"And in their footsteps We sent Jesus the son of Mary, confirming the Torah that had come before him: We sent him the Gospel: therein was guidance and light, and confirmation of the Torah that had come before him: a guidance and an admonition to those who fear Allah."
(Surah Al-Maidah Ayat 46)

What is the Gospel of Jesus? Why do christians have four Gospels? Why does the Koran call Jesus by the following names: - The Prophet (El-Nabi)? - The Messiah (El-Massih)? - Mary' son (Ibn Maryam)? - The Word (Kalimatu'Allah)? Do you believe in God and in Jugement day?

During his stay on the earth Jesus did not write any book, it is his disciples who reflect in writing upon what their master did and preached. Injil is the Gospel, the message of God communicated by that which Allah sent to the world: Isa.

The word "Gospel" is the translation of the Greek "euaggelion" which would mean "good news". The Gospel is the good news of the arrival of the Messiah, God is achieving the promise made to Abraham (Ibrahim): "all peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (Tawrah: Genesis ch.12 v.3) and in David (Sidna Daoud) "I have sworn to David my servant: I will establish your line forever and make your throne firm through all generations" (Zabur ch.89 v.3-4). God establishes his reign by sending Jesus a descendant of Abraham and David.

The New Testament (second part of the Bible) consists of 27 books, of which the first four bear the name of « Gospel ». These 4 accounts enable us to learn about the life and the teaching of Jesus. We read in the Gospel written by Luke that: "Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us" (ch.1 v.1) in the time of Jesus. These people were disciples of Jesus: Mark, Luke, Matthew and John. Mark collected the information necessary for the writing of his Gospel after having been the secretary of Apostle Peter and the collaborator of Apostle Paul. Luke was a doctor in Greek Culture, he wrote his Gospel after talking to eyewitnesses, so that his readers may "know the certainty of the things that have been taught" (ch.1 v.4). As for Matthew and John, they were chosen by Jesus and followed Him during His last 3 years on earth.

In the Old Testament (fist part of the Bible) we observe that the names given to people, reveal their identity or, refer to their mission. For example, the name of Abraham means his vocation to be the father of many nations. Another example is the name, of Isaac, which evokes the burst of laughter of his wife when she learned that she would be pregnant at an advanced age. Also the name of Jacob means : "the supplanter", "the one who passes before the others". Jacob lied to his father and misled his brother, then he fled for fear of being killed.

We read in the Gospel written by Matthew that an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph (Yusuf) in a dream saying: "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins" (ch.1 v.20-21).

The name of Jesus (or Iêsous in Greek) is a hellenic form of the Hebraic name Yeshua which means : "Yahve saves" or "God saves".

The Prophet.

In the Torah (Al-Tawrah) of Moses (Musa) we read: "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers (the israelites). You must listen to him" (Deuteronomy ch.18 v.15). Further, in another verse God said to Moses: "I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him" (Deuteronomy ch.18 v.18).

Extract of the Gospel according to the disciple John: "The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, "Follow me." Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, 'We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.' 'Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?' Nathanael asked. 'Come and see,' said Philip" (ch.1 v.43 to 46).

A prophet like Moses. There are similarities between Jesus and Moses. Here are just a few: Shortly after his birth, Jesus was saved by God from a certain death just like Moses was. Jesus and Moses were both descendants of Isaac and Jacob. Jesus like Moses achieved miracles. Jesus like Moses was transfigured on a mountain. Jesus like Moses was always in the presence of God. The authority of Jesus represented the authority of God in the same way as that of Moses.

The apostles took Jesus for a prophet, until the day when Simon-Peter discovered his read identity : that of the Messiah (see Gospel according to Matthew ch.16 v.16).

The Messiah.

The word Messiah is the English translation of the Hebraic word Mashiah, Masih is the Arabic form. The word Christ comes from the Greek "Chritos" which also means Messiah, that is to say the Anointed one who receives annointing. The ritual of the unction oil was reserved to the future king of Israel, it symbolizes the investment of the king by the Holy Spirit and makes him the representative of God at the head of his people.

We read in the Gospel of Matthew that Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan: "As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he (John the Baptist) saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him" (ch.3 v.16).

In the next chapter Jesus went to the synagogue of Nazareth: "And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing" (Luke ch.4 v.16-21).
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"After this, Jesus travelled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God" (Luke ch.8 v.1).

The son of Mary.

We read in the Koran: "We made her and her son a sign for all peoples" (surah 21:91) and in the Bible: "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel" which means: “God with us” (book of the prophet Isaiah ch.7 v.14). Indeed, a few centuries after this prophecy, an angel was sent to Mary (see surah 19:10), this messenger announced to her that she will give birth to a son ("pure" according to the Koran, "saint" according to the disciple Luke) conceived by the Spirit of God (see surah 66:12 and Luke ch.1 v.35) without any human intervention.

Because of an edict from Caesar Augustus ordering a census, Mary and Joseph left Nazareth to go to Bethlehem in order to register. It is in this village that Jesus was born, as Prophet Micah had predicted: "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times" (ch.5 v.2).

The Word.

In verse 45 of the surah Al-Imran we read:
"O Mariyam, Allah announces His Word to you", and in another translation:
"O Mary! God announces to you the good news of a verb emanating from him..."

In verse 39 of the surah Al-Imran, John (Yahya) is called the "confirmer" of word sent to Mary. Indeed, as stated by the prophet Isaiah, John was "the voice of one calling in the desert: Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him" (see Matthew 3:3 and Isaiah 40:3). When John saw Jesus come to him he exclaimed: "This is the one I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me' " (John ch.1 v.30).

A word is a means of communication, the invisible God reveals himself in His Word that he sent in the world: "His Word which he placed in Mary, a Spirit emanating from him..." (Surah An-Nisa' Ayat 171).

We notice in reading the Koran and the Torah that is by his word that God created the heaverns and the earth: "When He decreeth a matter, He saith to it: 'Be,' and it is" (Surah 2 v.117), "And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light." (Genesis ch.1 v.3). Jesus is thus the creative Word, God and Its Word are as one, which explains why Jesus declares: "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30). The title of « Rouh-Allah » (Spirit of God), attributed to him by the Koran, confirms his presence at the moment of creation: "the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters" (Genesis ch.1 v.2) as well as his unity with God.

Jesus is indeed the Word of God makes flesh John's Gospel affirmed: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ... He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him (the Jews), to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God" (N.T. ch.1 v.1-13).

According to the Koran and Hadith, at the end of time all men will arise and stand in front of God. At the moment of judgement, a book will be read (see surah 17 ayat 13-15) and every man must account for the sins which he commited during his life. "On the Day that the Hour will be established,- that Day shall (all men) be separatedd one from the other" (surah Ar-Rum Ayat 14).

The judgement of God according to the Revelation of John (Jesus' close friend): "Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire" (N.T. Revelation ch.20 v.11-15).

Because of their disobedience Adam and Eve (Hawa) were expelled from paradise, direct contact with God was broken and mankind fell under the dominion of sin. Since the creation of the first man and woman, no human except Jesus was able to answer God's calling. We read in the Bible: "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one" (N.T. Romans ch.3 v.10-12, O.T. Psalms ch.14 v.3 and ch.53 v.3, Ecclesiastes ch.7 v.20). The Koran also confirms that man is a sinner: "Truly man is, to his Lord, ungrateful; And to that (fact) he bears witness (by his deeds)" (surah 100 ayat 6 and 7). The prophet Mohammed recognized himself as a sinner too as he was asking for the forgiveness of his faults (see verses of the surah 40:55, 47:19 and 48:2). Mankind was thus definitively lost because God is holy (= without sin) and just, He doesn't consider sinners as innocent (see Torah : Exodus ch.34 v.7 and Numbers ch.14 v.18). But as God loves us and wants to save us, he chooses a solution that will once and for all resolve the problem of sin.

We read in the Gospel written by John: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (ch.3 v.16). When John the Baptist (Yahya) saw Jesus coming to him he said: "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world ! " (ch.1 v.29). Jesus is the lamb without defect who was offered in sacrifice for us.