Dear Muslim friends,
Today is a day celebrated by Christians around the world – Good Friday. It is our remembrance of the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins.
My dear Muslim friends, I know you believe that Jesus did not die on the cross but that God took him to heaven and put his facial image on someone else – maybe Pilate, maybe Judas, maybe someone else.
But I wonder, would Pilate or Judas or anyone else say these words with nails in their hands and feet as they were being crucified:
Would Pilate or Judas or anyone else say these words as their bones were being put out of joint (part of the effects of crucifixion)?
Would Pilate or Judas or anyone else say these words as they were being mocked and ridiculed by Roman soldiers and Jewish leaders and people who were watching (yes, this happened to Jesus)?
Would Pilate or Judas or anyone else say these words as they were suffocating (the ultimate way a victim dies in crucifixion)?
My Muslim friends, I believe with all my heart that Jesus died that Good Friday on the cross.
Not Pilate.
Not Judas.
Not anyone else.
Because no one else can love like that.
No else can love like Jesus.
Also, the closest followers of Jesus all believed that Jesus actually died and were sad when he did. They were scared that they too would suffer at first. Then when Jesus came out of the tomb they became changed men & women, emboldened to face death. The lie that Jesus did not die on the cross was invented centuries after the good News according to Jesus had begun to spread. The reality of Jesus’ death on the cross is celebrated and announced every time Christians break bread & drink from the cup together. The reality of Jesus death is proven every time a believer in Jesus suffers at the hand of enemies of the cross. Our sufferings are in a small way extensions of the reality of Jesus death, not replacements.
Mert,
Whoever the first followers of Jesus saw – in a resurrection body – changed their lives! Their joy and love for him knew no bounds – not even their own horrible deaths as martyrs.
It is pretty silly to think that anyone but Jesus himself could have inspired that kind of loyalty.