Quran and Nag Hammadi Scriptures confirm nature of Jesus' Crucifixion
"The denial, furthermore, is in perfect agreement with the logic of the Qur'n. The Biblical stories reproduced in it (e.g., Job, Moses, Joseph etc.) and the episodes relating to the history of the beginning of Islam demonstrate that it is"God's practice" (sunnat Allah) to make faith triumph finally over the forces of evil and adversity.”So truly with hardship comes ease", (XCIV, 5, 6). For Jesus to die on the cross would have meant the triumph of his executioners; but the Quran asserts that they undoubtedly failed: "Assuredly God will defend those who believe"; (XXII, 49). He confounds the plots of the enemies of Christ (III, 54).”
Peter Sees the Crucifixion and the Savior Explains It (81,3-82,3)
When he said this, I saw him apparently arrested by them. I
said," What do I see, Lord? Is it really you they are seizing, and
are you holding on to me? And who is the one smiling and laughing
above[49] the cross? Is it someone else whose feet and hands they are
hammering?”
The Savior said to me," The one you see smiling and laughing above
the cross is the living Jesus. The one into whose hands and feet they
are driving nails is his fleshly part, the substitute for him. They
are putting to shame the one who came into being in the likeness of
the living Jesus. Look at him and look at me.”
When I looked, I said," Lord, no one sees you. Let's get out of here.”
He answered me," I told you they are blind. Forget about them. Look
at how they do not know what they are saying. For they have put to
shame the son of their own glory instead of the one who serves me.”
The Savior Appears to Peter in a Bright Light (82,3-83,15)
Then I saw someone about to approach us who looked like the one
laughing above the cross,[50] but this one was intertwined[51] with
holy spirit, and he was the Savior. And there was an unspeakably
bright light surrounding them and a multitude of ineffable and
invisible angels praising them. When the one who glorifies[52] was
revealed, I myself saw him.
He said to me," Be strong, for these mysteries have been given to you
so that you might know clearly[53] that the one they crucified is the
firstborn, the abode of demons, the stone vessel in which they live,
[54] the man of Elohim, the man of the cross, who is under the law.
[55] But the one who is standing near him is the living Savior, who
was in him at first and was arrested but was set free.
He is standing and observing with pleasure that those who did evil to
him are divided among themselves. And he is laughing at their lack of
perception, knowing that they were born blind. The one capable of
suffering must remain, since the body is the substitute, but what was
set free was my bodiless body. I am the spirit of thought filled with
radiant light. The one you saw approaching me is our fullness of
thought, which unites the perfect light with my holy spirit.
Conclusion: The Revelation of Peter (Jesus speaks to Peter)
The Savior Tells Peter to Proclaim What Has Been Revealed (83,15-
84,14)
"You are to present what you have seen to those who are strangers,
[56] who are not of this age.[57] For there will be no grace among
those who are not immortal, but only among those chosen because of
their immortal nature, which has shown it can receive the one who
gives in abundance.[58]
"For this reason I have said, Whoever has will be given more, and
this person will have in abundance. But whoever does not have—that
is, the person of this world,[59] who is completely dead,[60] who
derives[61] from the planting of creation and procreation, who thinks
he can lay hold of someone else of immortal nature when such a person
appears—this will be taken away from that person and added to
whatever exists.[62]
"So be courageous and fear nothing. For I shall be with you that none
of your enemies may prevail over you. Peace be with you. Be strong.”
When the Savior said these things, Peter came to his senses.[63]
The Nag Hammadi Scriptures (The International Edition)
Edited by Marvin Meyer; Advisory Board: Wolf-Peter Funk, Paul-Hubert
Poirier,
James M. Robinson; Introduction by Elaine H. Pagels
The Revelation of Peter, p.495-497
HarperCollins Publishers - New York
ISBN:978-0-06-052378-7
ISBN-10: 0-06-052378-6
Notes:
[49] Or"beside," here and below.
[50] Lit.," like him, even (or and [m('superscript e')n]) the one
laughing above the cross.”If m('superscript e')n is taken as the
conjunction"And," then two beings are mentioned in the comparison
with the spiritual Savior, most likely the crucified one and the
laughing Jesus.
[51] Or"Interwoven," as with a garment (Coptic 'seh'). Brashler,
in 'Nag Hammadi Codex VII', 242-43, prefers to emend the text and
read
[52] Or, with an emendation of the text," the one who
[53] Or"through revelation.”
[54] According to the 'Testament of Solomon', Solomon confined the
demons in such vessels. Cf. 'Testimony of Truth' 70; perhaps 'On the
Origin of the World' 122. Here these vessels refer to physical
bodies, particularly the physical body that was crucified on the
cross.
[55] Cf. Paul's statements about the cross and the law, e.g.,
in 'Galatians'.
[56] Or"Aliens, foreigners" ('niallogenes'). Cf. the use of this term
elsewhere, particularly in the title 'llogenes the Stranger', from
NHC XI and in the 'Book of Allogenes' from Codex Tchacos.
[57] Or"realm," "Aeon.”
[58] I.e., the spirit.
[59] Lit.," this place.”
[60] Or"Who exists entirely as a dead person.”
[61] Or"Is taken.”
[62] Cf. 'Matthew' 13:12; 25:29; 'Mark' 4:24-25; 'Luke' 8:18;
19:26; 'Gospel of Thomas' 41.
[63] Lit.," When he said these things, he came to his senses.”
Islamic view of Jesus' death
The issue of Jesus' death is important to Muslims as they believe that Jesus will return at the end of time. Muslims believe Jesus was not crucified but was raised bodily to heaven by God, which is in opposition to the consensus among Western Scholars that he did die[1].
Depending on the interpretation of the following verse, Muslim scholars have abstracted different opinions. Some believe that Jesus was not on the cross long enough to die, due to circumstantial reasons, according to the Bible, while others opine that God gave someone Jesus' appearance, causing everyone to believe that Jesus was crucified. A third explanation could be that Jesus was nailed to a cross, but as his body is immortal he did not"die"or was not"crucified"[to death]; it only appeared so. Also according to some, God does not use deceit and therefore they contend that simply no crucifixion occurred. The basis of any of these beliefs is the following verse in the Qur'n:
That they said (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 [or it appeared so unto them], and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not: Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise.
—Qur'n, [Qur'n 4:157]
Most Muslims believe Jesus was raised to heaven alive by God. However, a small minority of Islamic scholars argue that he was indeed rescued but died before his ascension.[2]
On the interpretation of those scholars who deny the crucifixion, the Encyclopedia of Islam writes:
The denial, furthermore, is in perfect agreement with the logic of the Qur'n. The Biblical stories reproduced in it (e.g., Job, Moses, Joseph etc.) and the episodes relating to the history of the beginning of Islam demonstrate that it is"God's practice" (sunnat Allah) to make faith triumph finally over the forces of evil and adversity.”So truly with hardship comes ease", (XCIV, 5, 6). For Jesus to die on the cross would have meant the triumph of his executioners; but the Quran asserts that they undoubtedly failed: "Assuredly God will defend those who believe"; (XXII, 49). He confounds the plots of the enemies of Christ (III, 54).
On the interpretation of the minority of Muslims who accept the crucifixion, Mahmoud Ayoub for example states:
The Qur'n is not here speaking about a man, righteous and wronged though he may be, but about the Word of God who was sent to earth and returned to God. Thus the denial of killing of Jesus is a denial of the power of men to vanquish and destroy the divine Word, which is for ever victorious.[3]
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_view_of_Jesus'_death
References:
1. Crossan, John Dominic (1995). Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography. HarperOne. p. 145. ISBN 0060616628.”That he was crucified is as sure as anything historical can ever be, since both Josephus and Tacitus...agree with the Christian accounts on at least that basic fact.”
2. Tariq Hashmi. The Second Coming of Jesus. Renaissance - Monthly Islamic Journal, 14(9). September 2004.
3. The Death of Jesus: Reality or Delusion (Muslim World 70 (1980) pp. 91-121)
First Falsehood: "But They Killed Him Not ... But So It Was To Appear To Them"
Islam denies Shri Jesus' crucifixion contrary to massive scriptural and historical evidence. This might be quite a shock to non-Muslims, but it is true. Ask any Muslim and he or she will tell you that Christ was never crucified. All Muslims firmly believe so, thinking that the Qur'an says so!
That they said (in boast)," We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah"—
But they killed him not, nor crucified him,663 but so it was made to appear to them,
And those who differ therein are full of doubt, with no (certain) knowledge,
But only conjecture to follow, for a surety they killed him not.
surah 4:157 Al Nisa (The Women)
(Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an, Amana Corporation, 1989.)
"663. The Qur'anic teaching is that Christ was not crucified nor killed by the Jews, notwithstanding certain apparent circumstances which produced that illusion in the minds of some of his enemies.; that disputations, doubts, and conjectures on such matters are vain.”
Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'n
(Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an, Amana Corporation, 1989.)
The critical words"but so it was made to appear to them"clearly indicates that humans did see Him being crucified. They saw Him being crucified and killed (and the body later removed and entombed.) All this did happen but it was made to appear to them that they had crucified and killed Him. But in Reality," for a surety they killed him not.”This means that they 'killed' Him physically, but spiritually He was alive. He never died because the Spirit is eternal. So, for sure they never killed Him — just as no human ever dies as we are all eternal spirits. Shri Jesus was physically crucified but He did not die spiritually. In other words, He was not crucified although it was made to appear so. The spirit is eternal and cannot be crucified, killed, maimed, burnt, or cut, that is, it is indestructible. This was probably the simplest way of explaining a very subtle and complex Truth to illiterate tribal folks.
Shri Adi Shakti: The Kingdom Of God, 1999, p. 1744
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