Objection · Case 10 · Islam
The strongest claims to divinity are in John, the latest Gospel, which most critical scholars think doesn’t preserve Jesus’s own words. Can’t a Muslim accept the historical Jesus and reject John’s theology?
One objection from the free evidence repository at apologetics.pro.
Response
This is the key scholarly objection, and the argument does not depend on John alone. The forgiveness of sins (Mark 2), the claim to be Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2), the Son of Man coming on the clouds at the trial (Mark 14:62, which the high priest treats as blasphemy), and Paul’s pre-Johannine attribution of divine identity to Jesus all predate John. The Trinity case assembles that Synoptic and Pauline evidence in full. John 8:58 is the sharpest single statement, but the case rests on the cumulative pattern, and a Muslim who sets John aside still has Mark and Paul to answer.
About this exhibit
This objection is to The Gospels of Mark and John.
Jesus forgave sins, which drew the reaction, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” He applied the divine name to himself, saying, “before Abraham was, I AM,” after which listeners tried to stone him…
Under Claim 03: Jesus made claims to divine authority in first century Jewish terms, so the objection that he never claimed to be God misreads the evidence.