Al-Kadhi begins:
Response:
Al-Kadhi does not quote the entire passage but cuts it midway. Here it is in its entirety:
Al-Kadhi presumes that Jesus' statement necessarily includes Christ among those whom John is said to be greater. Yet had al-Kadhi read Jesus' words in their immediate and greater context he would have seen that Jesus is not a subject of the Kingdom. Rather Christ is the sovereign Ruler and the eternal King of God's kingdom:
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on HIS THRONE in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world' ... Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'" Matthew 25:31-34, 41
"Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, 'We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king.' So Pilate asked Jesus, 'Are you the king of the Jews?' 'Yes, it is as you say,' Jesus replied." Luke 23:1-3
"Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, 'Are you the king of the Jews?' 'Is that your own idea,' Jesus asked, 'or did others talk to you about me?' 'Am I a Jew?' Pilate replied. 'It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?' Jesus said, 'My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.' 'You are a king, then!' said Pilate. Jesus answered, 'You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.'" John 18:33-37
In these passages Jesus not only claims to be the Sovereign King that sits on the throne, but also claims to have the power to determine the eternal destiny of every single individual.
Jesus likens the kingdom to a sown field:
Jesus proceeds to identify himself as the owner of the field, with the enemy representing Satan:
Jesus reiterates this point elsewhere:
These passages clearly demonstrate that the world, the angels, the elect and God's kingdom belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. This is because Jesus is Heir of all things:
"Last of all, he sent his son to them. 'They will respect MY SON,' he said. But when the tenants saw THE SON, they said to each other, 'This is THE HEIR. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance.' So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him." Matthew 21:37-39
"Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.'" Matthew 28:18
"Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;" John 13:3
"All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you." John 16:15
"All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them." John 17:10
"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him AND FOR HIM. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy." Colossians 1:15-18
"but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven." Hebrews 1:2-3
"Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God's house. Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. Moses was faithful AS A SERVANT in all God's house, testifying to what would be said in the future. But Christ is faithful AS A SON OVER GOD'S HOUSE. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast." Hebrews 3:1-6
Seeing that Jesus is the King of the kingdom, God's Beloved Son, Heir of all things, and Supreme over all creation means that Christ is vastly superior to John. A King is always greater and superior to those living within his kingdom. Seeing that John is only a subject of the kingdom means that he is no way comparable to Christ, who is the eternal King of Glory.
Christ also likens himself to a bridegroom, with the Church being his bride:
John explains what his relationship to the Bridegroom is:
John openly admits to being a friend of the Bridegroom, with the implication that Christ as the Bridegroom is superior to the Baptist. John also affirms that Jesus is from heaven and therefore greater than all, and that Christ will increase in prestige, honor and rank amongst men with John decreasing.
This is not the first time that John acknowledges his inferiority to Christ. Other passages include:
"'I baptize with water,' John replied, 'but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.' This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 'Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, "A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me." I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.' Then John gave this testimony: 'I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, "The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit." I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.'" John 1:26-34
To summarize John's testimony regarding Jesus:
The Quran also affirms that John was sent to prepare the way for the Messiah:
Islamic scholars almost unanimously hold that the Word of God here, which John came to confirm, is Jesus Christ. Mahmoud A. Ayoub citing Muslim Tabarsi states:
Muslim exegete al-Zamakshari substantiates this by saying:
The interesting part of all of this that Muslim commentators claim that John actually worshiped Jesus while both were still in their mothers' wombs! For instance, Al-Qurtubi mentions Elizabeth's visitation (called Mary's sister) shortly after both women had conceived:
Qurtubi continues:
Al-Tabari concurs:
And:
We are also told that the OT prophesied John coming as a messenger to prepare the way for the Lord.
The Lord Jesus states:
Christ claims that John was the messenger written about in Malachi 3:1.
Mark states that John came in fulfillment of Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3.
"Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: 'Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous - to make ready a people prepared for the Lord' ... 'And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,'" Luke 1:11-17, 76
In these passages John quotes Isaiah 40:3 and applies it to himself, with both the angel Gabriel and Zechariah alluding to it.
Yet when we look at these specific OT texts John was preparing for the visible coming of Yahweh God Almighty!:
"See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly THE LORD (Ha Adon) you are seeking will come to HIS TEMPLE; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,' says the Yahweh of Hosts." Malachi 3:1
The word Ha Adon is never used for anyone other than Yahweh. These passages clearly teach that Yahweh was to come and enter his temple, and that all mankind would see Yahweh's visible Glory.
As we have already shown, Jesus was the One whom John was sent to prepare the way for. This means that Jesus is Yahweh God!
Let us break this down:
Therefore, we find John's own words refuting Al-Kadhi's false assertion.
Al-Kadhi concludes with the following passage:
Response:
The Holy Bible answers the question posed in the book of Job:
The only way for one born of a woman to be holy before God is if he were born sinless. This was the purpose behind Mary supernaturally conceiving the human nature of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit while still a virgin; namely to prevent Christ from inheriting a sinful nature. Since Jesus is the only person conceived supernaturally by God's Spirit to a virgin, he alone amongst the sons of men is sinless and holy by nature:
"What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are - the Holy One of God!" Mark 1:24
"Simon Peter answered him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." John 6:68-69
"He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him." John 7:18
"The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him... Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? ..." John 8:29, 46
"But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. David said about him: 'I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.' Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay." Acts 2:24-31
"You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you." Acts 3:14
"Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him -" Acts 7:52
"We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: 'You are my Son; today I have become your Father.' The fact that God raised him from the dead, never to decay, is stated in these words: 'I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.' So it is stated elsewhere: 'You will not let your Holy One see decay.' For when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed. But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay." Acts 13:32-37
"Then he said: 'The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth.'" Acts 22:14
"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:21
"For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect." 1 Peter 1:18-19
"He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." 1 Peter 2:22
"For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit," 1 Peter 3:18
"But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin." 1 John 3:5
"To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open." Revelation 3:7
"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation." Revelation 3:14
The only way for others to be made holy is through a personal relationship with Christ. This relationship begins when one embraces Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
This concludes our response. In the service of the sinless Son of God, the eternal King of Glory, our risen Lord and Savior forever, Jesus Christ. Amen. Come Sovereign Lord Jesus. We love you always.
The Rebuttal to "What Did Jesus Really Say?"
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