Beloved Muslim Brothers and Sisters,
·
You may all know from the Koran that Isa is a genuine prophet
and messenger of God. He has also
been called the Messiah and the Word of God in the Koran.
·
Christians call Isa Jesus and have a very special relationship
of love with him.
·
The Gospel books have many stories about Isa. Isa himself teaches by
telling short stories, called parables,
which are intended to illustrate a moral
lesson.
·
I will share one such parable
with you, on the topic of love and
friendship.
So one day, an expert in the law asked Isa, “What must one do to inherit eternal life?” And Isa asked
him “what is written in the Torah?”
and he replied “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.” Jesus replies, “You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live.
The expert of the law then asks, “Who is my neighbour?” So Isa began
telling a parable.
A man
was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho,
when he was attacked by robbers.
They stripped him, beat him, and left him half dead.
A priest
going down the same road saw the
man, but passed by on the other side.
A Levite also saw the man and did
the same. It’s interesting to note that in the culture of that time, anyone who touched a dead man would be unclean.
So the priest and Levite might use the excuse that they didn’t want to touch
the man because he might have been dead and touching him would have kept them
from serving God in the temple.
However, they were doing “down” the
road, and Jerusalem is on a hill, which meant they were leaving
Jerusalem after finishing their duties,
so that excuse of being unclean for worship cannot be used. They clearly know
the law of loving one’s neighbours.
From this, we see a demonstration of hypocrisy.
But a Samaritan
saw him, take pity on him, went towards him, and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. All signs of compassion
and care.
He then put this man on his donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day, the Samaritan paid money to the innkeeper
and said ‘look after him, and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra
expenses you may have.’
So my friends, who is the neighbour of the man who fell to the hands of the
robbers?
When Jesus asked the expert in the law this
question, what do you think he replied? Interestingly, this expert in the law couldn’t
bring himself to saying “the good Samaritan”, and replied “the one who had
mercy on him!”
And Jesus told the expert in the law, “Go and do likewise.”
It is interesting to note that there was enmity between the Jews and the
Samaritans at that time. Although they were all descendants of Abraham, and therefore brothers, a division occurred where Israel divided
into the northern and southern kingdoms.
The north was destroyed first by outside invaders.
Then the south was destroyed later. Subsequently, the exiles from the southern kingdom were permitted to return and rebuild Jerusalem. However, the new inhabitants of the northern
kingdom, called the Samaritans,
vigorously opposed the repatriation
and hence the enmity. The Jews
detested the mixed marriages and worship
of the Samaritans. So the Jews had no
dealings with the Samaritans, even though they are all brothers and sisters who worshipped the God of Abraham, just like we
all are.
Conclusion:
·
The Samaritan’s actions were a true demonstration of love because he had no prior relationship with the wounded
man and he would not gain anything
materially from his actions. Instead, he loses time and money!
·
In contrast, the priest and
Levite follow the Torah so strictly,
yet failed to keep the primary principle of the law which is
to love!
·
So let us ask ourselves today, are we good
neighbours?
Islamic worldviews
l Islam in Arabic means “submission (to God).”
l Fiercely monotheistic: To Muslims, the biblical teaching of the
deity of Jesus Christ is thus polytheistic and blasphemous. The Koran declares:
"They surely disbelieve who say: ‘Lo! Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary’…
[and] ‘Lo! Allah is the third of three’; when there is no God save the One
God…. The Messiah, son of Mary, was no other than a messenger" (Sura
5:72-75).
l Calls Jesus Isa: revere Jesus as a genuine prophet and messenger of
God, and many expect his return at the Last Day. Muslims even accept his virgin
birth and his miracles. Jesus is spoken of nearly 100 times in the Koran, as
the Messiah, the Word of God, the Messenger of God, the Prophet of God. But not
Son of God.
l That God is One, in three Persons, is a mystery that Christians
accept on faith, realizing that God is not limited by our human inability to
fathom the mysteries of divine existence beyond time and space. But to Muslims,
it is sacrilegious nonsense.
l The Koran itself declares that Christians worship three gods. The
Muslims regard the Koran as infallible. The Bible was originally an authentic
revelation from Allah, but has become altered and corrupted in the process of
transmission from one generation to another. Its greatest
"distortion" is to picture the man Jesus as God in the flesh.
l "They slew him not nor crucified…" (Sura 4:157). Muslims
regard it as inconceivable that a prophet of God could have suffered such an
ignominious death.
l Muslims, by contrast, see no need for a Savior. They believe that a
right relationship with God can be achieved by their own striving for
righteousness. Right belief and good works bring God’s forgiveness, they
maintain.
l Muhammad is the Counselor or Comforter promised by Jesus in John
16:7. Whereas in Christianity, The Holy Spirit, the third Person of the
Godhead, is the Comforter.
l Samuel Zwemer (1867-1952), the great Christian missionary to Islam,
concluded, "After forty years’ experience, I am convinced that the nearest
way to the Muslim heart is the way of God’s love." Muslim converts to
Christianity report that many Muslims have a deep spiritual hunger that has not
been satisfied. Many desire to know God more intimately—to be assured of his
love, forgiveness and acceptance.
l Islam is built heavily on legalistic observances intended to prepare
a person for future judgment. Muslims have no definite assurance of salvation
until they reach that final day. When Muslims learn of Jesus’ life of love and
forgiveness, and come to know him as a living, personal Saviour, he is
irresistible.
l In the Islamic world, separation of church and state is unknown.
Conversion to Christianity may thus be taken as a rejection of family, culture
and country—with potentially dire consequences.
l Do not attack Islam. Criticism of Muhammad and the Koran is
insensitive and counterproductive.
l Be an example. To Muslims, religion is much more than mere
acceptance of doctrine; it involves a pattern of behaviour—a way of life.
l Be a good friend, a good co-worker, a good neighbour. Let God’s love
flow through you, and offer help when needs arise.
l Be open about what Jesus Christ has done in your life. Share
insights, answered prayers and your own experiences of God’s mercy and
forgiveness. Encourage Muslims to read and reflect on the gospel accounts of
Jesus’ life.
l Beliefs Muslims hold that are not compatible with Christianity:
n Muslims believe all the prophets. Therefore Muslims feel that they
already believe in Jesus and his message.
n The Bible is corrupted and does not truly represent Jesus. This
teaching of the corruption of the Bible is so strong in many Muslim communities
that just saying ‘Bible’ can start an argument.
l First, stop using the word ‘Bible’. In its place, use the
traditional category names that our Scriptures use of themselves: Torah,
Prophets, Psalms and Gospel. We don’t simply have one book, but many books from
many prophets over about a 1500 year period. The vast majority of Muslims do
not know this. They think the Bible is one book like the Qur’an. When we use
the word Bible we make it sound like it is one book like the Qur’an.
l The Qur’an does not contain any of the books of the Bible. It only
contains what Muhammad said. Therefore, when Muslims say they believe all the
prophets what they mean is they believe everything Muhammad said about the
prophets.
l The majority of Muslims do not know what is in the Bible; they do
not know that Christians read all the prophets. Explaining to them what books
are in the Bible is a powerful lesson, and using the titles Torah, Prophets,
Psalms and Gospel for our Scriptures demonstrates all this to them. This is one
way to address the first defeater belief of Islam.
l We need to show Muslims that the Christian message is in fact the
message of all the prophets. (Acts 26:22-23)
l The gospel is new, but not novel. The books of the prophets build on
each other and are meant to be read together; this is the progressive nature of
God’s revelation.
l It’s no longer “the Bible says this and the Qur’an says that”, but
“the Torah, Prophets, Psalms and Gospel say this and Muhammad says that”.
Possible stories:
The Good Samaritan: work well at an early
point of evangelising a Muslim
Peter’s discovery of Jesus as the Son of
God: At an early stage of evangelising Muslims, this would provoke an
unintended and possibly unhelpful reaction. At a later stage it might work
Jesus and the Pharisees
Jesus and the rich young man
References:
How to tell a story:
1. Make
every story a “SAM” story!
-
Short/simple (about 3-5 minutes with a clear aim)
-
Accurate – faithful to the text of Scripture
-
Memorable
2. Identify
and use key phrases and words from the text.
3. Communicate
movement and emotions
4. Use
direct speech
5. Use
appropriate repetition to reinforce key elements of the story and help
memorisation.
6. Minimise
redundancy (saying things that aren't necessary) e.g. They listened intently to
Peter because they were eager to hear. The second part of the sentence is
redundant.
7. Get
people's attention with a good opening
8. Don't
introduce too much new material in each story (no more than three names or
'new' facts.
9. Explain
cultural information (briefly) where required.
10. Avoid
religious jargon/language
11. Put
links in your story to what has gone before and what will come after.
12. Close
well! - leave the hearers thoughtful or wanting more
Luke 10:25-37 The Parable of the Good
Samaritan:
25 On one occasion an expert in the law
stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal
life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied.
“How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with
all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied.
“Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he
asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going
down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped
him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest
happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by
on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him,
passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the
man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and
bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own
donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out
two denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and
when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a
neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one
who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
