Christ has died;
Christ is risen;
Christ will come again.
The Jews, the Christians and the Muslims all believe in an empty cross.
The Jews believe it was not the Christ who was crucified; the Muslims believe the Christ was crucified, but that he did not die. Only the Christians believe the Christ died and rose from the dead.
Who wants a Messiah who can be killed? Who wants a Messiah who can die, who cannot be saved by God?
Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?
But indeed, who could imagine a Messiah who would travel to the depths of the darkest part of our existence, and emerge victorious? When we proclaim the death of Jesus Christ, we do not do it as a memorial in the same way we honour people like Tunku Abdul Rahman or Martin Luther King Jr. We are reminding ourselves that the Anointed One did not allow death to have the final word.
This morning at church, Sivin said, "Imagine if you saw all the tombs at a cemetery open; and this is not some Michael Jackson thriller thing."
As I thought about it, I realised that Jesus was the real thriller.
None of us alive today was there when the stone was rolled back amidst flashes of lightning and thunder and rumblings of the earth, but I would like to think the moment was something not even Michael Jackson's technicians could conjure.
Great song:
Christ has died;
Christ is risen;
Christ will come again.
1 comment:
Hey ben!
"the Muslims believe the Christ was crucified, but that he did not die"
wrong info there :)
we believe that he was not killed nor crucified
And (on account of) their saying, "We killed the Messiah, 'Isa son of Maryam, Messenger of Allah." They did not kill him and they did not crucify him but it was made to seem so to them. Those who argue about him are in doubt about it. They have no real knowledge of it, just conjecture. But they certainly did not kill him. Allah raised him up to Himself. Allah is Almighty, All-Wise. (Surat an-Nisa: 157-158)
We believe that he was raised to the presence of Allah and he will return one day.
When Allah said, "'Isa, I will take you back and raise you up to Me and purify you of those who are disbelievers. And I will place the people who follow you above those who are disbelievers until the Day of Rising. Then you will all return to Me, and I will judge between you regarding the things about which you differed. (Surah Al 'Imran: 55)
Abu Hurairah (ra) narrated that Allah's Messenger, peace be upon him, said, "By the One in Whose hand is my self, definitely the son of Maryam will soon descend among you as a just judge, and he will break the cross, kill the pig and abolish the jizyah, and wealth will be so abundant that no one will accept it, until a single prostration will be better than the world and everything in it. (Sahih al-Bukhari)
Jabir ibn 'Abdullah said, "I heard the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saying, 'A party of my ummah will never stop fighting for the truth victoriously until the Day of Rising.' He said, 'Then 'Isa ibn Maryam, peace be upon him, will descend and their amir will say, "Come and lead us in prayer," but he will say, "No! some of you are amirs over others," as Allah's showing honour to this ummah.'" (Sahih Muslim)
Abu Hurairah (ra) narrated, "The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: 'There is no prophet between me and him, that is, 'Isa, peace be upon him. He will descend (to the earth). When you see him, recognise him: a man of medium height, reddish fair, wearing two light yellow garments, looking as if drops were falling down from his head though it will not be wet. He will fight the people for the cause of Islam. He will break the cross, kill the pig, and abolish the jizyah. Allah will cause to perish all religions except Islam. He will destroy the Dajjal and will live on the earth for forty years and then he will die. The Muslims will pray over him.'" (Abu Dawud)
PS: First time commenting here! :p
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