Death of Jesus- Ahmadi Muslim Perspective

Jesus (peace be on him) has always been a very crucial part to the history of both Christianity and Islam. With Easter soon approaching, the topic of the Resurrection of Jesus (peace be on him) has surfaced once again. To Christians the Resurrection of Jesus (peace be upon him) is the principle edifice of faith as is mentioned in the New Testament which says, “And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain and your faith also vain” (Corinthians 15:14). To the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, however, this day does not exist as we believe that Jesus (peace be upon him) did not die on the cross and lived to be 120 years of age.

To assess the validity of the above-mentioned statement one needs to only look at the short duration during which Jesus (peace be on him) was on the cross. He was accused of declaring himself to be the King of the Jews and consequently been given the punishment of crucifixion. The incumbent governor, Pilate, did not consider Jesus to be guilty of those crimes; however, influenced by people’s aversion to Jesus’ (peace be upon him) claim to prophethood Pilate, gave him away to be crucified. Due to the will of God, Jesus was put on the cross on a Friday, the day before Sabbath, a holy day for the Jews. Therein, three to four hours after being placed on the cross, Jesus (peace be on him) was taken down. He was declared as dead when a Roman soldier pierced his side and blood and water gushed out. However, according to science, is blood not an indication of living? Moreover, the criminals crucified on the cross died ofhunger and thirst from being there for extended periods of time which could last for several days. Could three or five hours, the duration of which Jesus (peace be on him) on the Cross, have been enough for a man to starve much less die? The answer to these questions is simple: Jesus did not die on the cross. The loss of blood from Jesus’ wounds had caused him to faint which made him appear to be as dead. He was then taken to the sepulcher in a garden by Joseph of Arimathaea, one of his disciples. On the third day, he left the garden in disguise and met up with his disciples where he got his wounds treated and was given a hearty meal.

In his book, “Jesus in India” the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the Promised Messiah, Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, provides potent evidence supporting the idea that Jesus (peace be on him) was able to leave with his disciples and accomplish his purpose of prophethood, that is,preaching the message of God to the ten lost tribes of Israel. This God ordained mission of Jesus (peace be on him) can also be seen in the Gospels which states, “But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew, 15: 24). How could God have let a prophet die before he accomplished his mission? Moreover, how could have God turned deaf to the prayers of Jesus (peace be on him) when he prayed in agony, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'' God could never have let the prayers of Jesus (peace be on him) go unheard and leave him to die an accursed death and not achieving his purpose of his prophethood.