Of Prophets and Kings

Of Prophets and Kings

In Islam the prophet Mohammed does not have a role as a worldwide king. According to Muslims, Mohammed was simply proclaiming God’s message as a prophet and organising Muslim society. Mohammed was to be obeyed and imitated, but he is not a king though he had a role in political and religious leadership in Arabia.

For Muslims, Jesus is also seen as only being a prophet who was preaching a previous form of Islam; He is to be obeyed as God’s messenger. Muslims typically believe that Jesus was a very good prophet — indeed, for them He was the most important one besides Mohammed! According to the Bible, it is true that Jesus was a prophet (though it also shows He is more than a prophet): “I will raise up for them a Prophet like you (Moses) from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him” (Deut 18:18; see also John 6:14 and 7:40).

The Arabic word “Rabb” or “Lord” referring to the God of Abraham is used over 1,000 times in the Qur’an. This shows that Muslims generally have a significant sense that God is the rightful ruler of the world. “Say O Allah! King of all kingdoms, You give sovereignty to whom You will, and You take away sovereignty from whom You will” (Surat 3:26). Yet while acknowledging the Creator as Lord, Muslims deny that God’s Messiah died and was raised from the dead.

Muslims generally believe that God could not have allowed such a good prophet as Jesus to be killed in such an evil way. Some support this belief with statements from the Qur’an that Jesus did not die but only appeared to die on the cross. Many believe that Judas the traitor was transformed into Jesus’ likeness and actually was the one who died on the cross. Very few Muslims have learned much about the remarkable circumstances surrounding Jesus’ death, which even caused the centurion to say “Certainly this man was innocent” (Matt 23:47 and 27:54). The Qur’an has nothing to say about Jesus’ resurrection.

A key issue for Muslim salvation is centred around the confession of faith. When making their profession of faith Muslims name Mohammed as the prophet of the Allah. The English translation is “I bear witness that there is no deity [none truly to be worshipped] but Allah, and I bear witness that Mohammed is the messenger of Allah.” This statement of faith is called the “Shahada”, and is one of the “five pillars” of Islam. To say this phrase with faith makes one a Muslim.

Christians also have a confession of faith. We proclaim publicly that Jesus, who was raised from the dead, is Lord (Rom 10:9). Jesus is much more than just a prophet. He is the Messiah, a king from the royal family of David (Luke 23:2). The risen Jesus will and does reign over the whole world. Isaiah says: “There shall be a root of Jesse [David’s father]; And He who shall rise to reign over the nations, In Him the nations shall hope (Rom 15:12).” He is Emmanuel, “God with us.” Jesus is the chosen one who is to reign over the nations.

Prayer points

* Pray that Muslims would have opportunities to learn about the details of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Christians need to have wisdom and real perseverance in telling the story.
* Pray for Muslims to be able to see clearly that Jesus is more than just a prophet. He is indeed Lord of all the earth. He is the Messiah, a king. Islam and Christianity are strikingly different on this point.
* Pray that former Muslims would know how to honour Mohammed as a man while giving their full allegiance to Jesus the Lord of heaven and earth.