Reflection
Some time ago I had opportunity to reflect on whether Jesus was a prophet. Thinking about how this is the way our Muslim friends perceive him, I dipped into Ida Glaser and Hannah Kay’s fascinating book Thinking Biblically about Islam (Langham, 2016). A key part of the book looks at the biblical account of the Transfiguration which features in all three Synoptic gospels. It is here we encounter:
I found Glaser and Kay’s evaluation of the passages, in the context of engaging meaningfully with Muslims, inspirational.
In the lead up to the event, Jesus asks His disciples, ‘Who do the people say I am?’ and ‘Who do you say I am?’ and they progress from prophet to Messiah. Jesus then predicts His suffering, which is essential to His role as Messiah (see Luke 9:28-36). In all accounts, the disciples were bedazzled by the Transfiguration and hardly knew how to respond.
The vision of Jesus’ glory at the Transfiguration powerfully conveyed to the disciples the glory of God (which Moses saw on Sinai) breaking through into their world. This inspired John to write:
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14
In Islamic thinking, God is too transcendent for the incarnation to be possible… but it does not stop Muslims from longing for God’s presence, to see His face.
The topic that Jesus was discussing with Moses and Elijah is significant too. It was about His departure – the cross. Glaser and Kay imagine Moses lamenting that after all his efforts to share God’s Law with His people, they could not live up to it (including Moses). Elijah would also be lamenting that despite all the miracles God gave to him and Elisha, they could not prevent Israel’s slide into apostasy. This is where Jesus’ role is unique – He alone as God incarnate was able to deal with the root problem of the human race, sin. That is what the ‘departure’ on the cross was to achieve.
So yes, Jesus was a prophet, just as He was a human being. But He is so much more than a prophet. He is the Messiah, the Son of God, the Eternal Word, God incarnate, and Saviour of the World. May He guide us by His Spirit as we seek to make Him known in all His glory.
