. He said: "The Christians continue to worship that great man who was crucified in Palestine because he brought a new religion to the world."

The Roman governor Pilate who had Jesus crucified sent a full report of Jesus' crucifixion, his burial and his rising from the dead, and his report is among Roman records. The Christian scholar Tertullian used this report in his famous defense of Christianity called "Apology" in 197 AD.

The Jewish Talmud, an official record of Jewish history and tradition says: "Jesus was crucified one day before the Passover. We warned him for 40 days that he would be killed, because he was a magician and planned to deceive Israel with his delusions."

These historical records are interesting and prove that Jesus was crucified, but for Christians the record contained in the holy Injil is far more important. The Injil which Christians possess today, which has been translated into thousands of languages is exactly the same Injil which Mohammed refers to in the Quran and commands Muslims to believe.

"And in their footsteps We sent Jesus the son of Mary, confirming the Law that had come before him: We sent him the Gospel (Injil). Therein was guidance and light and confirmation of the Law that had come before him, a guidance and an admonition to those who fear Allah." (5:49)

"O you who believe! Believe in Allah and his Apostle and the Scripture which he has sent to his Apostle and the Scripture which he sent to those before him. Any who deny Allah, his angels, his books, his apostles and the day of judgment has gone far, far astray." (4:136)

All four gospel records (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) cover the events surrounding the crucifixion in much greater detail than any other period of Jesus' life. These details show conclusively that the one crucified could only have been Jesus Christ. The details are so abundant and consistent that it is impossible to set aside the historicity of the crucifixion accounts. It would have been impossible for Jesus' disciples and his mother who were present at the crucifixion and who handled his dead body to mistake him for someone else.

We will look now at the events of the last day of Jesus' life as recorded by Jesus' disciples under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

The arrest of Jesus and his judgment by the Jews  (Matthew 26:47-68)
Jesus had been praying with his disciples in a garden outside of Jerusalem, when a large crowd armed with swords and clubs arrived to arrest him. They were led by Judas, one of Jesus' own disciples, who had betrayed him. Jesus offered no resistance. He could have called an army of angels to help, but he knew that his death was God's will, because it was prophesied by the prophets and written in the Scriptures that the Messiah must suffer and die and rise again. Jesus had told his disciples about it many times.

He was taken to the house of the Jewish high priest where the Jewish council was gathered to judge him. They could not find any evidence against Jesus to put him to death, so the high priest asked him directly whether he was the Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus said he was. He was then condemned for blasphemy, of which he was guilty, unless he was the Son of God.

Jesus judged by Pilate, the Roman governor (Matthew 27:1-2, 11-31)
Jesus was put in chains and taken to the Roman governor, who alone had the authority to crucify him. Jesus refused to answer the governor's questions and he could find no fault in Jesus. He knew that the Jews had handed Jesus over to him because they were jealous of the attention the crowds gave him. So he tried to release Jesus. His wife had had a dream  about Jesus and she told her husband that he must not condemn this innocent man. But Pilate feared a riot, so he washed his hands in front of the crowd and said he was not responsible for this man's death. The Jews replied: "Let the punishment for his death fall on us and on our children." Forty years later Jerusalem was destroyed by a Roman army and the Jews were scattered throughout the world where they have been persecuted for nearly 2000 years. After the Roman soldiers mocked Jesus for claiming to be the Messiah, the King of the Jews, they led him out of the city to be crucified.

Jesus is crucified (Matthew 27:32-56)
Jesus had been whipped and beaten and could not carry his cross all the way. An African man named Simon was forced by the soldiers to carry Jesus' cross for him. They offered Jesus wine mixed with a drug to lessen the pain, but Jesus would not drink it. They nailed his hands and feet to the cross and erected it. A notice written in Hebrew, Latin and Greek was nailed above his head. It said: "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." Two bandits were crucified with Jesus. People passing by insulted him as did the religious leaders. They taunted him for claiming to be the Son of God, while the soldiers gambled for his clothing.

At noon the whole country was covered in darkness, because this was the darkest deed ever carried out by the human race. It also symbolized Jesus' suffering as he bore the punishment for the sins of the world. He was separated for the first time from fellowship with his Father and so cried out: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" At 3 PM Jesus died. The curtain in the temple, which barred the way to God's presence, was torn in two from top to bottom. This was symbolic of the fact that Jesus' death opened the way to God. There was also an earthquake to mark this important event. Graves broke open and many of God's people were raised to life. This symbolized Jesus' victory over death. When they saw all this, the soldiers were afraid and the officer who was in charge said: "He really was the Son of God."

Jesus' death isn't defeat, but victory.
Jesus' arrest and crucifixion were not a surprise to him. He came into the world to save sinners. He gave himself up as a sacrifice, so that our sins could be forgiven. Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us to God. He died for all, so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but only for him who died and was raised to life for their sake. The apostle Paul sums it up as follows:

"At just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:6-8)

Sin separates us from God. It makes us his enemies and brings down his anger on us. Because Jesus paid the penalty for our sins on the cross, when we turn to him in repentance and faith, he effectively removes our sins from us and reconciles us to God. We have peace with God and become his friends. That is why Jesus' crucifixion is so important to Christians.