Module 5 · Competing Religious Claims · Lesson 2
Islam and the Identity of Jesus
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Big idea
Christianity and Islam both speak highly of Jesus, but they make fundamentally different claims about His identity, crucifixion, resurrection, divine sonship, and salvation.
Learning objectives
- Identify broad mainstream Islamic affirmations about Jesus.
- Explain major differences between Islamic and Christian Christology.
- Explain Christian divine sonship without biological caricature.
- Explain the Trinity without saying three gods.
- Explain why the cross is a decisive historical and theological divide.
Primary text
Matthew 16:15–16 — “Jesus asks, “Whom say ye that I am?” Peter confesses Him as the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Scaffolded Scriptures
- John 1:1, 14 — The Word is God and becomes flesh.
- John 8:58 — Jesus speaks of preexistence.
- John 20:28 — Thomas addresses Jesus as Lord and God.
- Mark 10:45 — Jesus gives His life as a ransom for many.
- 1 Corinthians 15:3–4 — The earliest gospel proclamation centers death, burial, and resurrection.
Teaching movements
Movement 1
What Islam Broadly Affirms — Jesus is honored as Messiah, prophet, messenger, virgin-born, and miracle worker by God’s permission in mainstream Islam.
Movement 2
The Son of God Question — Christian divine sonship is not biological procreation; the disagreement concerns the eternal Son and incarnation.
Movement 3
Trinity Is Not Three Gods — Historic Christianity confesses one God in Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, not three gods or one person wearing three masks.
Movement 4
The Cross Is the Major Divide — Christianity centers atonement and resurrection on the crucifixion; mainstream Islamic tradition generally rejects the Christian account of Jesus’ crucifixion.
Movement 5
The Earliest Sources Matter — Paul’s letters predate the written Gospels and already proclaim crucifixion and resurrection.
Movement 6
Jesus Does More Than Speak for God — He forgives sins, receives worship, exercises divine prerogatives, judges humanity, and speaks with unique authority.
Movement 7
Salvation Is Different Too — The two systems frame sin, mercy, deeds, grace, reconciliation, and salvation differently.
Key terms / word study
- Lord / kyrios
- A title that can mean master and is also used in the Greek Old Testament for the divine name, making some New Testament applications to Jesus highly significant.
Christ at the center
Christian-Muslim dialogue should eventually ask: Who is Jesus, and what happened to Him? That is the central divide.
Common error to avoid
Do not reduce Christian-Muslim dialogue to pork, clothing, terrorism, or politics. Those may matter, but they are not the center.
Reflect
- What do Muslims commonly affirm about Jesus?
- Why is “Son of God” often misunderstood?
- Why is the crucifixion historically decisive?
Practice
Compare Christian and mainstream Islamic claims about Jesus’ sonship, incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, divine identity, and salvation. Identify where the portraits become incompatible.
Remember
Same name does not mean same Christology. The question remains: Who is Jesus?