Easter from the Muslim Perspective

This is a bit old, but I'll forget about it by this time next year.  The New Yorker published an article on how Muslim's view Easter.  The article does a good job of summing up the basic beliefs of Muslims regarding Jesus - that Jesus...

• does not hold divinity.
• was not crucified, but possibly someone else was (see the article for the range of explanations)
• did not die, but descended into heaven.  He will return at some point. 
• by extension, did not rise from the dead. 

There are more things in the article, but I wanted to focus on what the author says towards the end of the article, quoting an Imam (i.e. religious leader of a mosque):

"When Muslims and Christians meet, Sayer said, the Jesus connection can only take them so far. Getting into a deep conversation about exactly what happened to the Jesus in the Gospels versus the Jesus in the Koran only ends up emphasizing the gulf."

Anyone who says that Islam and Christianity are really the same have not taken a serious look at one of the (or probably both) belief systems.  This is not the only difference in theology, but it is possibly the most important.  And its true that it does emphasize the gulf between Muslims and Christians.  Not only that, but all the aspects of Jesus' life and nature that Muslims deny above have grave consequences:

• If Jesus was not divine, he did not bear the punishment for the sins of humanity. 
• If Jesus did not die, he did not bear the punishment for the entirety of humanity. 
• If Jesus did not rise again, he did not truly defeat the death of sin.  And followers of Jesus have no hope. 

And if any one of these are not true, we cannot enter into the holy presence of a sinless God.  (for a full discussion on that issue, see this video). 

The author concludes:

" [Sayer continues] 'In the afterlife we’ll see anyway who is wrong, who is right, what is Jesus—we will learn everything there.' Until that time comes, it might be best to focus on the kebabs."

He is half right - we will find out who is right and who is not in the afterlife (he also makes a good point that we should focus on kebabs).  When we stand before God, we will find out who and what Jesus really is.  However, leaving the discussion and focusing on "getting along" puts people in danger, from a Christian perspective.  Jesus states quite clearly in the John 14:6,

"I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me."

So it is immensely important what people believe about Jesus in this life.  Because it has eternal consequences.  And I praise God for His provision.

1 Peter 1:3-5  "³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvationthat is ready to be revealed in the last time."