What is the difference between the self-proclaimed prophets Jesus and Muhammad? Obviously, it is not the number of followers these men have, since Muhammad has almost as many followers (over a billion) as does Jesus (a billion and a half). So what is it? Why should a person trust Jesus and not Muhammad? Why should a person devote the entirety of their life to Christ, committing every though, word, and action to his glory, but avoid the Islamic prophet with equal vigor?
As a biblical and orthodox Christian, I would like to expose what I see to be the fundamental differences between Jesus of Nazareth and Muhammad. Of course, other leaders of other world religions might also be compared with Jesus, revealing their deep deficiencies, but because of the impending threat of Islamic terrorism, and the sheer number of Islamic adherents, there seems to be a great need for this type of one-on-one comparison. In what follows, I will detail seven important reasons why Jesus should be followed but not Muhammad.
1. Jesus claimed to be God whereas Muhammad claimed to be mere prophet
Jesus, throughout his earthly ministry, made an incredible claim, namely, to be the I AM of the Hebrew Scriptures: “‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.’ So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.”
The divine name of God, Yahweh, was revealed to Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3:14 and this name was held sacred by the Israelite people. When Jesus claimed this precious name for his own – “before Abraham was, I am” – he was essentially claiming to be the voice speaking to Moses on the mountain in Midian. This is not a claim to be a mere prophet of God. Jesus claimed a great deal more than the status of spokesman rather he held that he and Father are one.
In contrast, Muhammad never claimed to be divine, but merely the final prophet of Allah.[3] This makes an enormous difference when it comes to evaluating his claims versus the claims of Jesus of Nazareth. It is one thing to be a servant of God, but quite another to be God. One has some authority; the other has all authority in heaven and earth.
Now to be sure, if Jesus is going to make such a claim, we would expect him to substantiate it. If a person, Steve Cowan lets say, claims to be superman, the general population would find it extremely difficult to believe him. The general population, especially those who know Steve Cowan personally, might even chuckle at his presumptuousness in claiming such a lofty thing. But the chuckles would all cease instantly, and people would radically change from doubt to belief the moment Steve pulled off his suit and tie, revealing a red and blue suit, complete with shiny boots and flowing cape. Then, with a swoop, he shouts, “Up! Up! And Away!” flying up into the clouds and circling around the sky. But, alas, this is the point. If he makes such a bold claim, he must prove its truthfulness.
This is exactly what Jesus did! He proved his claims of divinity by doing things that only God can do. He created food from nothing, calmed a raging storm, walked on the surface of water, healed the sick, and forgave sinners of their sins. Only God can do these things. Even more radical than these, Jesus primarily substantiated his claims to divinity by rising from the dead. Furthermore, at the end of his time on earth, he swooped up in the air at his ascension, floating up into the clouds. The eyewitness accounts we have of these events are but one of many historical evidences that they actually happened.
2. Islam (and other divergent religions that trace their roots to the Bible) came AFTER Jesus and the New Testament
Is chronology really an important factor in determining truth? Absolutely! The counterfeit always comes after the authentic. Muhammad produced the Qur’an more than six centuries after Jesus and the apostles lived. Essentially, Muhammad claimed to be repairing the true Word of God that had been corrupted in the hands of Christendom. But why do the earliest copies we possess of the Bible bear remarkable similarities to our modern versions (they are virtually identical less translation issues between languages and scribal errors which for the most part are clearly identified)? Because they were not corrupted as both Muhammad claimed.
This point brings with it another important fact: historical study is absolutely essential in clarifying truth. For those who are unaware of New Testament manuscript evidence, Muhammad’s accusations might carry some weight. But for those who have at least a cursory knowledge of the chronology of the construction of the Bible, his claims of corruption are obviously unfounded. Muhammad has given no good reason why people should abandon the authoritative and trustworthy words of Jesus Christ, substantiated by his miracles, signs, and wonders, in order to follow him onto a divergent religious path. Chronology matters!
3. Muhammad was very interested in money for self gain, but Jesus was not
On this issue, we could also mention cult leaders like Jim Jones, L. Ron Hubbard (Scientology), and Charles T. Russell (Jehovah’s Witnesses). Their primary motive is to make money off the spiritually blind and that is exactly what they did. They created a new belief system and sold it to the unsuspecting masses that were looking for answers to life’s questions and solutions to life’s problems.
Such behavior is nowhere to be found in the life of Jesus, either in the New Testament, or in traditions surrounding him. Jesus informed us that money was neutral as far as it goes, but when loved and idolized, it would destroy our souls:
Luke 12:20-22 “But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on.”
A lot can be learned about the character of man by the way he handles his money. Jesus’ motive for proclaiming his message was not to take advantage of the weak and exploit them, but rather to share truth and salvation (read the New Testament to see this). On the other hand, Muhammad amassed a personal fortune through extortion, thievery, and slave-trading. This fortune was a major part of the conflict between members of Muhammad’s family and leadership team after his death.
4. Jesus fulfilled hundreds of ancient prophecies about himself, but Muhammad did not
Muslims look for verses in the New Testament that might be twisted in such a way to point to Muhammad, but none of these can work in context. None of the examples they give, however, are convincing. They point, for example, to John 14:16 in which Jesus is recorded as saying, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper” (Gr. – parakletos; can be translated counselor or comforter). Muslims compare this verse with Qur’an 61:6, “And when Isa [Jesus] son of Marium [Mary] said: O children of Israel! surely I am the apostle of Allah to you, verifying that which is before me of the Taurat and giving the good news of an Apostle who will come after me, his name being Ahmad.” Ahmad is another name for Muhammad and in Greek might be translated as periklytos. Muslims, therefore, maintain that Christians corrupted the text of the Gospel of John, changing the one Jesus would ask the Father for, from Muhammad “an Apostle” to the Holy Spirit (Helper). This interpretation is severely flawed, however, ignoring the reality that every ancient copy of John, many found in diverse locations geographically, contain the Greek work parakletos, not periklytos. Other deceptive translations of the Bible could also be pointed out in a similar fashion as fraudulent.
Jesus, on the other hand, did not pop onto the pages of history from obscurity inventing new ideas. Rather he was born exactly where the Old Testament predicted he would be born (Micah 5:2), into the family it predicted he would descend from (Isaiah 11:1-2; Matthew 1), and that he would die and rise again (Psalm 16; 22). For an example of how one of the specific prophecies works, examine how Peter interprets Psalm 16:
Acts 2:24-31 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. For David says concerning him, “I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.” Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.
When King David penned the words of Psalm 16, he was writing about the passion and resurrection of Jesus Christ! Psalm 16 was written approximately seven hundred years prior to the birth of Jesus Christ! There are hundreds of prophecies like this concerning Jesus life, found in the Old Testament, pointing to the reality of who he would be. Jesus fulfilled them all in his life, revealing a solid line of evidence that his claim to divinity was factual. Muhammad has no such claims to fulfilled prophecy and therefore the strength of his testimony is severely weakened.
5. Jesus did not start a new religion, Muhammad did
Jesus said that he came to fulfill the Law not abolish it (Matt 5:17). He was not anti-Jewish. He did not come, saying, “The Jews have it all wrong, and I am here to correct all the problems.”
But didn’t Jesus attack the Pharisees, who were the primary religious leaders of the Jews? Yes, but he attacked them for their misinterpretations of the Old Testament. He did not attack the Old Testament itself, or Judaism proper as given by God on Mount Sinai, at all. In fact, when he spoke to the woman by the well, he had this to say about the matter: “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.” Jesus Christ came to fulfill Judaism, not change the fundamental doctrines of it. After all, salvation is from the Jews!
Yet Muhammad (along with his parallels in other deviant religions: Joseph Smith, Charles Taze Russell, Jim Jones, David Koresh, and a host of others) came upon the scene, and without warrant or justification, created a brand new religion, borrowing heavily from the terminology of true Christianity, carefully redefining the terms in order exploit the spiritual tendencies of people. He created this religion while stating that the poor orthodox, biblical Christians had been deceived for many, many years, and now he, God’s prophet, was here to be the savior of truth.
Actually, these people, including Muhammad, saw an opportunity to abuse people who do not think for themselves and who are looking for answers to the questions of life. As L. Ron Hubbard taught, if you really want to make a lot of money, start a religion.
People should generally be extremely cautious of anyone who comes upon the scene of history and says something like, “Everybody has gotten it wrong all these years, and God has called me – finally – to come and correct all the errors of everybody else, and if you want to be a part of this, it will cost you some serious cash and you must commit yourself absolutely to my authority.” In contrast to Jesus Christ, this is essentially what Muhammad did.
6. The Bible was written by many authors, whereas the Qur’an was written by Muhammad alone
This is a huge issue that deserves a great deal of thought. Muslims are compelled to accept the testimony of one man alone (as are Mormons in the case of Joseph Smith). Contrast this with Christianity where there are over forty authors of the Old and New Testaments, from various backgrounds and cultures, each testifying that the same God was doing various things in the world around them. The Bible is an amazing book because of this consistency in spite of the varied authorship.
Interestingly, Jesus personally wrote none of the books of the Bible (at least in his humanity) and yet he is the subject of all sixty-six books included in it. He is the hoped-for Messiah of the Old Testament, and the present Lord in the New Testament.
On the other hand, Muhammad alone is responsible for the entirety of the Qur’an and says that he received it in a cave from Gabriel, and, therefore, people should believe him. But there are checks and balances that come with multiple attestation, especially the layers of multiple attestation enjoyed by the Bible. Adherents to Islam have no such luxury, but base their eternal destinies upon the words of a man known for his cruelty and deception.
Sure, if you want to start a religion, claiming to get direct and exclusive revelation from an angel is good place to start. Apparently that is all it takes to get millions of people to follow you. But common sense should tell us that when it comes to unlikely or outrageous claims, the testimony of one person is not enough. Thankfully, Christianity and the testimony of Christ, do not fall into this error.
7. Jesus rose from the dead, but Muhammad did not
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most powerful event to occur in human history, and there is much evidence that it actually happened! To actually overcome and conquer death is a powerful substantiation to Jesus’ claim of divinity. Muhammad simply cannot make such a bold claim. Muslims attempt to lump their “prophet” into a class with Jesus, but this is a gross historical error. Jesus alone rose from the dead in victory and offers salvation to those who follow him in the truth. According to Paul, Jesus Christ was “declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 1:4).
CONCLUSION
Laying these two self-proclaimed prophets side-by-side and exploring their merits reveals the truth that Jesus is God and should be trusted, but Muhammad is a counterfeit and an imposter whose words should be discarded. At a time in history when truth is considered relative and when Islamic terrorism threatens the peacefulness of societies across the world, comparing these two men is of vital importance. Jesus, who claimed to be “the truth” is the answer that we need today. Furthermore, there is no room for claiming Islam to be a good and noble religion, as many do especially in the political realm, since it is false, leads people to ultimate destruction, and harms societies as it is lived out among its adherents.
It is imperative, therefore, that people be persuaded to denounce Muhammad and his false religion, repent from their idolatry and sin, and turn to the living God, who became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14), Jesus Christ. This gospel message is the only lasting and concrete antidote to threat of terrorism in the world today, and the threat of the second death that awaits unbelievers.
