Did Jesus really die on the cross?
Our Muslim friends often say Jesus wasn’t crucified – that God took Him to heaven, and someone else who looked like Him was crucified.
But this raises big questions.
If that’s true, why would God let everyone believe that Jesus died for 600 years before Muhammad came? That doesn’t sound like something a good and honest God would do. And if God really wanted to save Jesus, why not do it in front of everyone? That would have shown His power clearly.
Now, let me ask you three simple questions:
- Which is greater: saving someone by taking Him away, or letting Him die and then raising Him back to life?
– Christians believe raising Jesus from the dead shows God’s greater power. - Which is a greater victory: escaping death or defeating it?
– Jesus defeated death by dying and rising again. - What brings more glory to God: violence, escape, or choosing to suffer out of love and then rising in victory?
– Jesus chose love and showed power by rising again.
Many eyewitnesses saw Jesus die and rise again. His mother, friends, and even Roman soldiers were there. They never said it was someone else. Jesus spoke from the cross, forgave His enemies, and showed great love—things no impostor would do
Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
After His resurrection, Jesus showed His wounds to His followers to prove it was really Him. These are powerful signs that He truly died and rose again.
Why did Jesus have to die?
Because death came into the world through sin. Adam, the first man, disobeyed God, and all people have sinned since. The punishment for sin is death. We needed someone to take that punishment for us.
Jesus, who never sinned, died in our place. Then He rose from the dead to show that He had beaten sin and death. That’s how we can be forgiven and have a restored relationship with God.
Jesus’ death wasn’t a mistake. It was God’s plan to save us.