The honest question Muslims ask is: Why should anyone have to die for the sins of others? Shouldn’t everyone take responsibility for their own actions?
To believe in whether Jesus ‘bared his soul unto DEATH’ , ‘and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the SINS OF MANY [Isaiah 53:7] or to believe that you can enter heaven by your own “righteous” works of the law is what will decide whether you go to eternal heaven or eternal hell!
Jesus offering himself for the sins of many is the celebrated account of the entire Bible. Strangely, the Qur’an confirms all the scriptures telling the plot of this story, but without good reason it disagrees with the conclusion of this story as something that “appeared” to have happened [Q4:157].
First of all, no one is without sin. What is clear is that Jesus is the only one who walked this earth and remained without sin! Jewish scripture say he is ‘holy’ [Isaiah 40:10 Tanakh Jewish Bible ]
Old Testament scripture describes our sinful nature and what needs to be done to save us:
“All we like sheep did go astray, we turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath made to light on HIM the INIQUITY of us all.”
Tanakh Jewish Bible Isaiah 53:6
‘But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.
Isaiah 64:6
Our righteous deeds are not sufficient as guarantee for our salvation.
Because of our sinful nature, none of us are in a position to redeem ourselves from sin NOR REDEEM OTHERS FROM THEIR SINS no matter how much we perform righteous WORKS OF THE LAW . It is only Christ, the Son of God who was the only one ever to be sinless, was qualified to die for the sins of mankind.
It is in this context, regrettable, that Muslims, are quoting the following two verses out of context:
“The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.” Deuteronomy 24:16 KJV
“The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.” Ezekiel 18:20 KJV
A sinner cannot bare the iniquity of another sinner! But Jesus, who was without sin, can: ‘and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the SINS OF MANY, and made INTERCESSION for the transgressors.’ [Isaiah 53:12 Tanakh Jewish Bible]
How did the true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob forgive the sins of the Israelites? Through the blood sacrifice of a first born spotless lamb for the forgiveness of the sins of many! Under the law of Moses, God has ALWAYS REQUIRED THE SHEDDING OF BLOOD FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS.
But the offering of animals did not really please God as this was an annual event and every year this event, even though meant to be for the forgiveness of sins, brought remembrance of the sins of previous years.
Was God pleased with the continual animal sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins? God through Isaiah said:
“To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me? saith the LORD; I am full of the burnt-offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats.”
Tanakh Jewish Bible Isaiah 1:11
As the pattern of things in heaven are holy, God sought to bring about salvation through a BETTER SACRIFICE (not through the blood of bulls and goats); but through a part of himself, through the ‘arm of the Lord’ who is ‘holy’.
Why do you think, typically, the Qur’an doesn’t explain to Muslims why Jesus was born of a virgin birth and remained without SIN unlike all mankind before and after him? (Adam and Eve SINNED). IT’S BECAUSE ONLY CHRIST WHO WAS HOLY COULD DIE FOR THE SINS OF OTHERS.
The Torah teaches individual responsibility and forgiveness through a substitute sacrifice that bears our sin. That exactly was what Jesus did, He died in our place. He was the sacrifice for the whole world’s sins on that cross.
“And He [God] saw that there was no MAN, and was ASTONISHED that there was no INTERCESSOR; therefore His OWN ARM brought SALVATION unto Him; and His righteousness, it sustained Him;”
Tanakh Jewish Bible Isaiah 59:16
The prophecy on the crucifixion of Jesus in Isaiah 53 in the Jewish scripture long before the Roman Empire, the New Testament, Paul, the Popes, Nicea and other conspiracy theories gives an clear account of the righteous and innocent servant ‘WOUNDED BECAUSE OF OUR TRANSGRESSIONS’, ‘he was CRUSHED because of OUR INIQUITIES’ , ‘SMITTEN of God’ ‘the LORD hath made to light on him the iniquity of us all’, ‘as a LAMB that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before her shearers is dumb’ , ‘for he was CUT OFF out of the land of the LIVING’, ‘for the transgression of my people to whom the STROKE WAS DUE’ ‘And they made his grave with the wicked’ ‘although he had done no violence, neither was any DECEIT IN HIS MOUTH. Yet it pleased the LORD to CRUSH him’ because he bared his soul unto DEATH’ , ‘and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the SINS OF MANY, and made INTERCESSION for the transgressors.’
Jesus Christ was that spotless/sinless (holy) firstborn lamb who would replace the temporary animal sacrifices for sin with a permanent and better (holy) sacrifice for the sins of many.
‘The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
John 1:29 KJV
Jesus said :”Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to DEATH, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.”Matthew 20:18-19 KJV
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
John 3:16-17
Jesus said:”Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.”John 15:13-14 KJV
“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
2 Corinthians 5:21
WE ARE SAVED BY THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF FAITH AND NOT BY THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE LAW
“Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—
Galatians 3:11-13
When we accept Jesus as our savior and follow the will of God, we are GUARANTEED of a place in God’s kingdom and we become sealed with his righteousness and it is this righteousness that will allow us to live in the presence of our holy God in heaven. We can never achieve righteousness through the works of the law because the law curses us.