Crucifixion or Crucifiction - A Response (PART 6)

In the last message I started addressing the account of Genesis with regards to Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael, and the sacrifice, which is a pre-figure of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. I mentioned that the Qur'an does not actually name the person who is sacrificed whereas this name is mentioned in the bible, and since this is in the book of Genesis, a book of the Torah, and Mohammed believed that it had been preserved (Surah 32.23), then the evidence compels us to accept that it was indeed Isaac who was chosen to be a sacrifice, not Ishmael.

I also presented evidence showing that the Qur'an confirms that a covenant was given to Israel (surah 2:92-93) who descends from Isaac, not Ishmael, and that the Quran shows that the line of prophethood is through Isaac, which would disqualify Mohammed as a prophet from God.

We now turn our attention to the sacrifice itself in Genesis 22.
First we note : The Abraham was willing to give his only son whom he loved. This is a type of the Father freely giving His Son whom He loves for our redemption.

Genesis 22:2 Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."

3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.

There were witnesses who saw from a distance:

4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.

5 He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you."

Notice also the reference to the third day. As you have the third day upon which Christ resurrected - in this case - Isaac lived after the sacrifice.

6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together,

The wood signifies the cross, the fire signifies judgement, and the knife signifies the piercing.

7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?" "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied. "The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"

Here Isaac knows that the requirement of a burnt offering is a lamb. Thus in this accout, we actually need both aspects to complete the picture. On the one hand, showing Isaac as the Son given by his Father signifying Christ the Son given by God (John 3:16), on the other hand, the lamb signifying Christ as the lamb of God (john 1:29,1:26,Rev 5:6,Rev 7:17, Rev 14:10,Rev 15:3,Rev19:9,Rev 21:23,Rev 22:1,Rev 22:3).

8 Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.

9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.

10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
11 But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied.

12 "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."
At this point, the muslim might suggest that this picture shows that Jesus escaped death and therefore Deedat was correct with the swoon theory. But the account does not finish here. Keep in mind, there are two aspects of Christ being portrayed, one as the Son of God, and the other as the lamb of God.

13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.

The ram is caught by it’s horns in the thicket (thorny bush) just like the crown of thorns placed upon the head of Christ.

14 So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided."
15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time

16 and said, "I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,

17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,

18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."
Notice in verse 16 that God considers the sacrifice as to have taken place, through Abraham’s faith as he had not withheld his only son, which was an act of obedience (verse 18).

Now the muslim may interject at this point and say that the substitution theory must be correct since the ram died in the place of Isaac. The problem with this is that the lamb that was to be offered up as a burnt offering was to be unblemished (Exodus 12:5), so whoever ended up being sacrificed upon the cross of Calvary must have been sinless. This would not make sense in the Islamic substitution theory however, because they argue that Allah would never allow such harm to come to one of his prophets, and only the prophets are considered as sinless. Are we to suppose that Allah saved one prophet from going to the cross by sending another one in his place? Such a statement would be illogical and self-refuting.

Therefore, both the substitution theory and the swoon theory fail at this point. Only the New Testament fulfilment fits perfectly with Christ as the unblemished lamb of God (1 Peter 1:19)

We turn now to the next portion of Deedat’s argument. He writes:

“If this was God's plan for a vicarious atonement to redeem mankind, then obviously He had chosen a wrong substitute. This candidate was most reluctant to die. Arming! Wailingi Sweating! Crying! Complaining! 1 Contrast these responses with those of Lord Nelson, a war-hero, who gave up the ghost with these undying words:
"THANK GOD, I HAVE DONE MY DUTY!". There are millions today, who would happily immolate themselves for king and country, with smiles on their faces, with shouts of "Amandhia!" or "Allahu-akbar!" or "God save the Queen!" Jesus was an un-willing victim. If this was God's scheme of salvation, then it was a heartless plot. It was murder in the first degree, and not redeeming self-sacrifice. “

Notice the words that Deedat uses: “Arming! Wailingi Sweating! Crying! Complaining!” -
(1) Arming: Jesus did not intend to use a mere two swords for battle.
(2) Waling: I read that Jesus was grieved in His spirit and praying, not wailing.
(3) Sweating: These were sweat drops of blood. This kind of phenomenon is described in medicine as hematohidrosis.
(4) Crying: See point 2 above.
(5) Complaining: Was Mohammed complaining on his death bed? Sahih Al Bukhari Volume 4, Book 56, Number 660 reads:
Narrated 'Aisha and Ibn 'Abbas:
On his death-bed Allah's Apostle put a sheet over his-face and when he felt hot, he would remove it from his face. When in that state (of putting and removing the sheet) he said, "May Allah's Curse be on the Jews and the Christians for they build places of worship at the graves of their prophets." (By that) he intended to warn (the Muslim) from what they (i.e. Jews and Christians) had done.
It seems that Mohammed is allowed to curse the Christians and the Jews for building places of worship but Jesus is not allowed to murmur anything but joyful words on the way to his death. Amazing double standards we see here from Deedat.

When Jesus is at the cross, what kinds of words do we see from Him?

(1) And He said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise." – This was to one the thief on the cross. This particular person had mocked him earlier (Matthew 27:44), but later repented (Luke 23:39-40). Did Jesus complain here, and tell rebuke the thief for mocking him earlier? No, instead He gave a great promise of Paradise.

(2) Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots (Luke 23:34). Did Jesus complain here? No, He prayed for those who were persecuting Him.

(3) Jesus turned and said to them, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. (Luke 23:28). Did Jesus want pity from others? Did He want others to weep for Him? No. He told them not to weep for Him but to weep for themselves and their children. This surely does not sound like a complaining Jesus to me.

(4) Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last. (Luke 23:46). Jesus here does not voice angry words to the Father, rather He trusts everything into His hands.

(5) And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"--which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34). Now muslims will claim that Jesus is complaining here, that he is crying in defeat. What Jesus was doing was quoting from Psalm 22:1. Let us read this Psalm in its entirety as we see that this is not a cry of defeat but a fulfilment of scripture showing the crucified Christ who triumphs victoriously. Compare the blue section with the red:

1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent.
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the praise of Israel.
4 In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them.
5 They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed.
6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads:
8 "He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him." 9 Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother's breast. 10 From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother's womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 Roaring lions tearing their prey open their mouths wide against me.
14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.
16 Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.
19 But you, O Lord, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver my life from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions; save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
22 I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you.
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.
25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you will I fulfill my vows.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied; they who seek the Lord will praise him-- may your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him,
28 for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations.
29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before him-- those who cannot keep themselves alive.
30 Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn-- for he has done it.
We can see here, that Christ’s crucifixion is portrayed with rich and vivid language. He describes Himself as a worm, an object of mockery by His people (verses 6 - 7), His intimate relationship with the Father from birth (verses 9 – 10), the piercing of His hands and feet (verse 16), the casting of lots over His garments (verse 18).

Verses 22 – 31 Show the triumph of the suffering servant. In fact, the cries of verse one are met with the Father’s presence (verse 24), He fulfils the righteous requirement (verse 25), the gospel goes out to all nations (verse 27), His sacrifice will have perpetual remembrance and worth (verse 30). Verse 31 shows that these verses are not merely applying to someone living in the Old Testament times, but in the future.

Thus, we have a beautiful picture of the death and resurrection of Christ which brings about a great triumphant victory!