Death on The Cross? — Page 2
The Death of Jesus. The death of Jesus is an equally controversial affair with the Jews, the Christians and the Muslims. The Jews believe that Jesus died on the cross because he was a false prophet. In this regard they quote the Bible. "And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree. . . . is the accursed of. God. . . . " (Deut. 21:22-23). . According to them, Jesus was a false prophet; therefore he died on the cross as the accursed of God. . The Christians also believe that Jesus was hanged on the cross and died an accursed death. Paul says: "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree. " (Galatians 3:13). But the Holy Quran declares that Christ did not die on the Cross. . God saved him from death by crucifixion, in the same way as He saved His dear ones from tribulations. Did not Jonah, the prophet, come out alive from the belly of the whale?. The fact of the matter is that Jesus Christ only fell into a swoon on the Cross, but when he was taken down from it he recovered. He then died a natural death at the good old age of 120. . On the strength of the belief that Jesus was a false prophet the Jews, particularly the Pharisees of his time, brought serious political charges against him. They alleged that he was disloyal to the Roman. Emperor and that he had claimed himself to be the King of the Jews. . The governor, Pontius Pilate was not convinced of his guilt but being influenced by the tumult of the multitude, he delivered Jesus to be crucified. They put him on the cross where he remained, at the most, for three or four hours only and then was taken down in a comatose state and placed in a sepulchre in a garden nearby. . In those times, it took several days for criminals to die by crucifixion. They suffered the pangs of hunger and thirst and in most 2