Jesus: prophet, and more

Muslims honor Jesus, ʿIsa, as one of the greatest prophets: born of a virgin, called the Messiah, a worker of wonders. Catholics agree with every single word. Then we say one more thing, and it changes everything.

“(And remember) when the angels said: O Mary! Lo! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a word from him, whose name is the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, illustrious in the world and the Hereafter, and one of those brought near (unto Allah).”

What we share

The Council noted that Muslims “revere Him as a prophet.” Nostra Aetate 3 And His title, “Christ”, comes from the Hebrew Messiah: “anointed.” CCC 436 We share that word. CCC 436

Where we go further

Here’s the one more thing: the eternal Son of God became man without stopping being God. CCC 469 Not part God and part man, not a mixture. CCC 464 CCC 469

“Jesus Christ is true God and true man.”

“The Word became flesh and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the only born Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

That’s why Christians don’t just follow Jesus’ teaching; we worship Him, because we see in Him “the Father’s eternal Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity.” CCC 495

In the Gospels, Jesus puts this exact question to His own friends. Read it as if He were asking you.

“He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’”

And the Prophet Muhammad?

This is a fair question, and it deserves a straight, respectful answer.

The Council’s teaching on Islam passes no judgment on Muhammad; it speaks with esteem of Muslims’ faith in the one God, their submission to Him like Abraham’s, and their prayer, almsgiving and fasting. Nostra Aetate 3

Catholics don’t accept him as a prophet bringing a new revelation, for one reason: we believe God has already said His full and final Word in Jesus, and “no new public revelation is to be expected” before Christ returns. CCC 65 CCC 66

That’s a real disagreement, and we say it plainly. It’s never a license to mock him or the people who love him. Catholics are asked to work with Muslims for justice, peace and freedom, and that starts with respect.

“But weren’t the Gospels changed?”

Many Muslims have been taught that the Gospel given to Jesus was later altered (tahrif). It’s worth looking at the evidence together.

“Let the People of the Gospel judge by that which Allah hath revealed therein. Whoso judgeth not by that which Allah hath revealed: such are evil-livers.”

The Qur’an itself tells “the People of the Gospel” to judge by what God revealed in it, which assumes Christians in the seventh century still had it.

Codex Sinaiticus, copied in Greek in the middle of the fourth century, contains the earliest complete copy of the New Testament, centuries before the Qur’an, and you can view every page online. Codex Sinaiticus Project

Its Gospels are the same four Gospels Christians read today.

The Church holds that they faithfully hand on what Jesus really did and taught. CCC 126

Copyists did make small slips, and scholars compare thousands of manuscripts to catch them. That’s exactly why we can see that the story of Jesus, His death and His Resurrection, was there from the start.