¶ Door Number Twelve
¶ The Reality of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ
¶ “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
The Crucifixion of Jesus
A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. They brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get. It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. The written notice of the charge against him read: the King of the Jews.
Jesus the Messiah (PBUH) made it abundantly clear that no one takes his life from him, but rather he has the ability to lay it down and take it up again. This means that Jesus has control over his soul and when and how and where he can incarnate. There is much debate between Christians and Muslims over the account of the Crucifixion. Christians believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, while Muslims believe that it was made to look like he died on the cross but in actuality, he was saved and raised up to God. How exactly was it an illusion and how was he raised? This is where Muslims differ and no one seems to have a precise answer. Some early Christians actually believed that Jesus (PBUH) was never crucified and just like Muslims, they believed the Crucifixion scene was an illusion. Here we examine what really happened and how the differing perspectives could be reconciled.
Some of the Gnostic Gospels that were rejected by the early church go into detail concerning this account, such as The Second Treatise of the Great Seth from the Nag Hammadi collection. In this manuscript, Jesus (PBUH) says:
And the plan which they devised about me to release their Error and their senselessness - I did not succumb to them as they had planned. But I was not afflicted at all. Those who were there punished me. And I did not die in reality but in appearance, lest I be put to shame by them because these are my kinsfolk. I removed the shame from me and I did not become fainthearted in the face of what happened to me at their hands. I was about to succumb to fear, and I (suffered) according to their sight and thought, in order that they may never find any word to speak about them. For my death, which they think happened, (happened) to them in their error and blindness, since they nailed their man unto their death. For their Ennoias did not see me, for they were deaf and blind. But in doing these things, they condemn themselves. Yes, they saw me; they punished me. It was another, their father, who drank the gall and the vinegar; it was not I. They struck me with the reed; it was another, Simon, who bore the cross on his shoulder. I[t] was another upon Whom they placed the crown of thorns. But I was rejoicing in the height over all the wealth of the archons and the offspring of their error, of their empty glory. And I was laughing at their ignorance. And I subjected all their powers. For as I came downward, no one saw me. For I was altering my shapes, changing from form to form. And therefore, when I was at their gates, I assumed their likeness. For I passed them by quietly, and I was viewing the places, and I was not afraid nor ashamed, for I was undefiled. And I was speaking with them, mingling with them through those who are mine, and trampling on those who are harsh to them with zeal, and quenching the flame. And I was doing all these things because of my desire to accomplish what I desired by the will of the Father above.
In this Gnostic account of the Crucifixion of Christ, we see that Jesus (PBUH) says that he did not die in reality but that it was only in appearance, just as the Qur’an states:
“And for their saying, ‘We have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the Messenger of God.’ In fact, they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but it appeared to them as if they did. Indeed, those who differ about him are in doubt about it.”
However, the Gnostic account goes one step further to explain how it was an illusion. In this account, Jesus (PBUH) states that although it was him who was punished and tortured, it was yet another one who drank the gall and vinegar. Jesus states that it was Simon who was crucified, in reference to Simon of Cyrene. In the Gnostic Gospel, The Apocalypse of Peter, Jesus (PBUH) further clarifies and says:
“He whom you saw on the tree, glad and laughing, this is the living Jesus. But this one into whose hands and feet they drive the nails is his fleshly part, which is the substitute being put to shame, the one who came into being in his likeness. But look at him and me.”
¶ “I Remember It. I Know It”
One day after having a rush of memories come back to me, I was speaking to Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan (From Him is Peace) and I asked him about a section of The Second Treatise of the Great Seth: “I visited a bodily dwelling. I cast out the one who was in it first, and I went in. And the whole multitude of the archons became troubled. And all the matter of the archons, as well as all the begotten powers of the earth, were shaken when it saw the likeness of the Image, since it was mixed. And I am the one who was in it, not resembling him who was in it first. For he was an earthly man, but I, I am from above the heavens. I did not refuse them even to become a Christ, but I did not reveal myself to them in the love which was coming forth from me. I revealed that I am a stranger to the regions below.” These are the words of Jesus (PBUH) in one of the Gospels of Nag Hammadi. In the Bible that people read today, it is written that when Jesus (PBUH) returned and Mary Magdalene saw him for the first time, she thought he was simply a gardener and did not recognize him and she asked him to point her towards the body that was there. In John Chapter 20 it states: “At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.”
Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan (From Him is Peace) said, “Yes.”
I said, “And in another Gnostic Gospel it states: ‘And I subjected all their powers. For as I came downward, no one saw me. For I was altering my shapes, changing from form to form. And therefore, when I was at their gates, I assumed their likeness. For I passed them by quietly, and I was viewing the places, and I was not afraid nor ashamed, for I was undefiled. And I was speaking with them, mingling with them through those who are mine, and trampling on those who are harsh to them with zeal, and quenching the flame. And I was doing all these things because of my desire to accomplish what I desired by the will of the Father above.’ Did Jesus (PBUH) enter into a body and then jump to another body and then to another body, meaning his soul went from one body to another?”
Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan (From Him is Peace) said, “Yes my son, that is what happened without a shadow of a doubt.”
I asked, “Then the soul of the look-alike entered into Jesus’ body and this occurred at the moment when Simon of Cyrene approached Jesus and lifted his cross.”
The Imam (From Him is Peace) said, “What do you say?”
I said, “I say Jesus (PBUH) said ‘If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.’ And no one took up his cross from the disciples. Only one man took up the cross of Jesus in one famous incident. When Simon of Cyrene approached Jesus in order to help him, he took up Jesus’ cross and this was the moment in which Jesus escaped and entered into Simon, and from Simon to another body, and then another, and then yet another until he escaped. I feel it, I remember it, I know it.”
The Imam (From Him is Peace) clapped his hands and said, “Great job my son, great job. Great job.”
Aba Michael (PBUH) had said concerning the look-alike of Jesus:
The look-alike was one of the disciples of Jesus, he is a martyr who sacrificed himself for Jesus the son of Mary (PBUH), just as Al-Hussein (PBUH) sacrificed himself for the Qaim (PBUH). He descended from the heavens and entered into the body of one of the companions of Jesus (PBUH).
In the Gospel of Basilides, Saint Irenaeus reports that Basilides taught that Jesus (PBUH) did not die on the cross; but that the person crucified was, in fact, Simon of Cyrene. Irenaeus quotes Basilides: “He appeared on Earth as a man and performed miracles. Thus he himself did not suffer. Rather, a certain Simon of Cyrene was compelled to carry his cross for him. It was he who was ignorantly and erroneously crucified, being transfigured by him, so that he might be thought to be Jesus. Moreover, Jesus assumed the form of Simon, and stood by laughing at them.”
Simon of Cyrene, who was honored in the Bible as being the only man who carried the cross of Jesus, was from the city of Cyrene. Cyrene is a city in modern-day Libya but was a part of Egypt before Cyrene and the Egyptian empire fell to the Romans (Figure 1). So Simon came out of Egypt and traveled all the way to Jerusalem. The soul of Joseph descended into this Egyptian man who helped Jesus carry his cross. Then Jesus and Joseph switched bodies, the soul of Jesus went into Simon, and the soul of Joseph, the substitute, went into the body of Jesus. The body of Jesus was crucified with the soul of Joseph in him. Jesus escaped the scene through the body of Simon. The look-alike of Jesus was the Companion of Egypt, Joseph.
Figure 1: Egypt in the 2nd Century BCE
¶ Prophet Joseph Is the Look-Alike
During his ministry, Jesus was accompanied by the souls of many Prophets and Messengers who were learning from him. In the Gospels, it says:
After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
When the veil was removed (Ghashawa) from the eyes of the apostles they saw the presence of Moses and Elijah with Jesus (PBUT). Is it not a logical conclusion to make that there were other Prophets and Messengers who wanted to accompany Jesus and learn from him and speak with him? It was in fact the case that Jesus, who was the dawn of God in Creation, was accompanied by almost all of the major Prophets and Messengers in his time. One of those Prophets was Prophet Joseph. Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan (From Him is Peace) said:
“And Joseph ransomed himself for Jesus and was crucified in his place and this is one of the reasons that made Joseph deserving to return as a Mahdi.”
Ibn Abbas narrates:
“Verily the Messiah (PBUH) said to those from his companions with him in his home: ‘Which one of you will be made to look like me and be killed in my place and be with me in my same rank?’ ”
So here we see, Jesus was offering his companions a chance to be in his same place and rank. And because Jesus’ rank is that of a Mahdi, the look-alike, Prophet Joseph, who was crucified in his place also deserved to be a Mahdi. We know that Joseph in the soul world is a grandson of Imam Ali (From Him is Peace) and Prophet Mohammed (PBUH & His Family) had made a Duaa that the look-alike of Jesus be a successor of Imam Ali. It was narrated that the Prince of the Believers Ali ibn Abi Talib (From Him is Peace) said one day to Huthayfa ibn Al-Yaman:
O Huthayfa, do not speak to the people about that which they do not know, lest they transgress and disbelieve. Some of the knowledge is difficult and hard to bear, if the mountains would bear it, they would not be able to. Our knowledge, the knowledge of the Ahlul-Bayt, will be denied, and called false, and its narrators will be killed and those who recite it will be subjected to abuse out of hatred and envy, due to the preference of God upon the Family of the vicegerent, the vicegerent of the Prophet (PBUH & His Family). O son of Al-Yaman, the Prophet (PBUH & His Family) spat in my mouth and placed his hand on my chest and said: ‘O Allah, grant my successor and my vicegerent and the fulfiller of my debt and the accomplisher of my promise and my trust and my guardian and the one who gives me victory over Your enemies and my enemies, and the one who relieves my calamity, grant him what You have granted Adam of knowledge, and what You have granted Noah of forbearance, and what You have granted Abraham of a good family and forgiveness, and what You have granted Job of patience in the face of tribulations, and what You have granted David of firmness when facing adversaries, and what You have granted Solomon of understanding. O Allah, do not conceal from Ali anything in this world until You place it all between his hands like a small table. O Allah, grant him the endurance of Moses and make in his lineage the look-alike of Jesus (PBUH).’
So according to the truth behind the Crucifixion of Christ, Jesus the Messiah was betrayed by Judas Iscariot, arrested by the Jews, taken to the Romans, beaten and tortured and then made to walk towards his death on the cross. Jesus Christ was approached by Simon of Cyrene and his soul left his body and entered into Simon. The soul of Jesus continued to jump and move from body to body until he escaped Jerusalem. The soul of the look-alike left Simon of Cyrene and entered Jesus’ body and was crucified in Jesus’ place. So the body of Jesus was indeed crucified. In this sense, the mainstream Christians are not wrong; however, in actuality, Jesus, the soul, was not crucified but it was only made to look so. Another soul took his place. This matter further demonstrates the concept of transmigration of the soul. The soul of Jesus was able to enter and exit out of several bodies, including his own, without being born into them and without causing the physical death of any of them. This is the true account of the Crucifixion of the body of Jesus Christ in which the people differ.
¶ Sources
- The Holy Bible, Gospel of Mark, Chapter 15, Verses 21-26
- The Second Treatise of the Great Seth, The Nag Hammadi Collection
- The Holy Qur’an, Chapter 4 (Al-Nisa), Verse 157
- The Apocalypse of Peter, The Nag Hammadi Collection
- The Second Treatise of the Great Seth, The Nag Hammadi Collection
- The Holy Bible, Book of John, Chapter 20, Verses 14-18
- The Second Treatise of the Great Seth, The Nag Hammadi Collection
- The Holy Bible, Book of Mark, Chapter 8, Verse 34
- Adversus haereses (Against Heresies), Saint Irenaeus, p. 82
- The Holy Bible, Book of Matthew, Chapter 17, Verses 1-4
- Tafsir Ibn Abi Hatim, Ibn Abi Hatim Al-Razi, Vol. 4, p. 1110
- Duaa in Arabic means a supplication to ask God for something.
- Kitab Al-Ghayba (Book of Occultation), Al-Numani, Vol. 1, pp. 142-143