Comparison: Jesus vs. Mohammed

Introduction

Well, good evening. Thank you for being here tonight. Thank you for investing yourself, your time, and your energies into this weekend and the lessons that we’ve been involved in together. I thank the congregation for making this opportunity possible for me to come here and do this and for others to participate. We’re so grateful for those who have visited from the community. You’ve been encouragement to us, and your interest in this has confirmed the importance of doing this, and we thank you. I want to thank the elders for this invitation. Again, the whole congregation for the support that you gave me in the early months of my work at the Dulles Congregation, the New Church up in the Washington, D.C. area. And I am always grateful for that and what you’ve what you’ve done for me there and for the work there.

I am very appreciative of this congregation because of what I knew and what I had experienced before this weekend. But my appreciation and my respect has only deepened in these few days. I am very blessed to have you as my brothers and sisters in the family of God. And I pray that God will continue to bless you and use you as He has in the past, in the days ahead. John 14, Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Jesus made it very clear that the only way to be right with God, to find salvation, to have hope of life was through Him. And thus we see that Christianity is exclusive. It teaches a narrow way.

It teaches a path, a door, and that is through Jesus Christ. In the Quran in Surah 9, we read, it is he who hath sent his apostle with the guidance and a religion of the truth, that he may make it victorious over every other religion. In similar fashion, the Quran here is claiming to provide exclusive guidance to those who would seek the one true God. At the very beginning of the Quran, it refers to the teaching and the way that Muhammad was pointing his Arabian brethren to as the straight path. Thus, Islam is likewise claiming to teach an exclusive way. Which means they can’t both be right. Which means you and I have to do a thorough examination, an honest investigation, and then we have to make some choices.

We have to assess things, we have to make judgments, and we have to take a stand. In our contemporary culture, the idea of having religious differences is frowned upon, and the idea of making judgments in religious matters is looked upon as a taboo thing. That it’s almost seen as rude, if not, you know, unamerican. To look at somebody else and say, I don’t believe they’re following the right way. I’m trying to find the way the right way, and here I found this, and I believe this to be right. That to make those kinds of judgments is seen in our culture as a as a you know uh a rude thing.

But we have to think about the ramifications of the idea that you can believe and you can do whatever you want to in religion and find your way to God, that I can do and I can believe and I can practice whatever I want to and find God, we have to think about the ramifications of that. Even the impact of that on the events of 9-11.

The vast majority of Muslim people believe that the acts of 9-11 were not justified, that they were wrong. However, the very small number of people that participated in that, and the very small number of people who would endorse that kind of action. They do and they did believe, they did and they do believe that it is the religiously right thing to do, that God wanted them to do that. And so when you accept the idea that everybody can have their own religious faith, their own religious practices, and whatever they do is fine, and everybody can find their own way to God, you would have to agree that the actions of the terrorists on 9-11 were justified. Because if their God told them to do that, then that was okay.

But you don’t think that way, do you? Most Muslims don’t think that way about the actions of those terrorists on 9-11. And so when it comes down to it, that really doesn’t work. Which leaves us with the other alternative. We have to make the effort to search for the true way. And we have to do the best we can to get there and walk faithfully in it. Because we can’t be intellectually lazy. We can’t be, in a way, morally cowardly and say it just doesn’t matter and throw up our hands. And so this weekend has been dedicated to the task of trying to fairly investigate the teachings of Islam for those of us who follow after Jesus Christ, and to fairly deal with it so that we can give it a fair hearing.

But then to make a comparison with Christ, the Word of God, the Bible, and Christianity. And so I want to tell you that this really should be a beginning for you this weekend. That I don’t want you to take my word for it. I don’t want you to think that this is the sum total of your thoughts and your investigation of this. That I encourage you to keep testing for truth and researching and reading and asking questions because these things are of the utmost importance. I hope that I have been a stimulus to your thinking. But you keep considering these matters, not just comparing Islam with Christianity of the Bible, but also all these kinds of religious questions that are so important. How can I know God?

How can I discover his guidance? And how can I find the way of salvation? And tonight, as we conclude the series about a Christian’s guide to understanding Islam, we come to the second critical issue. There are a lot of questions that pop up regarding Islam for those who are Christians, and some of them are created by the curiosity that we have. And sometimes people get very concerned about certain issues, about numbers of wives, or about certain things that are said in the Quran. And those are very interesting questions, but the real two critical issues have to do with what we’re facing today, and that is, is the Quran the Word of God? If it’s the Word of God, no matter what it said, it’s true. Or is the Bible the Word of God?

Old and New Testament. And then tonight, is Mohammed the seal of the prophets? Is he the great prophet of God? Is he the last prophet of God that corrected all religious understanding? And thus you have to believe that he is the prophet of God, or you cannot come to God and be right with God and have eternal life. Or is Jesus the great prophet of God? Is he not only the one through whom God spoke in these last days, but is he also the Christ, the Son of God? These are all important questions. And so, as we compare tonight, Jesus and Mohammed, I want you to consider with me, first of all, their place as prophets, and second of all, what they started, their movements. We start with Jesus.

1. Their Place as Prophets

In John the 10th chapter, Jesus said this, as many people have been hearing him preach and seeing his actions, his signs, his miracles, and Jesus said, If I do not do the works of my Father, do not believe me. But if I do, though you do not believe me, believe the words. That you may know and believe that the Father is in me and I in Him. One of the things that we see in the record of the New Testament, in addition to what we saw this morning and how that it shows that the life of Jesus, the things that happened to him, the things that he did, the things that people did to him, fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament written hundreds of years, centuries before.

Thus proving that the Old and New Testament are of God and proving that Jesus is the Son of God. That the New Testament also records what he did when he was on earth, including miracles of healing the sick, walking on the water, feeding the 5,000 with just a small amount of food. Even raising people from the dead. And Jesus was a very controversial figure in his day. There were those who were doubting him and questioning him and skeptical of him, and of course, this kind of rejection led to his crucifixion. And Jesus understood the things that they were struggling with and trying to figure out who he is. And that’s why he issues this challenge. And Jesus says, Don’t just take my word for it. Just because I claim to come from the Father and provide you the way of salvation, don’t just believe me.

But rather look at what I’m doing, examine the evidence, look at the fruit, and then make the conclusion. Believe because what ye see me do, and what ye see me do is the proof that I am from God. We noted this morning that when the disciples begin to preach the message of Christ, that they appealed to this idea also. We’re in Acts chapter 2 and in verse 22. We see Peter’s sermon. He says that in the sermon on Pentecost, men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves also know. Jesus primarily worked in Galilee and in the Jerusalem area, teaching and doing miracles.

These people, some of them would have been witness to what he was doing. They would have known people that had been healed. They would have had the opportunity to verify that these acts, these signs, these miracles were legitimate. Jesus did not do these things in a corner. Jesus did not do these things merely just to a handful of people. Jesus did these things openly. It was there to investigate. And Peter appeals to this. He did these things right in front of you. You know this. And this was part of the convincing evidence that led 3,000 of these people that very day to become believers that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, to receive this message and believe this message of Peter, and they repented of their sins and were baptized that day into Jesus Christ.

Jesus says, look at my deeds and conclude who I am. What about Mohammed? Sewer 46 tells us, moving right ahead, and when our clear signs are recited to them, they who believe not say of the truth when it cometh to them, this is plain sorcery. Well, they say, He hath devised it. Say, if I have devised the Quran, then not one single thing shall ye ever obtain for me from God. Muhammad is responding to the idea that some would question him as a spokesman for God. That they would doubt whether he actually was speaking for God or not. And Muhammad attests that no, I’m speaking for God, and if you reject me as the messenger of God, then you’re not going to get blessings from God.

And this is not just found in Surah 46, it’s found throughout the Quran. The Quran, according to Muslim teaching, was the sign that Muhammad was God’s prophet. What was the sign? What was the proof to people? It was the message that Muhammad gave that years after his death was put down in written form. That was the proof, this sayings, these statements, the Quran, that he was the messenger of God. And recall how that took place. Not according to those who are not Muslims, but according to Muslim history. How Muhammad began to receive the revelations. He was in a cave on Mount Hera by himself, and he heard the voice of Gabriel speaking to him to reveal, to begin to reveal to him the messages of God.

That’s the teaching of Islam on how Muhammad got his revelations. He was in a cave by himself. And through the years, actually over the next 22 years, he continued to receive these messages. Sometimes people would see him in a trance like state or an emotional state. But he continued to receive, like early on, the messages personally to him, privately to him. Consider these two prophets. Jesus says, look at my signs, look at my deeds, and you conclude if I’m from God or not. You make the choice. Because it’s the signs that prove that I’m from God. Mohammed comes up with statements and teachings. Statements and teachings that are formed into a volume called the Quran after his death. And these were revelations that were received in private.

No witnesses to verify that there was a miraculous communication of the will of God to this man. One says, look at my public deeds and make a judgment. The other one says, trust what I say and believe what I’m teaching that I got from God in a private setting.

There’s a big difference there. My brother Wade’s been over here this weekend visiting. He lives in the Tampa area. He’s the one that looks like me, but he’s uglier. He and his wife Linda, and I appreciate them coming over. He’s always been a great big brother to me. And I appreciate him coming and listening to his little brother preach. But my brother, whom I love dearly, who has only told me the truth for all my days, and he’s always told the truth to everybody that I know. The kind of person that I could give him every dollar I have and walk away and come back and not have to count it. That’s how much I trust him. If my brother came to me and said, hey, little brother, I’ve got a message from God.

Even with my own brother, I would have to say, how can I believe this? What’s the proof that God is speaking to you? How can I know you’re God’s spokesman? Because to receive a message from God is not a common thing. It is a rare thing in history. And it’s only been accompanied by signs that prove the person was speaking from God. And as much as I trust and love him, I would have to have real evidence that he was speaking on the behalf of God for me to listen to that and treat it as the message of God and follow it. Because these things are just too important for even me to trust my own brother, unless I have verification. Did Muhammad provide public proof that his revelations came from God, or did he just ask people to take his word for it?

It’s the second.

2. What They Started: The Nature of the Movements

The other prophet says, believe what I say as coming from God because I said I got it from God. John the Apostle writes in 1 John 4 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God. Because many false prophets have gone out into the world. And it’s not just the prophets themselves, but it’s also what they produced that merits our evaluation, merits a comparison. What about the nature of the movements? Well, much has been discussed, and this certainly prompted my interest in the early days when I started studying Islam about the question of whether Islam is a peaceful religion, or is Christianity a peaceful religion, or Judaism, or any religion, is it peaceful. And these were very, you know, sensitive issues and relevant issues in the days after 9-11, 01.

But I think a more important matter is not just simply are they peaceful, but rather what’s the nature of these religions, and what’s the nature of the movement that Jesus began, and what’s the nature of the movement that Muhammad began. And especially, is it physical and earthly in nature, or is it spiritual? Because what you do with it in the methods and the practices will be affected by the nature of the movement, whether it’s physical or spiritual. For instance, we talked about Islam already. And how that though adherents to the faith of Islam live in various societies across the world, sometimes in very open democratic societies like in the West, that at its core, whenever Islam has a free course in a given community or region, that it becomes the dominant influence even in civil society.

And then we’ve seen how that Islam is in its essence a civil and religious system. We looked at many quotes about this, including the one by Abazaz, a scholar who wrote in Islam and Arab Nationalism, Islam in its precise sense is a social order, a philosophy of life, a system of economic principles, and a rule of government. That is the nature of Islam. Remember how that went, there is the flight to Medina. That is a very important point in Islamic history. It’s the beginning of the Islamic calendar because that’s where in Medina Muhammad built the first Islamic community. Where he was not only the religious leader and teacher, he was the civil authority, where he organized the society and even the economic activities based upon the revelations he claimed to get from God.

And so this brings us to a question that a lot of people have about Islam. And that is, what is jihad? Jihad is spoken of in the Quran, and Muslim scholars also comment on it. And jihad, in its basic sense, has to do with struggle. Primarily the inner struggle. Remember the definition of Islam? It means submission. And jihad is the struggle every believer has to submit to the will of God. That every believer has jihad within him or her. They’re struggling to submit to the will of Allah. But there is also an external jihad. Not only are you trying to submit your will to the will of Allah and fight evil within yourself, but also jihad can mean the battle against evil on the outside. Which also can mean an actual physical fight.

That if there are evil people who are entering into a community and they’re slaughtering innocent children, that it is jihad to combat that, because that’s evil. People just coming in and slaughtering children. And there are all kinds of ways in which jihad can take place because jihad is submitting to the will of God and fighting against evil, which can mean even physically fighting. Which means there’s a warfare aspect to it. Does the Quran endorse? And does the Quran even command war against all the enemies of Islam anytime, all the time? What’s the answer? Note with me a couple of statements from the Quran. Surah 4. They desire that you should be infidels as they are infidels and that you should be alike. Take therefore none of them for friends till they have fled their homes for the cause of God.

If they turn back, then seize them and slay them wherever you find them, except those who shall seek asylum among your allies and those who come over to you.

But let us allow Islam to explain itself. It’s only fair. You have to be fair about things. I mean, you want a chance to explain what you believe, right? Muslims believe that this appears in the Quran at a certain time and certain place where Muhammad had to command this activity because of situations where the Muslims were being threatened by those who are not Muslims.

If the Quran teaches that Muslims are to kill all non Muslims, then Muslims have done a very poor job at that. Because all through history, Muslims have lived beside of Jews and beside of Christians and not killed them. The vast majority of Muslims have not.