Who Really Is Jesus Christ?

Both the Qur’an and the Holy Bible speak of the miraculous birth of Jesus. The prophet Isaiah prophesied
700 years before His birth that He would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14).

Sura 3:47 and Luke 1:34,35 both give accounts of the angel who appeared to Mary to tell her of the miraculous birth.

The prophet Isaiah continued to speak of His wonderful life: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this” (Isaiah 9:6,7). Both the Qur’an and the Holy Bible speak of His sinless life, His power to heal the sick and raise the dead.

Perhaps the two greatest differences between Muslims and Christians are in their understanding of who Jesus Christ was and what His great work on earth was. First, He was “Immanuel,” God with us; and second, His great work was to provide a way of salvation. He was crucified on a cross and arose from the grave on the third day.

Concerning the first question, both the Qur’an and the Holy Bible speak of Jesus as being the Word of God. We read in Sura 4:171, “Christ Jesus the son of Mary was an apostle of God [Allah] and His Word which He bestowed on Mary and a spirit proceeding from Him;” and in Sura 3:45, “Behold the angels said, ‘Oh Mary! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name will be Christ Jesus.’”

In the Holy Bible we read, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning” (John 1:1,2). Thus both in the Qur’an and the Holy Bible, Jesus is seen as the Word of God.

To really understand who Jesus is, one should study the first 10 chapters of the Holy Book of Hebrews in the New Testament. The first two verses of Hebrews chapter one succinctly introduce us to God as revealed in Jesus Christ, “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 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” (Hebrews 1:1,2).

We have now briefly examined who God is and found that He is unknowable, unreachable and incomprehensible apart from Jesus Christ who is “Immanuel,” a name that means God revealed to us. We have also introduced who Jesus is.
Now, before we leave the subject of the Trinity, we need to try to understand who is the Third Person or the Third Revelation of God to man.