The Parables of Isa

Isa al Masih told many stories and parables during his time of earthly ministry. In fact, the Injil tells us that Jesus "did not say anything to [the crowds] without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything" (Mark 4:34).

So why did Jesus do this? Why did he speak to the crowds in parables, but explain everything to his disciples in private?

We find the answer in the gospel of Luke. There Isa says to his disciples, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, 'though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand'"(Luke 8:10).

In other words, those who have ears to hear the good news of Isa al Masih will respond in repentance and faith towards God. But there are some who will not respond. They do not have ears to hear. They do not have eyes to see. And yet even so, Allah is still completely sovereign over their spiritual deafness and blindness to His word.

Here is one of my favorite parables from Jesus. I'm curious to hear your thoughts on what he says:

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.'

But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!'

I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 18:9-14)

This is always a convicting passage for me. It's easy to become arrogant and look down on others, thinking that our good deeds somehow make us righteous before God. But as Isa clearly points out - it is the mercy of Allah alone that justifies us before God. "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

What are your thoughts on this parable? Does it resonate with you? Which person do you more closely align with - the Pharisee or the tax collector? Feel free to leave a comment below.

Worship from the Heart

There are countless ways in which we all dishonor God. One of the most common is when we cease to praise Him with our heart, and only give Him glory out of stale religious duty. In the same way that we might tell our spouse or children that we love them – while still remaining bitter on the inside – we can just as easily “pretend” to worship God with our actions and our speech.

For instance… Anyone can go to temple, mosque or church. Anyone can pray a prayer in front of others. Anyone can memorize Scripture and recite it correctly. Anyone can fast from food and drink. And anyone can call themselves a “believer”. But what does Allah truly want from us? Is He really content with all these outward acts of reverence?

When some of the religious leaders around Jesus became upset that his disciples didn’t properly wash their hands, Isa responded by saying: "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,

'This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men'" (Mark 7:6-7).

What a convicting truth this is! How many times have we honored the Lord with our lips but had our hearts far from Him? How many times have we worshipped Him in vain? How often have we acted as if our man-made traditions are actually the commandments of God? How often have we washed the outsides of our bodies while our hearts are still unclean?

The Lord is worthy of our sincerest adoration. He is “a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” (Ex. 35:6-7). He is a powerful God who “is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing” (Zeph. 3:17).

This is the God we are privileged to worship – both with our lips and with our hearts. If we only honor him with our mouths and our deeds, then it’s time to “examine [ourselves], to see whether [we] are in the faith” (2 Cor. 13:5). Do we truly yearn for the Lord with all we are? Do we seek Him with our whole being? Does our soul pant after Him “as a deer pants for flowing streams” (Ps. 42:1)?

I’m reminded of Al-Anfal 8:2: “For, believers are those who, when Allah is mentioned, feel a tremor in their hearts, and when they hear His signs rehearsed, find their faith strengthened, and put (all) their trust in their Lord.” May the name of the Lord put a tremor in our hearts. May our faith be strengthened as we put our deepest trust in Him. And may our hearts be near to Him as we worship the Lord “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23). To God be the glory forever. Amen.

Fear Allah and Obey Me

When talking to his disciples in the Injil, Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). In the Qur’an Jesus also tells us to keep his commandments: “I have come to you with a Sign from your Lord. So fear Allah and obey me” (Al-Imran 3:50).

Clearly we’re supposed to obey Isa al Masih. But why? What is the blessing of doing so?

Jesus tells us in John 15:10: “If you keep my commandments,you will abide in my love.” And look what we see in Al-Imran 3:51: “It is Allah who is my Lord and your Lord; then worship Him. This is a way that is straight.“

Jesus commands us to worship Allah because that “is a way that is straight.” That is the straight path. And when we’re on the straight path (worshiping God and obeying Jesus), we will abide in Isa’s love. What better place to be? Since Jesus is nearest to God (Al-Imran 3:45), this is an incredible blessing!

Obeying Jesus puts us exactly where we want to be – at the center of the kingdom, fearing Allah and worshiping Him.

Since we’ve been instructed to obey Jesus, what are some of his commandments that we should follow? Here are just a few:

1. Love your enemies.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matt. 5:43-44).

2. Do not be anxious about anything.
“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matt. 6:31-33).

3. Treat others as you want to be treated.
“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 7:12).

There are many more commandments of Isa to follow, but these are a great place to start. Let us remember the incredible promise we’ve been given: If we keep the commandments of Jesus, we will abide in his love.

The Kingdom of God

What is the kingdom of God?

According to Isa [Jesus], the kingdom “is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” (Matt. 13:44).

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it” (Matt 13:45-46).

In other words, the kingdom (or “malakut”) is priceless. It’s so valuable that we can joyfully give up everything we have to get it, and never regret our decision for a moment. And the second we enter the kingdom, life is radically different. Allah covers our shame and robes us with His honor. Mercy flows from our hearts as the rivers to the sea. Forgiveness abounds like the stars in the sky. Bitterness evaporates like the morning dew at sunrise. And most of all, we begin to worship God not out of duty, but out of delight!

This is what I long to communicate to all my friends – Christian, Muslim, Mormon or whatever else. The kingdom of God is emphatically NOT about religion. It is not a man-made system of traditions and regulations. It is the eternal dominion of Allah Himself, crashing into this world with glorious power and might. It is the pearl of great price, the treasure of infinite value! No wonder Jesus preached it so relentlessly.

True riches are found in God alone and in His Word, Isa al Masih. May we continue to love and worship Him with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our might (Deut. 6:5). This is what it means to live in the malakut Allah.

Terms

On this site, many transliterated Arabic words will be interchanged with their English counterpart. Here are a few of the most common:

• God - Allah
• Gospels (or New Testament) - Injil
• Jesus Christ - Isa al Masih
• Kingdom of God - Malakut Allah
• Psalms - Zabur
• Robe of Righteousness - Libas al-Taqwa
• Straight Path - Sirat al-Mustaqim
• Torah - Tawrat

Please forgive me if I've butchered any of these transliterations! If you have any additions or corrections to make, please send them to Zabur16@gmail.com

For a more detailed explanation of why this is done, please check out the About page. Thanks very much for reading!

About

This is a blog about the Malakut Allah, or "Kingdom of God." It will focus mainly on Allah [God], His Kingdom and His Word, Isa al Masih [Jesus Christ].

As you may have already noticed, the writing frequently goes back and forth between transliterated Arabic and English. Why? you might ask...

This is done in an attempt to bring Christians and Muslims together in a dialog about who God is, who Jesus is, and what it means to truly live in the malakut Allah. Since the good news of the kingdom is for everyone - regardless of language, ethnicity, culture or whatever else - it only makes sense to speak in a way that we can both understand.

My prayer is that this will be a place where God-glorifying conversations can happen freely and regularly. To Allah be the glory, and may our gracious and merciful Lord be with you always.

"You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

-Zabur 16:11