The other aspect of Jesus' message was his invitation of people to follow his 'way'. Prophets brought divine laws or confirmed those brought by previous prophets, and invited people to worship God by obeying the divinely revealed laws. They also practically demonstrated for their followers how one should live by the law. Consequently, they also invited those who believed in them to follow their way as the correct way to come close to God.
This principle is enshrined in the Gospel according to John 14:6: "Jesus said to him, "I am the way and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but by me."
Although those who worship Jesus commonly quote this verse as part of the evidence for his divinity, Jesus did not invite people to worship himself instead of God, or as God. If these words were actuaJly spoken by Jesus, what they mean is that one cannot worship God except in the way defined by the prophets of God. Jesus emphasized to his disciples that they could only worship God by the way which he had taught them.
The way of the prophets is the only way to God, because it was prescribed by God Himself and the purpose of the prophets was to convey God's instructions to mankind. Without prophets, people would not know how to worship God. Consequently, all prophets informed their followers of how to worship God. Conversely, adding anything to the religion brought by the prophets is incorrect.
Jesus' Way
First and foremost, it must be realized that Jesus was the last in the line of Jewish prophets. He lived according to the Torah, the law of Moses, and taught his followers to do likewise. In Matthew 5:17-18, Jesus stated: "Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the {way on the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them. For, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished."
Sadly, about five years after the end of Jesus' ministry, a young rabbi called Saul (of Tarsus) claimed to have seen Jesus in a vision and began to change Jesus' way. Paul (his Roman name) had considerable respect for Roman philosophy and he spoke proudly of his own Roman citizenship. His conviction was that non-Jews who became Christians should not be burdened with the Torah in any respect. The author of Acts 13:39 quotes Paul as saying, "And by him every one that believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses." It was primarily through the efforts of Paul that the Church began to take on its non·Jewish character. Paul wrote most of the New Testament letters (epistles), which the Church accepts as the official doctrine and inspired Scripture. These letters do not preserve the Gospel of Jesus or even represent it; instead Paul transformed the teachings of Christ into a Hellenic (Graeco-Roman) philosophy.
The following are some examples of teachings which Prophet Jesus followed and taught, but which were later abandoned by the Church. However, most of these teachings were revived in the final message of Islām brought by Prophet Muhammad and remain a fundamental part of Muslim religious practices until today.
According to the Old Testament, this tradition began with Prophet Abraham, who was himself neither a Jew nor a Christian. In Genesis 17:10, it is written that God said to Abraham "This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your descendants after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised."
In the Gospel according to Luke 2:21: "And at the end of 8 days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb." Consequently, to be circumcised was a part of Jesus' way.
However, today most Christians are not circumcised, because of a rationale introduced by Paul. He claimed that circumcision was the circumcision of the heart. In his letter to the Romans 2:29, he wrote: "He is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart, spiritual and not literal." In his letter to the Galatians 5:2, he wrote: "Now I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you." This was Paul's false interpretation. On the other hand, Jesus did he say anything about "circumcision of the heart"; he kept the "everlasting covenant" and was circumcised in the flesh.
Jesus followed the laws of Moses and he did not eat pork. Leviticus 11 :7·8 says: "And the swine, because it parts the hoof and is cloven-footed but does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. Of their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch; they are unclean to you." (see also, Deuteronomy 14: 8).
Jesus also did not eat anything containing blood, nor did he eat blood. God is recorded as having instructed Prophet Moses in the Torah, Leviticus 19:26,"You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it." Particular rites of slaughter were prescribed by God for all the nations to whom prophets were sent, in order to ensure that most of the blood was effectively removed from the slaughtered animals and to remind human beings of God's bounties.
Jesus and his early followers observed the proper method of slaughter by mentioning God's name and cutting the jugular veins of the animals while they were living to allow the heart to pump out the blood.
Jesus consecrated himself to God and therefore abstained from alcoholic drinks according to the instructions recorded in Numbers 6:1-4: "And the Lord said to Moses, 'Say to the people of Israel, When either a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of the Nazirite, to separate himself to the Lord, he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink..."
As to the 'miracle of turning water into wine', it is found only in the Gospel of John, which consistently contradicts the other three gospels. As mentioned earlier, the Gospel of John was opposed as heretical in the early Church, while the other three Gospels were referred to as the Synoptic Gospels because the texts contained a similar treatment of Jesus' life (The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, vol. 5, p. 379). Consequently, New Testament scholars have expressed doubt about the authenticity of this incident.
Prior to making formal prayer, Jesus used to wash his limbs according to the teachings of the Torah. Moses and Aaron are recorded as doing this in Exodus 40:30-1, "And he set the laver between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it for washing, with which Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet... as the Lord commanded Moses. "
Jesus is described in the Gospels as prostrating during prayer. In Matthew 26:39, the author describes an incident which took place when Jesus went with his disciples to Gethsemane: "And going a little farther he fell on his and prayed..."
Christians today kneel down, clasping their hands, in a posture which cannot be ascribed to Jesus. The method of prostration in prayer followed by Jesus was not of his own making. It was the mode of prayer of the prophets before him. In the Old Testament, Genesis 17:3, Prophet Abraham is recorded to have fallen on his face in prayer; in Numbers 16:22 & 20:6, both Moses and Aaron are recorded to have fallen on their faces in worship; in Joshua 5: 14 & 7:6, Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshipped. In Kings 18:42, Elijah bowed down on the ground and put his face between his knees. This was the way of the prophets through whom God chose to convey His word to the world; and it is only by this way that those who claim to follow Jesus will gain the salvation which he preached in his Gospel.
The women around Jesus veiled themselves according to the practice of the women around the earlier prophets. Their garments were loose and covered their bodies completely, and they wore scarves which covered their hair. In Genesis 24:64-5: "And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she alighted from the camel, and said to the servant, 'Who is the man yonder, walking in the field to meet us?' The servant said, 'It is my master.' So she took her veil and covered herself." Paul wrote in his first letter to the Corinthians, "But any woman who prays or prophesies with her head unveiled dishonours her head - it is the same as if her head were shaven. For if a woman will not veil herself, then she should cut off her hair: but if it is disgraceful for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her wear a veil." Some may argue that it was the general custom of those times to be completely veiled. However, that is not the case. In both Rome and Greece, whose cultures dominated the region, the popular dress was quite short and revealed the arms, legs and chest. Only religious women in Palestine, following Jewish tradition, covered themselves modestly.
According to Rabbi Dr. M. Brayer (Professor of Biblical Literature at Yeshiva University), it was customary that Jewish women went out in public with a head-covering which, sometimes, even covered the whole face, leaving only one eye free. He further stated that "during the Tannaitic period, the Jewish woman's failure to cover her head was considered an affront to her modesty. When her head was uncovered she might be fined four hundred zuzim for this offence (Ref: The Jewish Woman in Rabbinic Literature).
The famous early Christian theologian, St. Tertullian (d. 220 CE), in his famous treatise, 'On The Veiling of Virgins' wrote, ''Young women, you wear your veils out on the streets, so you should wear them in the church; you wear them when you are among strangers, then wear them among your brothers..." Among the Canon laws of the Catholic church until today, there is a law that requires women to cover their heads in church (Ref: Clara M. Henning, Religion and Sexism). Women from Christian denominations, such as the Amish and the Menonites for example, remain veiled to the present day.
Jesus greeted his followers by saying Peace be upon you. This greeting was according to that of the prophets, as mentioned in the books of the Old Testament.
E.g.1: John 20:19: "Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be with you..."
E.g.2: 1st Samuel 25:6, Prophet David instructed emissaries whom he sent to Nabal: "And thus you shall salute him: 'Peace be to you and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have.'"
According to the Gospels, Jesus fasted for forty days. Matthew 4:2: "And he fasted forty days and forty nights." This was in accordance with the practice of the earlier prophets. Moses is also recorded in Exodus 34:28, to have fasted: "And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water."
In the Qur'ān, the believers are instructed to observe fasting: "O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, in order that you may become pious." (Qur'ān, 2:183)
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