Two Takes on the Crucifixion

Christians and Muslims both agree that during the earthly ministry of Jesus of Nazareth, Palestinian Jews plotted to have him killed. However, this is about the only point of agreement that can reached between these two groups in regards to Jesus' last days on earth. Christians claim that Jesus was crucified on the Friday before Passover and was raised back to life the following Sunday. Muslims claim that some person was made to look and sound like Jesus; subsequently, that person (not Jesus) was crucified. These are competing and mutually exclusive views of the same historical event. The question still remains . . . was Jesus crucified, or not?

One's overall view of the Bible and the Koran will play a huge part in determining one's stance on this issue. However, there are other types of evidence that can weigh in on this issue.

First, let it be known that the four gospel narratives unequivocally affirm that Jesus did indeed die on a cross. Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 24, and John 19 state that Jesus died while on a cross. Statements like, "Jesus cried out again in a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit" (Matt 27:50), and "coming to Jesus, then they [Roman soldiers] saw he was already dead (John 17:33) leaves no room for doubt that the Bible affirms the death of Jesus on the cross.

There are non-biblical, historical sources that affirm the New Testament position on this issue. They include (but are not limited to) Tacitus' Annals and the writings of Flavius Josephus. Even the Talmud states that, "on the eve of Passover Yeshua was hanged." It is also worth noting that all of these sources, both biblical and non-biblical, predate the Koran and were thus first written closer to the actual time of the occurrence.

Muslims base their position on one passage found in the Koran. Sura 4:157a states, "That they said (in boast), 'We killed Christ Jesus son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah'; but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them". The Koran clearly states in this passage that Jesus did not die on the cross; nowhere else in the Koran is this event mentioned.

The Muslim position of this event has several problems. One problem with this position is it is hardly a position at all. The Koran does nothing more to explain this huge and widespread deception in regards to this part of history. No names are mentioned in the Koran for who actually went to the cross; the Muslim world is left to speculate.

It is a general principle (especially in legal circles) that the longer detailed account is to be trusted when two accounts are in opposition. Imagine that a robbery took place at a bank. And there were only two people that witnessed the event. Witness X says the robber was a black man. Witness Z says that the robber was a white male about 25 years old, approximately six feet tall, and had a scar on his right arm. The testimony of witness Z is to be trusted over (and against) witness X. Because witness Z could recall more details about the robber, there is a higher probability that witness Z was indeed present at the robbery and observed it accurately. The New Testament gives multiple testimonies (and one by an actual eye witness) as well as more detailed accounts of the crucifixion, in comparison to the one verse found in the Koran.

In edition to the more detailed account, the New Testament position predates the position put forth in the Koran. Not until the time of Muhammad did anyone believe a "fake" Jesus died on the cross.

Questions inevitably arise from such a position. If Jesus really did elude the crucifixion, then why is there no mention of it until Muhammad? Did Jesus really allow everyone, including his own mother, to believe a vicious lie? If some other person really did hang on the cross, would that person not vehemently claim that he was not Jesus during the trial and crucifixion?

Muslims really are the only group to hold to this position. Even adherents to other religions (non-Christians and non-Muslims) maintain that there was a man named Jesus and that he did die on a cross. One can accept the crucifixion as historical fact and still not be a Christian.

The fact that Jesus did die on a cross is attested to by numerous biblical manuscripts and several non-biblical sources as well. It is also the position that most logically fit's the particulars of the entire narrative (arrest, trial, beating, etc.).

Those who were closest to Jesus, his followers, believed in the crucifixion of Jesus. These are the men the Koran (3:52-54, 5:111, & 61:14) describes as those who "bear witness" and "believe". Yet, their testimonies flatly contradict the Koran.

The overwhelming amount of evidence affirms that Jesus of Nazareth did die on the cross in contradiction to the Koran. Given that the Koran is the newer book and that Muslims allegedly are the later follows of God (after the Jews and Christians), it is up to them to present evidence if anyone is to believe their claim.