To repeat the quote of Acts 2:22: “Jesus of Nazareth, amanattested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs whichGod didthrough him in your midst, as you yourselves also know” In conformity with both the Bible and Holy Quran, Muslims contend that the miracles of Jesus were performed by the power of God. As the Holy Quran states, Then will Allah say: “O Jesus the son of Mary! Recount My favor to you and to your mother. Behold! I strengthened you with the holy spirit, so that you spoke to the people in childhood and in maturity. Behold! I taught you the Book and Wisdom, the Law and the Gospel. And behold! You made out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, by My leave, and you breathed into it, and it became a bird by My leave, and you healed those born blind, and the lepers, by My leave. And behold! You brought forth the dead by My leave. (Quran 5:110) The miracles that occurred through Muhammad are no less numerous or impressive than those of Jesus, and are witnessed by an unimpeachable historical record that puts all others of similar time period to shame. So just as the miracles of Moses, Elisha, and Muhammad don’t imply divinity, neither do those of Jesus. Let’s look at a few examples: 1.Jesus fed thousands with a few fish and loaves of bread.But Elisha fed a hundred people with twenty barley loaves and a few ears of corn (2 Kings 4:44); granted a widow such an abundant flow of oil from a jar that she was able to pay off her debts, save her sons from slavery, and live on the profits (2 Kings 4:1-7); and gave increase to a handful of flour and spot of oil such that he, a widow and her son had enough to eat for many days, after which“The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry …” (1 Kings 17:10-16).So what does that make Elisha? The historical record of Muhammad feeding the masses with a handful of dates on one occasion, a pot of milk on another, and enough meat for a small party on still another are equally miraculous. Likewise are the stories of his watering the masses (1,500 people on one occasion) from a single bowl of water. Yet no Muslim claims divinity for Muhammad. 2.Jesus healed the lepers.Likewise, Elisha healed Naaman (2 Kings 5:7-14). For that matter, the disciples were bidden to such service in Matthew 10:8. What does that make them? 3.Jesus cured a blind man.Elisha not only struck his enemies blind, but restored vision to the blind through prayer (2 Kings 6:17-20). Muhammad reportedly cured blindness through prayer as well. 4.Jesus raised the dead.Once again, Elisha beat him to it, having raised two children from the dead (1 Kings 17:22 and 2 Kings 4:34). Furthermore, the disciples were bidden to raise the dead (Matthew 10:8). So once again, what does that make them? 5.Jesus walked on water.Had he been around in the time of Moses, he wouldn’t have had to. 6.Jesus cast out devils.So did his disciples (Matthew 10:8). So did the sons of the Pharisees (Matthew 12:27 and Luke 11:19). So, for that matter, do the wayward followers whom Jesus will reportedly disown (see Matthew 7:22)—a disconcerting thought considering how many priests and ministers perform such theatrics, even if real. So if we seek evidence of Jesus being divine, we are forced to look beyond miracles. islamreligion/articles/574/
Posted on: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 09:40:50 +0000
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