For Muslim Readers: Who Is Jesus Christ According to the Bible?

Muslims commonly know Jesus as Isa al-Masih—Jesus the Messiah. The Quran identifies Him as the Messiah, says that He was born of the virgin Mary, calls Him a Word from God, and describes Him as honored in this world and the world to come.

Therefore, this discussion does not begin with the question of whether Jesus existed. Muslims and Christians agree that He existed and that He was unlike an ordinary man.

Both generally affirm that:

• Jesus was born miraculously of the virgin Mary.
• Jesus was the promised Messiah.
• Jesus performed extraordinary miracles.
• Jesus lived without the sinful conduct that marks ordinary human life.
• Jesus was sent by God.
• Jesus will have an important role in the last days.

These points of agreement provide a meaningful place to begin. But they also raise a very important question:

Islam honors Jesus as an important prophet and messenger, but rejects the Christian confession that He is the divine Son of God. The Quran warns its readers not to call Jesus God, not to say “Three,” and not to ascribe a son to God.

Christians, however, do not believe that God physically fathered a child through a relationship with Mary. That idea is as offensive to biblical Christianity as it is to Islam.

The expression “Son of God” does not describe physical reproduction. It describes Christ’s unique identity, nature, and relationship with the Father.

The angel told Mary:

“The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”

— Luke 1:35, KJV

Jesus existed before His human birth. He did not begin to exist in Bethlehem.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

— John 1:1, KJV

The same passage then says:

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…”

— John 1:14, KJV

Jesus is not merely a man who later became important. The eternal Word entered human history and took upon Himself genuine humanity.

Jesus Claimed an Existence Before Abraham

Jesus told the religious leaders:

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.”

— John 8:58, KJV

He did not merely say, “I existed before Abraham.” He used the expression “I am,” echoing the name by which God revealed Himself to Moses:

“And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM…”

— Exodus 3:14, KJV

The people listening understood the seriousness of His statement. They immediately attempted to stone Him.

Jesus also prayed:

“And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.”

— John 17:5, KJV

No ordinary prophet could truthfully claim to have shared God’s glory before the world existed.

Jesus Received Worship

Faithful prophets and angels refused worship.

When Cornelius fell before Peter, Peter answered:

“Stand up; I myself also am a man.”

— Acts 10:26, KJV

When John attempted to worship an angel, the angel said:

“See thou do it not… worship God.”

— Revelation 22:9, KJV

Jesus, however, repeatedly received worship.

After He walked upon the sea and entered the boat, His disciples:

“…worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.”

— Matthew 14:33, KJV

After His resurrection:

“And when they saw him, they worshipped him…”

— Matthew 28:17, KJV

Thomas addressed the risen Jesus:

“My Lord and my God.”

— John 20:28, KJV

Jesus did not rebuke him. He accepted Thomas’s confession.

Jesus Forgave Sins

When a paralyzed man was brought to Jesus, He said:

“Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.”

— Mark 2:5, KJV

The scribes correctly understood the implication:

“Who can forgive sins but God only?”

— Mark 2:7, KJV

Jesus then healed the man to demonstrate that He possessed authority to forgive sins:

“But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins…”

— Mark 2:10, KJV

A prophet can announce that God forgives. Jesus personally forgave sins committed against God.

Jesus Claimed Equality With the Father

Jesus said:

“I and my Father are one.”

— John 10:30, KJV

Once again, His hearers attempted to stone Him. They explained why:

“…because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.”

— John 10:33, KJV

Jesus also said:

“He that hath seen me hath seen the Father…”

— John 14:9, KJV

And:

“That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father.”

— John 5:23, KJV

Jesus did not ask to receive less honor than God. He said that the Son must be honored even as the Father is honored.

Do Christians Worship Three Gods?

No.

The Bible repeatedly declares that there is only one God.

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD.”

— Deuteronomy 6:4, KJV

“I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me…”

— Isaiah 45:5, KJV

“There is one God…”

— 1 Timothy 2:5, KJV

Biblical Christianity is not the worship of three gods. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are not three competing deities. There is one God.

Christians confess that the one true God has revealed Himself through the Father, through His eternal Word who became flesh, and through the Holy Spirit. We do not claim to comprehend everything about God’s eternal nature. A God small enough to be completely understood by the human mind would not be the infinite God who created us.

The question is not whether God must conform to our limited understanding. The question is whether we will receive how He has revealed Himself.

Here we encounter one of the clearest differences between Islam and the Bible.

The Quran states that Jesus’ enemies neither killed nor crucified Him, but that it was made to appear so, and that God raised Him to Himself.

The Bible teaches unmistakably that Jesus was crucified, died, was buried, and rose bodily from the dead.

This is not a minor disagreement. The death and resurrection of Jesus stand at the center of the gospel.

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you…”

— 1 Corinthians 15:1, KJV

Paul then explains the gospel:

“How that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”

— 1 Corinthians 15:3–4, KJV

If Christ did not die, He did not bear our sins.

If He did not rise, death was not defeated.

If the crucifixion did not happen, the gospel proclaimed by Jesus’ earliest disciples is false.

That is why this question must be examined carefully.

Jesus Predicted His Own Death

Jesus repeatedly told His disciples that He would be killed and rise again.

“The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.”

— Luke 9:22, KJV

Later He said:

“They shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.”

— Luke 18:33, KJV

Jesus did not teach that someone else would be made to look like Him. He plainly said that He would be put to death and He would rise again.

After His resurrection, He explained:

“Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day.”

— Luke 24:46, KJV

The Witnesses Saw Jesus Crucified

Jesus’ mother and other women who knew Him were present near the cross.

“Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother…”

— John 19:25, KJV

The disciple John was also present. Jesus spoke directly to His mother and to John from the cross.

Roman soldiers carried out the execution. When they saw that Jesus was already dead, one pierced His side with a spear. John emphasized that he personally witnessed these things:

“And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true…”

— John 19:35, KJV

Joseph of Arimathaea received Jesus’ body and placed it in a tomb. Women who had followed Jesus observed where the body was laid.

The resurrection message was not that Jesus had escaped death. It was that the One who had truly died was now alive.

The Prophets Foretold the Messiah’s Suffering

Hundreds of years before Jesus’ birth, Isaiah described a Servant who would suffer for the sins of others:

“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities…”

— Isaiah 53:5, KJV

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

— Isaiah 53:6, KJV

“For he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.”

— Isaiah 53:8, KJV

“He hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many…”

— Isaiah 53:12, KJV

Psalm 22 prophetically describes details that correspond remarkably with the crucifixion:

“They pierced my hands and my feet.”

— Psalm 22:16, KJV

“They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.”

— Psalm 22:18, KJV

The cross was not an unexpected defeat. It was part of God’s plan of redemption revealed beforehand in Scripture.

Why Would God Allow His Messiah to Suffer?

Some may reason that God would never permit an honored messenger to suffer such humiliation.

But Jesus did not die because His enemies were stronger than God. He willingly gave Himself.

Jesus said:

“I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself.”

— John 10:17–18, KJV

The cross was not evidence of Christ’s weakness. It was the greatest revelation of God’s love.

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

— Romans 5:8, KJV

Jesus could have called for heavenly deliverance. Instead, He willingly endured the cross because humanity needed a Savior.

Many religious people hope that their obedience, prayers, fasting, generosity, repentance, or good deeds will outweigh their sins.

Good works matter. God commands us to turn from evil and do what is right. But good deeds cannot erase guilt already committed.

The Bible says:

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”

— Romans 3:23, KJV

God’s standard is not whether we have done more good than someone else. His standard is perfect righteousness.

Jesus said:

“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”

— Matthew 5:48, KJV

None of us has met that standard.

We have sinned through our actions, words, motives, thoughts, pride, selfishness, unbelief, and failure to love God with our entire being.

That is why we cannot save ourselves.

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us…”

— Titus 3:5, KJV

Why Is a Sacrifice Necessary?

From the earliest books of Scripture, God taught that sin brings death and that atonement requires the shedding of blood.

“…it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”

— Leviticus 17:11, KJV

Animal sacrifices could point forward to God’s plan, but they could not permanently remove sin.

“For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.”

— Hebrews 10:4, KJV

Jesus came as the perfect and final sacrifice.

John the Baptist announced:

“Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”

— John 1:29, KJV

Jesus lived without sin. He did not deserve death. Therefore, He could give His life for sinners.

“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

— 2 Corinthians 5:21, KJV

At the cross, God did not ignore justice. Jesus bore the judgment our sins deserved so that God could remain perfectly just while forgiving those who trust in Christ.

Jesus Rose From the Dead

Jesus’ story did not end at the cross.

On the third day, His tomb was empty. He appeared alive to His disciples and to many other witnesses.

Paul wrote that Jesus:

“…was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once…”

— 1 Corinthians 15:5–6, KJV

The disciples did not expect the resurrection. They were frightened and discouraged after the crucifixion. Yet they were transformed into bold witnesses who proclaimed that they had seen Jesus alive.

Jesus said:

“I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore…”

— Revelation 1:18, KJV

The resurrection demonstrates that Jesus is who He claimed to be, that His sacrifice was accepted, and that He possesses authority over death.

Jesus Is More Than One Prophet Among Many

Jesus did not merely bring a message about salvation.

Jesus is the Savior.

He did not merely point toward a path.

Jesus is the way.

He did not merely speak truths given to Him.

Jesus is the truth.

He did not merely teach people how to live.

Jesus is the life.

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

— Acts 4:12, KJV

Jesus said:

“I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.”

— John 11:25, KJV

No ordinary prophet can truthfully make that promise.

Some Muslims have been taught that God originally gave true revelation through Moses, the prophets, and Jesus, but that the biblical writings were later changed.

This is an important claim, and it should not simply be assumed. It should be demonstrated.

Ask several honest questions:

• When was the Bible supposedly changed?
• Who changed it?
• Where did it happen?
• Which passages were changed?
• How were all the copies spread across different nations and languages altered without leaving evidence of an earlier, uncorrupted version?
• Why do biblical manuscripts written centuries before Islam contain the same central teachings about Jesus’ identity, crucifixion, and resurrection found in Bibles today?

The New Testament was not controlled by one government, one denomination, or one location. Copies circulated widely among believers throughout many regions. A coordinated alteration of every copy would have been practically impossible.

The message that Jesus died and rose again was not added centuries later. It appears throughout the earliest Christian writings and was proclaimed from the very beginning of the church.

Before rejecting the Bible as corrupted, every sincere seeker should ask for clear historical and manuscript evidence—not merely repeat what others have said.

The New Testament accounts were written by people who followed Jesus, heard His teaching, witnessed His works, saw His crucifixion, and encountered Him after His resurrection.

Islam arose approximately six centuries after Jesus’ earthly ministry.

Therefore, we must ask:

Should we accept the testimony of those connected directly to Jesus and the first generation of His followers—or a later account that contradicts them concerning the central events of His life?

This question should be examined carefully and honestly, because both accounts cannot be correct when one says Jesus was crucified and the other says He was not.

This page is not saying that Christians are naturally better than Muslims. Christians are sinners in need of mercy, just like everyone else.

No one earns salvation by carrying a Christian label.

No one is saved merely by attending church, being baptized, knowing Bible verses, or belonging to a Christian family.

We must all come to God through Jesus Christ.

Jesus invites you:

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

— Matthew 11:28, KJV

He does not ask you first to become worthy. He asks you to come.

“Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”

— John 6:37, KJV

You may fear what your family or community would think. Jesus understands the cost of following Him. He does not promise that obedience will always be easy, but He promises eternal life to those who trust Him.

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”

— Mark 8:36, KJV

No family tradition, cultural expectation, reputation, or earthly relationship is worth losing your soul.

Repeating words cannot save you. Jesus saves. But you may speak honestly to God in words such as these:

The power is not in repeating a particular prayer. The question is whether you have genuinely turned to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith.

Do not base your eternal destiny merely upon what this page says. Examine the Scriptures yourself.

Begin with:

Then explore these resources:

Our purpose is not to criticize Muslim people. Our purpose is to help every person make sure they are going to Heaven by comparing every belief with the Holy Bible.

We encourage you to examine the evidence, read the words of Jesus Christ for yourself, and ask God to lead you into truth.

Eternity is too important to trust merely in family tradition, religious identity, or what someone else told you.

Jesus Christ loves you. He gave Himself for you. He rose from the dead, and He invites you to follow Him.

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

— John 8:32, KJV

“And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”

— 1 John 5:11–12, KJV