Jesus and Moahmmed

Jesus and Mohammed are two prominent names in Christianity and Islam. They were both messengers of God and were tasked to preach God’s messages at a time when people of the world had other beliefs. Jesus is known in Christianity as the son of God, while Mohammed was a man who was tasked with being the “Messenger of God”. Each of their deaths played significant roles in Christianity and Islam today. Their messages are still being carried out in the world today. How did the messages of these two men, despite heavy persecution, shape these religions into what they are today?

Jesus was born in Bethlehem to a woman named Mary and a carpenter named Joseph. Many believe that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit known as the Immaculate Conception. Jesus was born in Bethlehem due to the Roman emperor wanting all the families to register in their ancestral homelands. Jesus spoke the language of Aramaic, which is close to Hebrew. It was also believed that Jesus spoke enough Greek to speak with the Roman officials at the time. One of the first things Jesus did at the beginning of his ministry was baptism by the John the Baptist. After Jesus’ baptism, several of John’s followers followed Jesus. In addition to the followers from John the Baptist, Jesus selected a few more followers which became known as the twelve disciples. Jesus then spent three years performing miracles. Jesus turned water into wine, healed sick people, and even raised a man named Lazarus from the dead. Jesus’ teachings focused primarily on the “kingdom of God”. Jesus taught that you should love everyone including your enemies. The teachings from Jesus from Jesus were basically Jewish, but these teachings did not go over very well with the Jewish leaders at the time. The Jewish leaders did not like the way in which Jesus taught on his own authority. Jewish prophets had always started their messages with “thus saith the Lord”. “You have heard it said, Do not commit adultery. But I tell you anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (TLOJ, 2004, para.13). Jesus’ popularity grew quickly among the people. Many people considered Jesus to be the Messiah, the one could free the Jewish people from Roman rule. Jesus told his disciples that he knew his end was near. The night before Jesus was executed he gathered all his disciples for the “Last Supper”. It was there that Jesus shared the wine and bread with his disciples and asked them to do this in memory of him. Jesus also knew and told his disciples that one of you will betray me. Judas was the disciple that would betray Jesus for thirty silver pieces. Jesus was arrested by the Roman soldiers and brought before the Jewish priests for a trial. Jesus told the priests that he is indeed the Messiah. The Jewish priests found Jesus to be worthy of death and handed him over to the Roman governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate. Initially, Pontius Pilate did not want to sentence Jesus to death, but eventually agreed due to the insistence of the large angry mob. Shortly after Jesus was beaten and then crucified on the cross.

Mohammed was born in Mecca in 570 AD. Mohammed’s father died shortly before his birth and his mother passed away at the age of six. He was raised primarily by his uncle who worked as a shepherd. Mohammed worked as a camel driver between Syria and Arabia. He soon began managing caravans on his own. During his travels, Mohammed came across many people of different nationalities and religions including Jews and Christians. Mohammed was employed by a wealthy widow named Khadija. The two fell in love and were married. In his thirties, Mohammed began taking regular visits to a cave on Mount Hira. Mohammed did this as a form of solitude. During a visit to Mount Hira ten years later, he came back home to tell his wife of a visit from the angel Gabriel. Mohammed was not sure if he was sane or not at this moment. Like Moses before him, Mohammed was reluctant with acquiring such responsibilities. Mohammed eventually agreed. After receiving support from his beloved wife and several more visits from angels, Mohammed was sure that he was chosen as a “messenger of God”. “Mohammed’s message to his countrymen was to convert from pagan polytheism, immorality and materialism, repent from evil and worship Allah the only true God. He was always careful to clarify his role in God’s work- he was only a prophet. He was not an angel, he did not know the mind of God, he did not work miracles. He simply preached what he received” (TLOMP,2004,para.7). In the first three months of his ministry, Mohammed had only forty followers. Both Mohammed and his followers endured heavy persecutions which lead to violence. The persecution continued until Mohammed found out that he had followers in Yathrib. The city was in need of a strong leader and they pledged