"Are you that Prophet" [bible, john 1:20]
That Prophet?
Who was he?
Comparing Jesus & Mmuhammad
"The
comforter, the spirit of truth, whom the father will send in my name,
he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that i
said unto you."
[Bible - john 14:26]
Jesus, the son of Mary, said, "a Messenger will come after me, named Ahmad."
[Noble Quran 61:6]
the
chief priests and levites asked john the baptist, "if you are not the
christ (messiah), and not elijah - are you that prophet?"
[bible - john 1:20]
When
the chief priests and levites asked john the baptist who he was, they
asked him in a very strange way. First they questioned him as to whether
or not he was the anticipated "Messiah" [christ in koine greek]. he was
not the "Messiah" that had hoped for. next they asked if he was the
Prophet Elijah and again he tells them, "no." now comes the really
strange part. finally, they asked him if he is "that prophet?"
Are you christ? - [no]
Are you Elijah? - [no]
Are you that Prophet? - [no]
What
did they mean by "that Prophet?" we of course, know who the "Christ"
is. After all, christians should know that "Christ" is merely a
shortened form of the koine greek word "christos," intended to mean the
hebrew word "Messiah."
The
Jews of two thousand years ago were definitely looking for the Messiah,
who it was foretold in their books, would come and lead them to victory
over their oppressors and thus gain for them mastery over this world.
They were much oppressed under roman domination and even their own
jewish kings were seen as nothing more than puppets or agents for the
disbelievers. certainly, they would have been most happy to see someone
come on the scene who would defeat their roman masters and slave
drivers.
Then
the priests and levites asked john the baptist if he might be the
prophet elijah, returning back after hundreds of years being away. There
was the notion amongst them that elijah would come back. but again,
john the baptist is denying he is elijah.
Then,
who is he? they wonder at this man living out in the desert and
forsaking wealth and luxury and fasting, avoiding the material
attractions of life.
Again,
they ask john the baptist who he is. "are you that Prophet?" and one
more time he denies being "that Prophet," but then he does tell them
about someone who will come after him soon, whom he claims he is not
worthy to even unlace his shoes.
However,
this does not answer the question, "who were they expecting besides the
Messiah?" could it be they were looking for someone like Muhammad?
(could be)
Who is that Prophet?
Keep reading and learn who "that Prophet" is and what other proofs can be discovered within the holy texts to support this idea.
For
centuries Muslims have believed Jesus (peace be upon him) was "that
Prophet" mentioned in these words of the gospel of john. The Quran
states one of the important features of Jesus' mission was to give the
"bashir" or 'glad tidings' of the coming of the Prophet Muhammad, peace
be upon him. During his short missionary career that lasted not more
than three years, and which was overshadowed by the hostile attitude of
his own people, Jesus gave them the good news of Ahmad, (one of the
forms of "Muhammad") the last Messenger of God, who would perfect the
divine teaching both in theory and in practice. The Quran mentions that,
jesus says:
"O
children of israel! I am the Messenger of Allah {almighty god} (sent)
to you, confirming the law (torah or old testament) before me, and
giving glad tidings of a Messenger to come after me, whose name shall be
Ahmad."
[Noble Quran 61:6]
The
Quran gives the name as Ahmad, one of several ways to say Muhammad's
name. Just as we have in english the name joseph, and often use a
shorter form such as "joe" or the familiar form, "joey," and other names
like "jonathan" which becomes "john"; "jack" or "johnny", so in the
same way we find arabic has similar forms for a name. Muhammad, Ahmad
and Hamad are a few of the names originating from the root word, "Hamd"
(meaning 'praise) in Arabic, and can be understood as "the one who
praises (God)"; "the praised one"; "praising"; etc.
Abdullah
Yusuf Ali in his translation of the meanings of the Quran to English,
he states, "Ahmad or Muhammad, the praised one is a translation of the
koine greek word periclytos. In the present gospel of john 14:16, 15:26
and 16:7, the greek word paracletos is translated in the niv as
comforter. paracletos can mean an advocate, or "one called to the help
of another", "a kind friend." Muhammad (peace be upon him) was known
from birth as one who brought comfort and reconciliation to family,
friends and strangers alike, especially in bringing together the ties of
kinship and brotherly love.
Another
nick name of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) mentioned in the
bible (or at least what is left of it in the English language) is "the
spirit of truth." As-Sddiq means exactly that and it is was another name
given to Muhammad (peace be upon him) by those who knew his proclivity
for honesty and integrity.
The
new testament gospel according to john, jesus (peace be upon him)
promises them the paracletos will come four times (john 14:16; 14:26;
15:26; 16:7). naturally, jesus (peace be upon him) did not return in
their lifetime nor did any other Prophet for that matter, so later
thinkers came up with the notion that it was not jesus "in person" but
rather, jesus coming back in "spirit form." This led some Christians to
assert, this was to be the holy spirit, who would descend upon the
disciples on the day of the pentecost (acts 2), to witness christ and
lead them into the whole truth and to be with the believers forever, and
they would not die (john 3:16), but have everlasting life. also, some
added verses later (see footnotes to revised standard version of the
bible) to the very last chapter of mark (16), wherein, they have the
spirit coming upon them in such a way they imagined themselves going to
be able to speak with new languages; pick up snakes, lay hands on the
sick to cure them and even drink poison and nothing would hurt them.
[Luke 23:17-18]
Another
point is, the paracletos, comforter or the spirit of truth, was going
to dwell with us from now on. Certainly anyone could see Muhammad's
influence and his Message of worshipping only one God without any
partners has prevailed long after his earthly life.
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