Islam
Père Zakaria Boutros

The prerequisites of the Redeemer
 

The author      : Father Zakaria Boutros
The publisher:  www.fatherzakaria.com
 

The first prerequisite of the Redeemer as mentioned before is being unlimited

The second prerequisite: A human redeemer

The redeemer must be of the same specie of the redeemed & equal to him in value, so it is not possible for an animal to redeem a human as it is not of his specie or value so the redeemer must be a human to redeem the mankind

The sacrifices in the past were only symbols for the redemption as the sheep can’t redeem human, as it is not equal to him in value, neither sheep, nor ox nor any other animal

The Christ came as a human, He took a human body from Mary and God revealed in that body, so being a human and in the same time He is unlimited so fulfilling the prerequisite of the redeemer
 
The quran said in:

Women Chapter (Surat An-Nisa') 171:“The Messiah 'Iesa, son of Maryam, was a messenger of Allah and his Word, which he bestowed on Maryam and a spirit of him”

The table chapter (Surat Al-Ma'idah') 32 “We ordained for the Children of Israel that if anyone killed a person not in retaliation of murder, or to spread mischief in the land it would
Be as if he killed all mankind”

The Holy bible said:

” He raised us up together and seated us together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus, (Ephesus 2:6)

The third prerequisite: An immaculate redeemer

The redeemer must be immaculate and free from every sin, or he would dies for his own sin, and he will be in need for a redeemer for himself

Was that prerequisite fulfilled in the Christ?

The quran said in:

Mary chapter (Surat Maryam) 19:” I am a messenger from your Lord, to announce to you
The gift of a righteous son (means pure son), so the Christ is the only pure human
The family of Imran chapter (Surat Al-Imran) 36: I have named her Maryam, and I seek refuge with you (Allah) for her and for her offspring from Satan, the outcast."
Imam al-Razy said in his Tafsir (exegesis) of the word” the Christ”: he was cleared from the sins & transgressions by Gabriel’s wing at the time of his birth to protect him from Satan (1)
Narrated Abu Hurairah: I heard the prophet of Allah peace upon him said: every newborn from Adam‘s offspring has been touched by Satan at the time of his birth so he yelled screaming from his touch except Maryam (Mary) & her son
In Sahih Al-Bokhary: each son of Adam is stabbed by Satan’s finger when he is born except Iesa son of Maryam, when he (Satan) tried to stab him he stabbed in the curtain (i.e. he did not cause him any harm)
So the Christ is the only immaculate human by the testimony of the quran and the converses
The Holy Bible said:
”that if One died for all then all died” (2 Corinthians 5:14)

The Christ died for all, so all have died in him

“For by grace you are saved, through faith, and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (Ephesus 2:8)
 
“You shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21)
The Muslim should ask why specifically the Christ is without a sin.
Through the crucifixion of the Christ we were redeemed

So Apostle Paul said:” For I decided not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him having been crucified.”(1Corinthians 2:2)

For the Word of the cross is foolishness to those being lost, but to us being saved, it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18)
 

The blessings of the redemption:
 

1) The forgiveness of sins:

On the cross, the Christ said:” Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34) then he said It has been finished

He gave himself for the whole mankind
 
 
 
 

2) Restoring the relation between man and God

He opened the way between man and God, and by Himself he made the reconciliation

 2Corinthians 5:19:” for in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself by not counting their sins against them, and putting the word of reconciliation in us”

However sinner I am, the Christ is capable of forgiving me, he came for the peace and happiness for mankind

3) The salvation:

 With his mercy we were saved

“For by grace you are saved through faith, and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (Ephesus 2:8)

By the Christ were saved from the sin, the power of Satan and eternal death

You made a salvation in the whole earth when you outstretched your pure hands over the cross

4) The eternal life:

”For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is everlasting life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23)

“Stop being afraid, little flock, because your Father was pleased to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32)

Islam is affirming that also:

In Sahih Al-Bokhary:” The prophet peace upon him was saying: “no one will be admitted to the paradise except by the grace of almighty God, they said neither do you messenger of God? He replied neither do I unless I was involved by the mercy of God “

No mercy without redemption, as mercy without redemption is similar to a check without a balance in the bank, it is useless, and it condemns whoever issues it

The Christ is our intercessor in front of the Father, our intercessor and defender, supporting our feebleness

The quran is attesting for the Christ as being the intercessor
As mentioned in Prostration Chapter (Surat As-Sajdah) 32: “Allah it is he who has created the heavens and the earth ….you have none, besides him, as a protector or an intercessor.”
In the exegesis (Tafsir) of Al-Jalalin concerning the interpretation of this verse: have none, besides him, as a protector or an intercessor (meaning who can protect you from his punishment)
The family of Imran chapter (Surat Al-Imran) 45: the angels said: "O Maryam! Verily, Allah gives you the glad tidings of a word from him, his name will be the Messiah 'Iesa, the son of Maryam, held in honour in this world and in the hereafter (the afterlife), and will be one of those who are near to Allah."
All the annotators as Al-Ray, Al-Zamakhshary, Al-Baydawy, Al-Nasfy & others said: held in honor in the afterlife means the Intercession

In the converse of the day of resurrection; when they went to Adam asking him to intercede for them , he refused as he is a sinner , and so did Moses, Noah and Abraham , but when they came to Jesus he interceded for them as he was the only one without any sin

So the Christ is the intercessor in the quran

We thank God as He executed his plan for redemption, but the real disaster is that some people don’t accept the loving Godly initiative

 Dear , raise your heart in prayer and tell him Lord , you made the salvation plan for our redemption , when you came as a human to expiate us and save us, forgive my sins and raise me with you in my new life

God is waiting to hear from you as He loves you
 
 
 

(1) Al-Razy Tafsir (exegesis) part 3 page 676