Who was Jesus?

[ABDULLAH]

HIS ORIGIN

Jesus lived about 2,000 years ago in ancient Palestine when the Roman
Empire was at its zenith. He was not conceived in the usual way, but
was implanted in the womb of a young woman named Mary. God simply
commanded, “Be” and he was. In this sense, he was “a word” of God and
a special sign for humanity. In fact, he was the last in a long line
of religious guides sent to the Jews.

MARY, THE BLESSED

Mary was a righteous woman. Her mother dedicated her to God’s service
even before she was born. As a child, she lived a life marked by
health and righteousness, which others pointed to in admiration. She
was raised by the wise Zechariah, who instilled in her, a beautiful
sense of faith in God. When she had become a young woman, Mary sought
to purify herself further before her Lord. Knowing that the hustle of
life in the towns was distracting, she withdrew from her people to a
sanctuary in the East. There she could meditate in seclusion and
peace. Suddenly, on a day that seemed no different from the rest, an
angel of God visited her, disguised in the likeness of a human. Afraid
of so strange a sight, Mary prayed for protection, but the strange
being reassured her and declared that he was a messenger from the Lord
to announce the glad-tidings of a faultless son. Mary, astounded,
asked how this was possible seeing that no man had ever touched her.
But the angel replied, “Your Lord says, it is easy for Me …”. But when
she felt the little child within her, she fled her sanctuary out of
fear of what her family would do or say when they heard the news.
Mary, however, was not to face hardship. When in her despair she cried
out to God for oblivion, a voice soothed her and she found shade and a
cool spring. Under a date-palm in the warmth of late summer, she made
her dwelling and there bore the child unlike any other in human
history.

Shortly thereafter, Mary returned to her community carrying the child
who was to be called Messiah, Jesus, and son of Mary. When her people
saw her with the baby in her arms they couldn’t believe their eyes,
let alone accept her word. They refused to believe when she told of an
angel who came and told her she was chosen above all other women to
carry this burden. They accused her of infidelity and implied that she
had ruined the family name. Mary, being overwhelmed, simply motioned
towards the child meekly.

THE MIRACLES

Now the child was the product of a miracle and consequently,
miraculous things began to happen. In defense of his mother and of the
truth, the infant Jesus spoke saying, “I am a servant of God. He has
given me Scripture and has made me a Prophet. He has blessed me
wherever I may be and has made prayer and charity my duty as long as I
live.” This put the detractors to rest.

Throughout his youth, Jesus remained dutiful to his mother and
developed quickly in intelligence, wisdom, and piety. He dumfounded
the learned and was greatly admired by those around him who
appreciated his talents. He claimed to be a sign of God and a
Messenger to the Israelites.

His people had strayed from the spirit of truth and placed their trust
in legalism, thereby burying their sense of mercy beneath dusty
scrolls and rituals. Finally, when he came of age, Jesus began to
travel and preach throughout the land of Palestine about a return to
the truth of the old revelations and a rejection of all that man had
added. In his task he was supported by the spirit of truth, the angel
Gabriel.

THE GOSPEL, HIS MESSAGE

He taught that love and mercy overcome hate and anger and that only a
true and sincere faith in the Creator and obedience to His will can
bring a person salvation in this life as well as in the next. To
reinforce his message, which was called “Injeel” (Good News), God
granted him the performance of miracles. He healed the sick, uplifted
the distressed and revived the dead. All these things he did with the
permission of God, never taking credit for them himself.

He led a simple and pious life. Soon he attracted an inner-circle of
devoted followers who listened to his teachings with fervor and
humility. These disciples, among them Peter, Barnabas, and John helped
him carry the message of Divine Love to the people. They helped him in
his mission.

A TEST OF WILLS

But no righteous man of God is without trial and tribulation. As the
message of Jesus began to gain wider acceptance, a small clique of
hypocrites and evil men began to plot against him. They were the
priests and leaders of the Jews whose position and wealth depended
upon their place as the sole interpreters of religion to the masses.
They pursued him and his followers and eventually captured him. Though
they abused him, he never renounced his faith in the one God. So in
their anger they plotted to crucify him on a Roman cross. But Jesus
slipped from their grip at the last moment, and all the while they
thought they had succeeded. They were sure they had killed him but God
answered Jesus’ prayer and saved him from their schemes. Confusion
overtook the mob and they might have killed the man who betrayed Jesus
instead. In any case, Jesus escaped from their grasp. Then God removed
Jesus from this world into another dimension, to a place with Him, not
to return until a later time.

With their teacher gone, the devoted followers of Jesus tried to
maintain the purity and simplicity of his teachings. But they were
soon besieged and overtaken by a flood of Roman and Greek influences,
which eventually so buried and distorted the message of Jesus that
only a little of its truth now remains. Strange doctrines of Jesus
being a man-god, of God dying, of saint worship and of God being made
up of different parts came into vogue and were accepted by many of
those who took the name “Christians” centuries after Jesus.

CONCLUSION

The only records that have come down to us concerning Jesus are some
sketchy biographical material, poorly researched and compiled, which
can in no way be representative of the full and accurate Message of
Jesus, the Son of Mary. The time of the final and incorruptible
Message was not yet at hand. It would be left to the last prophet of
God, Muhammad (peace be upon him), to clarify the truth from man’s
additions and deletions.

Jesus taught the same eternal message that was taught by all the
Messengers of God, from Adam, on through Noah, Abraham, Moses and
ending with the mission of God’s last Guidepost to humanity, Muhammad
(peace be on them all), whose coming was foretold by Jesus himself.

Every nation and every people, from the Aztecs to the Greeks, have
received a Prophet or a Messenger from God. Jesus was the last of a
series of Messengers sent to the Israelites, but they consistently
strayed from the path of surrender to God. Each of the many Messengers
spoke a different language and followed varied customs. Yet the core
faith taught by each was the same: surrender your imperfect and fickle
will to the perfect will of the Power that is greater than you. You
will then find the peace and freedom that only the Creator of all
things can provide. Then you must do what is right and good to your
fellow creatures. This way of life is called Islam (surrender to God
and find peace).