Answering Questions – Part 1 tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Answering Questions – Part 1

Posted by in Church & Missions

The comment section of my last post “Muslims Have Questions” has prompted a few more posts. During the next few posts I will share some of the ways I attempt to answer these questions so that Arab Muslims will understand our faith. In no way should these posts be taken as the only, or best, way to communicate with Muslims. Nor should they even be taken as the only ways in which I communicate with my friends and acquaintances. On the contrary, it seems that each time the Spirit opens my eyes to a different way of presenting the Story, it is effective at some point down the road!

Instead, this series should be taken as a primer on simple, and biblical, adjustments we can all make in our proclamation of the Good News when we come across Muslims and desire to effectively communicate with them.

Since we cannot truly understand a person apart from his actions, the first questions we will deal with have to do with the work of Jesus. Today’s question is:

Why would God allow one of the most honored prophets
(Jesus) to be defeated (on the cross) by unbelievers?

This question is at the core of our faith and demonstrates a great misunderstanding that many Muslims have concerning our faith. First we will briefly look at how this is both a misperception of what we believe and how it is not congruent with the Generous Qur’an and then we will consider a better way to communicate what actually happened.

Major Misperception: That Jesus was defeated or had no choice in the matter. That somehow God’s will was thwarted because one of His chosen messengers was overcome.

Inconsistency with the Generous Qur’an: Many beliefs that Muslims hold are not actually consistent with the Book they hold so dear (I have found this to be no different than many “Christian” beliefs and the Bible). While it is my contention that God’s Messiah was not defeated by unbelievers, it is important to note that at least three times in the Generous Qur’an it is written that prophets and messengers of God were not only persecuted but also murdered.

Truth: What really happened? Ultimately Jesus was not murdered or crucified by the Jews or Romans. Rather Jesus laid down His life and took it up again in accordance with the divine will. Did they put him on a cross? Did he die? Yes and yes. But it was his choice to follow the divine will, not theirs. Therefore, he sacrificed himself.

Towards More Effective Communication: In our culture, we tend to emphasize the suffering of Jesus over the victory of Jesus. In speaking to Muslims we can modify our emphasis to present an aspect of the Messiah’s work that is more compelling to the Muslim heart. But how is this done?

First, we should make it clear that Jesus did suffer, but it was voluntary. This leaves no room for the false assumption that he was defeated — the bad guys did not murder him apart from God’s will. Jesus himself stated that he laid his life down and then took it up again. Had he so desired, he could have called on God to send 3,000 angels to destroy the unbelievers who were plotting against him. However, he submitted himself to God out of obedience to and love for God AND out of a pure love for ALL people in the world (including Muslims).

But this still leaves the question of, “Why did he willfully do this?” In communicating the why of the Messiah’s self-sacrificial act, we must emphasize Jesus’ victory over Satan, over this present world, over disease and ultimately over death. Does this imply that we should not proclaim his sufferings? Absolutely not. It is his choice to suffer out of obedience to the divine will and love for others that brought victory! We must proclaim his suffering, but do so in a way that clearly communicates our hope exists because the Messiah has already overcome this present world through his sufferings. And how do we know this? Because God raised him from the dead thereby demonstrating his approval of the Messiah’s victory through self-sacrifice.

Now consider the last several times you have shared the Beautiful Story of Jesus. How much did you focus on Jesus’ suffering? How much did you focus on how it was his suffering that brought victory? If you spent much more time focusing on the suffering rather than what it accomplished, that is very normal for Western culture. But when speaking to Muslims, it is essential to proclaim the Messiah as both the Suffering Servant and the Victorious King.

“And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle
of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”  – Colossians 2:15