John 14
6. Jesus said to him: “I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.
This seems to point to a new saying, unrelated to the previous discussions, as the reply of Jesus does not answer Thomas’ question in the previous verse. The answer of Jesus points to the method of attaining salvation, the way leading to God, which Jesus’ closest companions would have known by now. The statement about Jesus being the way and none able to get to God without him has often resulted in many Christian interpreters arguing that Jesus is the only way to God, and that all other passages, past and future are closed. Some Christians have even gone so far as to state that those who have never heard of Jesus will still be damned to hell for eternity.
This obviously is not the case. If this interpretation is to be followed, then it would imply that all those who were born before Jesus are also damned. However, Christian interpreters argue that if anyone were to believe in the prophecies of Jesus in the Old Testament, they would be saved from damnation. There are numerous problems with this interpretation as well. Firstly, the vast majority of the non-Jewish world are now condemned, since they never had the opportunity to read these prophecies in the Old Testament; but the vast majority of Jews are also condemned, since there is no mention of Jesus or any future saviour for that matter in the Torah, implying that all the Jews Moses saved were damned. There is no mention of Jesus or any Messiah in the Deuteronomistic history, or Chronicles, again implying that all those born before the time of King David are also damned. See under Mark 1:1 for the first time a Saviour is spoken of; it is shown that the concept of a Saviour King, or Messiah was relatively recent in Jewish history (just a few hundred years prior to the coming of Jesus) and thus these people may have been saved if the interpretation of the Christians is to be followed. All in all, it is without doubt unjust and not befitting the All-Loving God believed by both Christians and Muslims.
The meaning of Jesus’ statement is that Jesus is the way to God at that time, the way to God before Jesus was through the prophets, and during Jesus’ time, it is no doubt through him. However, whenever a new prophet is sent, then the door to salvation is through him, as such the Holy Prophet Muhammad (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) through whom Islam was brought about into the world, his teachings and way of life now override that of Jesus.
Syed Ahmad
http://muslimcommentaryofbible.wordpress.com
