Read Journeys, chapter 8

11.1: Migration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina

11.2: Jesus' journey to the cross

11.3: The significance of the cross

The Hijrah and the cross

Introduction

Two narratives about two different journeys reveal the different directions that Jesus and Muhammad take in relationship to suffering love. Islam denies the cross. In Christian faith, the cross is the fullest revelation of God’s great love for us.

• The first narrative: Muhammad’s migration from Mecca to Medina. This migration is the Hijrah.
• The second narrative: the journey of Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem.

1. Muhammad left the persecution of Mecca to go to Medina.

1.1 For 12 years Muhammad preached in Mecca (610-622 A.D.).

1.2 He was rejected by most and his very few followers were suffering much.

1.3 At one point he sent about 300 of the Muslim community to Ethiopia for protection from Negus, the Christian king.

1.4 Then Medina invited him to come to their city (400 kilometers away) and become their prophet and governor.

1.5 Muhammad accepted that invitation.

1.6 The secret migration from Mecca to Medina (622 A.D.) is the Hijrah.

1.7 This is when Muslims date their calendar; it is the beginning of the Muslim era.

1.8 From Medina, Muhammad led the Muslim armies into victories against the Meccans and others who were opposed to Muslim rule.

1.9 Within 10 years all of Arabia, including Mecca, was under Muslim rule.

2. Jesus the Messiah went to the cross.

2.1 In Galilee Jesus fed the 5,000 miraculously.

2.2 The people wanted Him to become king.

2.3 Jesus refused and instead “set His face” to go to Jerusalem.

2.4 At the Last Supper, Jesus washed the feet of Judas, who was going to betray Him.

2.5 In Jerusalem He was arrested and crucified.

2.6 His disciples (especially Peter) urged Him not to say “yes” to the cross.

2.7 At His trial, He said He could call 12 legions of angels (72,000) to rescue Him.

2.8 He commanded His disciples to put away their swords and rebuked Peter for using a sword the night of His arrest.

2.9 As Jesus was dying, He cried out in forgiveness for those who were crucifying Him.

3. God raised Jesus the Messiah from the dead on the third day.

3.1 The resurrection of the Messiah demonstrates that suffering love overcomes hate.

3.2 The Resurrection is confirmation that Jesus is indeed the Messiah and our Lord and Savior.

4. The significance of the Hijrah and the cross in understanding God and the nature of His kingdom

4.1

• Islam: The Messiah could not be crucified because God is all powerful.
• Gospel: The power of God is revealed in the “foolishness” of the cross.

4.2

• Islam: The kingdom of God cannot be established without the use of political and military power.
• Gospel: The kingdom of God happens through the cross, not political and military power.

4.3

• Islam: Muhammad’s military success is evidence that he is a prophet of God.
• Gospel: The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus are the proof that Jesus is the Messiah.

4.4

• Islam: Muslim ethics are based on the way Muhammad established his authority in Medina.
• Gospel: Christian ethics are based on the way of the cross that Jesus demonstrated.

5. The significance of the cross in the forgiveness of sin

5.1

• Islam: Each person must receive the just punishment for her sins.
• Gospel: Jesus the Messiah took our place, taking upon Himself the punishment for our sins.

5.2

• Islam: God decides who to forgive; offering extra prayers might persuade God to show special mercy.
• Gospel: The Messiah is the sacrifice for our sins, and so all who will are invited to receive the gift of forgiveness.

5.3

• Islam: No one can be sure that he is forgiven.
• Gospel: All who believe are forgiven; all is by grace, unmerited favor.

5.4

• Islam: Believers strive to acquire merit worthy of forgiveness.
• Gospel: Believers joyously seek to serve God faithfully in thankfulness for the gift of grace and forgiveness.

Conclusion

There is a mystery within the soul of Islam. Every year millions of Muslim families offer an animal in sacrifice remembering, as they believe, that Ishmael was saved from death by a ram that was provided as a “tremendous” substitute. What does that mean?

Christians invite Muslims to consider the sacrificial death of Christ. Is not the Muslim Feast of Sacrifice a sign pointing to the need for an ultimate sacrifice? Christians give witness that Jesus the Messiah is that ultimate sacrifice who was crucified so that we might be forgiven. Just as the ram took the place of a son of Abraham, so Jesus the Messiah has taken our place. We are forgiven and free.

Christians also give witness that the way of the cross is the way of the kingdom of God. We give witness that political power and military might cannot change the heart of a person, and it is only within the heart that the kingdom of God can take root. The suffering love revealed in Jesus crucified is the way of the kingdom; all other ways are human enterprises that will ultimately fail to create the fruit of love, joy, peace, and righteousness that characterize the ethics of the kingdom of God.