Questions about Jesus crucifixion.

By: Ismaa'eel Abu Adam

Was Jesus sent to die for all of humanity? Christianity teaches that Jesus was sent by God to be crucified as a human sin sacrifice for mankinds sins. However Prophet Jesus said: I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Matthew 15:24. (See also Matt 10:5-6). This Bible passage tells us Jesus was not a universal prophet because he was not sent to all mankind. He met with some non-Jews in his ministry but his main audience was the Jewish people only (the house of Israel)! Therefore Jesus cannot be considered a universal human sin sacrifice for the sins of all mankind as he was sent only to the Jews. Didnt Jesus say he would not be killed? Explaining the sign of the Prophet Jonah, Jesus says: Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man (Jesus) be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights Matthew 12:40. The question we should ask is: in what state was Jonah when he was in the whale, was he dead or alive? The answer is Jonah was alive (see Jonah 2:1) and here Jesus is equating his fate to Jonahs. If Jonah was not killed by the whale then Jesus would also not be killed by crucifixion. The miracle of the sign of Prophet Jonah and Prophet Jesus is not in the number of days and nights they remained alive but in the fact that both prophets were not killed and remained alive. Did Jesus die for us? In the Bible Paul says regarding a resurrected body: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual one. And But the spiritual was not first; rather the natural and then the spiritual. 1 Corinthians 15:44-46. We see here that Paul clearly tells us that when a person dies and is raised from the dead that person will have a spiritual body. The person is no longer living as an earthly human being but a spiritual being. Now I ask what kind of body did Jesus have after he was allegedly raised from the dead? When Jesus disciples saw him after the alleged crucifixion they were terrified because they thought Jesus was dead. The Bible says: But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. But Jesus assures them he is alive by saying: Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have. Luke 24:37, 39. To then disperse of any remaining doubts in his disciples Jesus even eats food in front of them (Luke 24:41-43). We all know that any human being that eats food will need to have blood flowing through their body to insure the body organs work and digest the food. Does a spiritual body need to eat earthly food? Of course not, but an earthly human-flesh body does! The Bible says: Jesus said to them,When they rise from the deadthey are like the angels in heaven (Mark 12:24-26), meaning they are spiritualized! In fact even the angels told the disciples who were looking for Jesus body at his tomb, Why do you seek the living one among the dead? Luke 24:4. What more proof do we need, Jesus had an earthly body after the alleged crucifixion because he was alive and not killed; if he was killed Christians should expect him to have a spirit body. The evidence here shows he wasnt crucified nor killed.

Did Jesus disciples believe his alleged crucifixion was a human sin sacrifice that washed away their sins? The Book of Acts tells us that after Jesus alleged crucifixion his apostles in Jerusalem were still observing the Jewish sacrificial law for their sins to be forgiven. Surely if Jesus had come to die for us all as a human sin sacrifice these great disciples who were actually high ranking apostles, would have been aware of that fact! To continue sacrificing animals in the temple for their sins would have been a great disrespect to Jesus alleged once-and-for-all sacrifice. Acts 21:24, 26 tell us that the apostles were going into the temple and paying expenses and making offerings. What does this mean? Could they really be making sin sacrifices after Jesus alleged universal sacrifice? In the footnote to Acts 21:23-26 of the New American Bible, (1994-95 edition) it says on page 1198; The leaders of the community suggest that Paul, on behalf of four members of the Jerusalem community, make the customary payment for the sacrifices offered at the termination of the Nazirite vow (see Numbers 6:1-24). The footnote for Acts 21:24 elaborates: Pay their expenses: according to Numbers 6:14-15 the Nazirite had to present a yearling lamb for a holocaust, a yearling ewe lamb for a sin offering, and a ram for a peace offering, along with food and drink offerings, upon completion of the period of the vow. Paul too must have sacrificed a lamb for a sin offering, he had taken a Nazirite vow in Acts 18:18. These are hard facts that prove beyond doubt that the greatest and closest followers of Jesus, the leaders of the ancient Church, actually did not believe Jesus died for their sins as a human sin sacrifice! The true followers of Jesus continued to strictly observe the sacrificial law and made their sin sacrifices in the temple. History tells us that the temple of Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 C.E. and that must be the only reason why sacrifices were stopped. Were there any eye witnesses at Jesus alleged crucifixion? When Jesus was allegedly arrested all his disciples abandoned him. And they all left him and fled Mark 14:50 (see also Matthew 26:56). When Jesus was being taken away a young man followed him, perhaps a disciple, he was seized but he managed to escape ...and ran off naked Mark 14:52. Peter followed him at a distance into the high priests courtyard... Mark 14:54. Peter therefore seems to have gotten the closest to seeing Jesus but actually Peter only had gotten as close as the area outside the building where the assembly of the Sanhedrin was questioning Jesus. The high priests courtyard was where the guards were warming themselves at a fire (verse 54). Also, very interestingly verse 66 states; While Peter was below in the courtyard... This shows Peter was located somewhere different to where Jesus was taken for questioning and this means Peter could not have been an eyewitness to Jesus questioning let alone his crucifixion which was heavily guarded. In Marks gospel the only person supposedly facing Jesus while he was allegedly on the cross is a Roman pagan centurion, Mark 15:39. This is someone who never knew Jesus before and wouldnt be able to positively identify him nor match him to any previous description. Therefore the Roman centurion cant be used as a valid and reliable eyewitness to Jesus alleged crucifixion. As for Jesus disciples, there is no mention of them except for a few women disciples, among them was Mary Magdalene. During the crucifixion these followers were looking on from a distance Mark 15:40, therefore nobody can assume they could positively identify Jesus on the cross; you would have to be near Jesus to be an eye witness. In Matthew 26 Jesus is arrested and taken to an assembly of the high priest, verse 57. Peter follows ...at a distance.. and gets only as near as the servants who are outside the assembly area in the courtyard, v 58. Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, v 69.

Peters goes on to deny Jesus three times, even to the point of cursing and swearing, v 74. Again when its time for the crucifixion of Jesus the only eye witnesses are a centurion and some guards keeping watch over Jesus. Again these are not followers of Jesus; they did not know him before and cant be used as reliable eye witnesses. Once again its some women disciples who were watching the event but only looking on from a distance Matthew 27:55. Among them is Mary Magdalene, v 56. In Luke, its much the same. Peter follows at a distance, Luke 22:54. Peter actually ends up leaving the courtyard after denying Jesus three times and no mention is made of him returning back in, v 62. Luke 23:35 mentions some people standing by watching the crucifixion but there is no mention of Jesus disciples, it is only some rulers and soldiers and perhaps some family members of the two criminals crucified allegedly alongside Jesus. Like Mark and Matthew the eye witness of the crucifixion is a pagan Roman centurion who cannot be verified as an authentic eyewitness because there is no mention of him knowing Jesus before, v 47. In verse 48 the people mentioned in verse 35 leave and return home. The only mention of any possible disciples is in the next verse, they are some of Jesus acquaintances and the women followers, but again unfortunately all of these people ...stood at a distance... Luke 23:49. The only real eyewitnesses to the crucifixion among Jesus followers are found in the later gospel of John. It says Jesus female disciples were: Standing by the cross of Jesus, they even include Mary of Magdala (John 19:25)! As we have already seen in Mark and Matthews gospel, Mary Magdalene (of Magdala) was nowhere near the cross at all, but she was one of those women who were looking at the crucifixion from afar, and at a distance. Johns gospel even claims in verse 27 that the disciple that Jesus loved (John?) was near the cross, an important fact totally ignored by the other gospels. This claim by Johns gospel totally contradicts all the accounts in the other earlier gospels. How can Johns gospel say Mary of Magdala was standing by the cross of Jesus while all at the same time and during the same event the earlier gospels of Mark and Matthew say she was looking at the cross from a distance? The corruption of the Gospel of John is evident! Therefore we are forced to reject Johns account in favor of the majority view in Matthew, Mark and Luke, that there were no eyewitnesses to the alleged crucifixion of Jesus. Peter later claims to be an eye witness elsewhere in Acts 2:32, this claim is rejected because its not supported by any of the four gospels! Were there any early Christians who believed Jesus was not crucified nor killed? In the earliest centuries of Christianity there were some Christian sects who believed Jesus did not die on the cross. They include the Cerinthians, the Basilidians, the Capocrations, and the Docatae. Mention of someone else being crucified in Jesus place was recently found in the ancient Nag Hammadi scrolls which contain the Treaties of Seth, an ancient document called The Journeys of the Apostles and the Apocalypse of Peter. The Apocalypse of Peter was actually once included in the Bible! The Muratorian fragment, the earliest existing list of canonic sacred writings of the New Testament, gives a list similar to the modern accepted Bible canon, but also includes the Apocalypse of Peter. It was included in the ancient Codex Claramontanus and it was quoted by many early Church Fathers such as Theophilus of Antioch, Methodius of Olympus, and Macarius Magnes. Also the early Church Father Clement of Alexandria considered the Apocalypse of Peter to be holy scripture (ie. Part of the Bible). The Apocalypse of Peter says that someone else was killed as a substitute for Jesus. The Basilidians believed that it was Simon of Cyrene who was crucified in Jesus place

after Simon miraculously took on the appearance of Jesus. Its interesting because in the Bible Simon of Cyrene is made to carry the cross for Jesus. The Greek word used for to carry actually means to bare, so if Simon bared the cross of Jesus, linguistically this could imply Simon died in the place of Jesus. Only Allah knows best! Is it true that Muslims believe their beloved Prophet Jesus was not killed nor crucified? Allah (God) says: That they say (in boast), We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for a surety they killed him not. Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise. Holy Quran 4:157-158. Allah said to Prophet Jesus: And behold! I did restrain the Children of Israel from (violence to) thee when thou didst show them the clear signs Holy Quran 5:110. The Islamic position is that we are all responsible for our own sins; we cannot expect another human being to be responsible for our wrongs. To believe Jesus died for our sins is morally unjust because it relieves us of responsibility, we can become even more sinful if we believe another man will pay for our sins. The belief that Jesus alleged sacrifice is responsible for washing away our sin is dangerous because Allah says: But if anyone earns a fault or a sin and throws it on to one that is innocent, he carries (on himself) (both) a falsehood and a flagrant sin. Holy Quran 4:112. We all know Jesus is innocent! Allah also says: Whoever works righteousness benefits his own soul; whoever works evil, it is against his own soul: nor is thy Lord ever unjust (in the least) to His servants. Holy Quran 41:46. When a Muslim asks forgiveness from God, he or she does not put their faith in the blood of sacrificed animals or humans; instead they put their faith and trust in Allah and His Mercy. Allah says: And those who, having done something to be ashamed of, or wronged their own souls, earnestly bring Allah to mind, and ask for forgiveness for their sinsFor such the reward is forgiveness from their Lord Holy Quran 3:135-136. Allah is Al-Ghaffar (the One who forgives again and again). He covers our sins with His Mercy and Grace! Embrace Islam and be saved! Unlike the Bible, in the Quran God promises salvation to those who accept Islam and remain Muslim. Gardens of Eternity, those which (Allah) Most Gracious has promised to His servants in the unseen: for His promise Must come to pass Holy Quran 19:61.