Judaism and Islam both reject claims that Jesus was a divine Son of God or part of a Trinity, viewing him instead as a human messenger of the one God who never made such claims about himself.

Jewish tradition holds that the era of Jewish prophecy ended with Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, yet biblical and rabbinic sources (such as Micah and the Midrash on Deuteronomy 33) leave room for non-Jewish prophets and leaders who can serve God’s purposes for other nations and even aid Israel.

True monotheistic pluralism, as reflected in verses from Micah and the Qur’an, allows multiple valid paths to the one God rather than a zero-sum exclusivism; correctly understood, later revelations like the Gospels and Qur’an expand rather than replace earlier ones.

The Gospels frequently claim that Jesus was a Divine Messiah predicted by the Prophets of Israel; especially Prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Jews (and Muslims) reject this claim, and the claim of any person who claims to be a Divine messenger, instead of a messenger of the one God. 

Jews (and Muslims) believe that while the Hebrew Prophets did predict God would anoint a descendant of Prophet David to be a spiritual and political liberator, this Messiah must be a human being. Prophet Jesus would never have said that he was the Son of God.

 As the Qur’an states: “Allah will say: Jesus the son of Mary! Did you say to people, “Worship me and my mother as gods in derogation of Allah’?” He will say: “Glory to You, never would I say what I had no right (to say). Had I said such a thing, you would indeed have known it. You know what is in my heart …” (5:116)

Thus both Islam and Judaism believe that Jesus never claimed to be the Son of God, although some of his disciples said that about him; especially after he was gone and could not rebuke them. 

As the Qur’an states: “O People of the Book (Christians) commit no excesses in your religion: nor say of Allah anything but the truth. Christ Jesus the son of Mary was (only) a messenger of Allah, and His Word, which He bestowed on Mary, a spirit proceeding from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers. Say not ‘Trinity’: desist: it will be better for you: for Allah is one Allah: Glory be to Him above having a son.” (4:171) 

So what kept most Jews in Medina from seeing that Prophet Muhammad could be a non-Jewish prophet, who like King Cyrus of Persia, was proclaimed a Messianic figure by Prophet Isaiah (45:1)

First, and most important, all Jews believe that the long period of Jewish prophecy that began with Prophet Abraham, ended about 1.200 years later, with Prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, who lived towards the end of the sixth century BCE; that began with the destruction of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem and the exile of part of the Jewish People to Babylonia.

Perhaps this is the reason many first century Jews believed Jesus was not an original prophet; but was a revived Biblical prophet: “Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man [the term Jesus used to describe himself] is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the [other] prophets.” (Matthew 16:13-14, Mark 8:27-28, and Luke 9:18-19)

And perhaps this is why Prophet Jesus stresses so strongly that he has not come to replace, but only to enhance Judaism: “Do not think that I have come to abolish Torah laws, or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to........

© Eurasia Review