Jesus cried on the Cross; “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!”

The sign of Jonah is related in the Bible:

The Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights. From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said: In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry. (Jonah 1:17, 2:1,2)

The sign given to the Ninevites by Jonah was he was saved from certain death. He stayed for a period of time in danger, but ultimately recovered. He went alive into the belly of the fish, stayed alive for days, and came out alive.

The same fate was prophecied for Jesus. He would enter the tomb alive, stay alive for days, and come out alive. If Jesus had died, there would be little resemblance to Jonah.

The story of Jonah is one of survival — not revival.

Blood and Water: Gushed from the spear wound, a sign of a beating heart. Corpses Do Not Bleed

An important piece of information is mentioned in the Gospel of John which supports the view that Jesus did not die on the cross:

"One of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water" (John 19:34).

Blood pouring out is a sign of intact circulation, with the spear injuring an arteriole. Note the words 'sudden flow' which implies blood pressure. The 'water' was perhaps pleural fluid, present between the rib cage and lungs.

As blood does not rush out of corpses, the quoted verse did present a problem to at least one Church Father, Origen. In his exegesis of John 19:34, he admitted that blood coagulates after death, but the flow of blood in this case constituted a miracle and thus needed no explanation. (Contra Celsus, by Origen, translated by H. Chadwick, Cambridge U).

The spear thrust into the side of Jesus was not meant as a kind of definitive blow, but as a rough (and actually inaccurate) indicator if death had occurred. If the intent were to kill, the soldier would have stabbed into the front of the chest to injure the heart. However, in the event the person was not on the cross for sufficient length of time, death was usually caused by breaking the legs, as was done with the individuals hanging along side Jesus.

Breaking with Protocol

The Gospel testimony it should be pointed out is inconsistent on the point of the centurion wanting to ensure the death of Jesus. On the one hand, the centurion saw that Jesus was 'already dead' so he did not bother to break his legs (see "Legs not Broken") as against the demand of the Jews to hasten death by breaking his bones on account of the Sabbath (John 19:31) which was the standard protocol. On the other hand the centurion pierced Jesus' side. Was this done to cause death if he was uncertain about it? If so, why were the bones not broken also which was the standard, brutal method? How can we not assume there were some elements of sympathy from at least some of the Romans, starting from Pilate on top (see "Pilate's Plot") and going down the chain of command?

It is alleged the Romans executioners were cold, brutal and blood thirsty experts in the art of putting people to death. Not only do we have some inconsistency in actions documented on the part of the centurion, we also have what appears to a be a very sympathetic Roman officer and even a closet follower of Jesus, as marked by his words when he was looking on at the cross when Jesus supposedly died: "Truly this man was the Son of God" (Mark 15:39).

Prayer at Gethsemane:

He prayed to be rescued from death on the cross.

Prayer in the Garden

When it appeared that there was no way to avoid the devious plans of the Jews to have him crucified, Jesus prayed fervently 'to remove the cup' of death upon the cross (Mark 14:36).

Jesus had full confidence that his prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane would be accepted as he himself told his disciples:

"If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer" (Matthew 21:22).

"Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks. You parents- if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Of if they ask for fish, do you give them a snake?" (Matthew 7:7-9)

God Accepted His Prayer

The prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane was the most important and grand prayer offered by Jesus and portrayed quite vividly in the Gospels. It is inconceivable that the prayer did not reach the Divine Throne, especially as Jesus taught his disciples the power of prayer.

Indeed we need not guess. The Gospels furnish evidence that his prayer was accepted.

The Gospel of Luke states an angel came from Heaven "strengthening him" (Luke 22:43). This indicates God had heard his heart-felt prayer.

After his supplication in the garden, when Jesus was apprehended, one of his followers drew a sword, struck a servant of a high priest and cut off his ear. Jesus sternly rebuked him and said:

"Those who use the sword will be killed by the sword. Don't you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly?"(Matthew 26:52-53).

This shows Jesus was now in perfect contentment that his prayer was accepted and all could be left now in the hands of God, with no need for active self-defence.

Finally, when death looked imminent and he was in agony on the cross he cried "Eli Eli lama sabachthani"* (Matthew 27:45-46) because he did not expect that it would come to this. He fully believed the prayer would be accepted.

* Translation: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!

http://www.alislam.org/topics/jesus/

Paarsurrey says:

Please read the above Ahmadia view-point and accept the truth only if it satisfies your heart and soul, your mind and conscience;absolutely no compulsion.

My Christian friends should feel free to make any peaceful comments; even if they differ with me.

I love Jesus , Mary and Muhammad.

Thanks

I am an Ahmadi peaceful Muslim




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