JESUS, THE PERSON
There
are many verses in the New Testament supporting the messengership / prophethood
of Jesus. The following are only a few: In Matthew 21:11, the people of his
time are recorded as referring to Jesus as a prophet: “And the crowds said, ‘This
is the prophet Jesus of Nazareth of Galilee.’ ” In
Mark, 6:4, it is stated that Jesus referred to himself as a prophet: “And Jesus
said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honour, except in his own country, and
among his own kin, and in his own house.’ ”
In the following verses, Jesus is referred to as having been sent as a
messenger is sent. In Matthew 10:40, Jesus was purported to have said: “He that
receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.” In John 17:3, Jesus is also quoted as saying:
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus
Christ, whom thou hast sent.” [65]
A
Messenger
Throughout the
Quran, Jesus is identified fundamentally as a Messenger of God. In Chapter as-Saff
(61):6, God quotes Jesus as follows:
وَإِذْ قَالَ
عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ يَابِنِي إِسْرآئِيلَ إِنِّي رَسُولُ اللهِ إِلَيْكُمْ
مُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيَّ مِنَ التَّوْراةِ
“And [remember] when Jesus, son of Mary, said: ‘O Children of Israel, I am
the messenger of Allaah sent to you, confirming the Torah [which came] before
me.”