Jesus (pbuh) according to Christian theology couldn't save himself.
Read this:
The 2 Jesus' of the Bible (or Jesus Vs. Jesus)
Bismallah,
I have heard Christians say on more that one occasion "the Jesus of the bible is not the same Jesus as the one we read about in the Quran."
This statement really started me thinking could it be true? The key to understanding the life and ministry of Jesus(pbuh) is for us to have an understanding of the time, place and culture of the people at the time. We have to take a look, as best we can, at what was going on at the time and the bible, although not the words of Allah( subhana wa tallah) is as good a historical record as we have and it will more than suffice for task at hand.
After pouring over these scriptures for quite some time I have reached a firm conclusion based on what is written in the New Testament. I submit, with confidence that there was an impostor or impostors operating in the area in parallel with the real Jesus (pbuh).
Whenever there is a famous person there will always be copy-cats. We see this now days in the entertainment business. It's human nature. Back in the time of Jesus(pbuh) it would have been extremely easy to pull something like this off because they didn't have photo IDs and pictures or mass media.
This reasonable and logical train of thought goes a long way explaining a lot of inconsistency in the gospels that have opened the flood gates for countless form of heresy as well as failed prophesy.
The first important question we need to ask is, was Jesus Christ (pbuh) famous? Did he have a following? The answer to this is yes!
The gospel of Matthew tells us that Jesus(pbuh) had more than just a small following. Matthew 4:24 says "and his fame went throughout all Syria" and 4:25 "and there followed him great multitudes."
Jesus (pbuh) even warns us about impostors in Matt 7:15 'beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep's clothing" and in Mark 13:6 "for many will come in my name, saying 'I am Christ' and shall deceive many".
Not only was Jesus(pbuh) concerned about imposters he went so far as to suggest that many would be cropping up and using his name. Then again, its not unusual for an imposter to warn the people of imposters. Its a common component of any kind of deception of this nature. Either way my case is built and the point is un-avoidable.
Now that I have hit the nail on the head, allow me to pound it in the rest of the way insh'allah.
In Matthew 8:22 Jesus(pbuh) or someone pretending to be Jesus shows a complete lack of compassion when he tells a grieving man who had just lost his father, "follow me and let the dead bury their dead". This heartless statement is not befitting the character of Jesus(pbuh) and it's hard to believe he would have said something to this effect.
Then there is Matthew 16:20 where Jesus(pbuh) or somebody pretending to be him was reported to have said that he told his disciples that they should "tell no man" that he was Jesus Christ. We see this steady stream of disinformation in other verses as well. Why would the real Jesus(pbuh) be trying to do business on the down-low when multitudes of people already know who he is and have already seen him perform miracles? This looks as if somebody who is imitating Jesus has managed to attract a few followers who treat him like they were secretly meeting a rock star. And then egotistical imposter wanted to enjoy basking in the attention of a few bamboozled people.
What really takes the cake is what occurs in Matthew 12:46-50.
Jesus(pbuh) or an impostor is preaching and a crowd has gathered in a temple or building of some kind. His Mother and Brother must have gotten word that Jesus (pbuh) was giving a sermon and want to have a word with him but can't see or hear him clearly, or get close enough to catch his attention so they send word inside to let Jesus(pbuh) know his Mother and family members are outside waiting for him to finish. What happens next?
He gets nervous and realizes he needs to exit stage left. This impostor knows that if the Mother of Jesus sees him- he's busted because she will expose him! So to create a smokescreen he turns to his disciples -or those who think he is the real Jesus(pbuh) and says "Behold my Mother and my Brethren!"
Of coarse the preaching is cut short to befog the issue and the writers of the Bible change to another subject right away.
Matthew 21: gets all the more stranger. According to the author of Matthew, Jesus(pbuh) is traveling from Jericho to Jerusalem by way of Bethphage. Apparently he stops in Bethphage to rest (I suppose) before he enters Jerusalem and its only then he realizes he needs a colt and donkey to ride into Jerusalem and doesn't have one. Why? Because he thinks that he can fulfill an old testament prophecy by riding a donkey rather than walking into town. The problem is God didn't see fit to supply him with a colt and donkey. This all seems like an impostor trying to throw everything together at the last minute and realizes he has deviated from the script. So what happens next?
Jesus(pbuh) -or somebody acting like him- desperate to fulfill this prophecy, tells his buddies to go into the village and take them! So they do! He tells his disciples if anybody questions why they are taking the animals without permission to simply tell them that "Jesus is in need of them". So why didn't Jesus or who ever was pretending to be him go and speak to the owner face to face get the animals himself? Could it be that the people in the village knew the real Jesus(pbuh) by sight and he was afraid he wouldn't be recognized? Can anyone honestly say that this is the M.O. of a messenger of God? It looks more like kabuki theater to me.
Here is another strong point that supports the idea that there is more than one Jesus at work here.
In Mark 14:18 he is telling his disciples that "one of you will betray me" but what really happens? In the end all of them betray him as we see in Mark 14:50 "and they all forsook him and fled." When a true prophet of God predicts something it will come true. In other words a miss is equal to a mile and here Jesus -or somebody pretending to be him is blowing it in a big way.
On the other hand, other things in the bible are quite consistent with the character of the real Jesus(pbuh).
Like for example some the verses in Mark 28-34. Basically what's going on here is some scribes (the modern-day equivalent of the "scribes" would be the intellectual bourgeoisie) come to Jesus(pbuh) asking him about God. They ask Jesus(pbuh) what is the greatest of all commandments and he answers "Hear, O Israel The Lord your God is one." The scribe summarized Jesus's words and says back to him "for there is One God and there is none other but He". This is also consistent with Islamic monotheism. Then he paid the Scribe a great compliment saying "you are not far from the Kingdom of God." In other words a 2 thumbs up!
Strange isn't it? Anti-Islamic Christians who make it their full time job to criticize Islam will say "the Jesus in the Quran is not the same Jesus as the one in the bible." But when you boil it all down the Jesus in the bible doesn't appear to be the Jesus of the bible either.
There is absolutely more than one Jesus working here!
One Jesus thinks he would not be killed- Matthew 16:4 "no sign will be given except the sigh of Jonnah" (who did not die) and the other Jesus is convinced he will be killed. Mark 9:31 " the son of man will be delivered into the hands of men and they will kill him". Which Jesus is correct?
One Jesus thinks he has power to forgive sins. Matthew 9:6 " but that you may know that the son of man has the power on earth to forgive sins". The other Jesus thinks his power is from God. John 5:30 " I can of my own self do nothing". Which is the real Jesus?
One Jesus says "I came not to judge the world" ( the people) but the other Jesus clearly passes judgement on people. In Matthew 23:28 he says "even so you outwardly appear righteous unto men, but inwardly are full of hypocrisy and iniquity" Which is the real Jesus the one who judges or the one who doesn't judge?
One Jesus plans ahead while the other does not. An example of good planning by Jesus can be found in Luke 24:12. Peter went to the tomb of Jesus to find he had left and only his burial cloths were there. Its unlikely Jesus walked out and went around indecently naked searching for something to wear. Imagine that! Jesus brought a change of cloths to the crucifixion! Very thoughty.
The other Jesus was a very bad planner like in Mark 5:1-13 where Jesus does an exorcism and sends 2000 evil spirits into pigs causing them to go nuts and drown (choke) in a lake. 2000 pigs is a lot of smoked ham and the village must have suffered hunger for some time after this thanks to Jesus' lack of planning.
So which is the real Jesus. The one who plans ahead properly or the reckless Jesus who destroys the pig farmer's property?
One Jesus is very verbose and has a million things to say. See Luke 15:4 to Luke 22:38 -if you have time to read it- while the other Jesus speaks short and to the point. For example see Acts 22:7-21. Jesus must have decided that Paul didn't need a lecture. (It wouldn't have done any good LOL!) Which Jesus is the real one?
One Jesus prays to God Luke 11.1 "and it came to pass as he was praying..."The other Jesus thinks he is God. Rev 22:13. Boasting bombastically "I am the beginning and the end, the first and the last". Which is the real Jesus(pbuh) and which is the imposter?
After a reading of the New testament, I arrive at the conclusion that there may be no way of knowing about Jesus(pbuh) from reading only the Bible.
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