#04 – Jesus

Why is Jesus often depicted with blonde hair and blue eyes?

In the year 325 AD at the council of Nicaea, a group of bishops raised Jesus as God Himself and affirmed that God had come to Earth in human form (as you will read below). I’d like to point out that Jesus has never made such a claim, there is no evidence in any scripture (the old or the new testament) where Jesus proclaimed he was God.
The image and name of Jesus were also modified to better align with the expectations of the new white Christians of that era.

• The original name of Jesus was changed:

Jesus spoke Aramaic, and his true name was “Isho” (not the Hebrew “Yeshua”), which was Latinized into “Jesus.” Additionally, the names of his disciples were also altered to sound more familiar and culturally appropriate for an European audience; for instance, Kephas became “Peter,” Yochanan became “John,” Andraus became “Andrew,” and Tau’ma became “Thomas.”

• Jesus’ skin colour was altered, but why?

During the time of Jesus, slavery was widespread, with slaves mostly being people of African, Middle Eastern, or Mediterranean descent, often with dark or olive-toned skin and black or darker hair.
Over time, however, Jesus was portrayed very differently, he was frequently depicted as a white man with pale skin, blonde or light hair, and blue eyes, an image that still persists in many churches and art, including in the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel today.

Even though it is widely known that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Palestine (now part of the West Bank), and would have looked like other people from the Middle East (perhaps resembling someone like my father, who is Algerian, with darker skin, black hair, and brown eyes) Jesus was depicted with Scandinavian features.
This white portrayal of Jesus is tied to the historical narrative of white superiority, which associates whiteness with greater intelligence, authority, beauty, and divinity, while marginalizing people of colour and erasing the true Middle Eastern identity of Jesus. The challenge the church had at the time was, if God were to come to Earth in a human form, how could He be anything other than a white man? The idea of God appearing as a person of colour or a slave would have been hard to sale, very questionable, and difficult for many to accept.

So, is Jesus God?

Jesus is God himself was a rumour made by a small group of men who witnessed his miracles and that rumour eventually became an official religious doctrine at the first council of Nicaea in 325 AD under Constantine’s ruling (See article #8 – The year Jesus became God) for more details.
When Jesus learned that some people were claiming he was God after witnessing him perform miracles, he said: “I confess before heaven, and call to witness everything that dwells upon the earth, that I am a stranger to all that men have said of me, to wit, that I am more than man. For I am a man, born of a woman, subject to the judgment of God; that live here like as other men, subject to the common miseries” (94:1)
NOTE: The Gospel of the apostle Barnabas was put on a long list of writings to be rejected by Pope Gelasius (Pope of Rome 492-96) in the “Decretum Gelasianum” as you can read in more details in article “#07 – The Bible and the missing books”.

For those who may argue that the Book of Barnabas is a fabrication, please, kindly open the bible and go to Luke 18:18-20, (this is what Jesus said in his own words): “And a ruler asked him:“Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother”.
There can be no misinterpretation, and it is very clear that Jesus said… “No one is good except God alone” (That is pure monotheism, just as Islam preaches: God alone).
Furthermore, if Jesus was God, how could he has worshipped God as described in Luke 22:41: “He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed“. Therefore, it is very clear that Jesus is not God himself if he worshipped God.

If Jesus is not God, is he the Son of God? And was he crucified, with his blood offered for the forgiveness of our sins?

If we assume that God, in His omnipotence and unlimited power, had a son, would it truly be necessary for Him to sacrifice his own son, in order to forgive our sins?

Let’s see what Jesus himself said about blood offering:
During the time of Jesus, animal blood sacrifices were a central practice in Jewish worship, especially for the forgiveness of sins at the Temple in Jerusalem. However, when we examine the Gospel of the Nazarenes, it becomes quickly clear that Jesus did not approve of these sacrifices. This is evident in his response to a question about blood offerings, as recorded in Lection 33, verses 1-2 of the Gospel of the Nazarenes: ” Jesus said to his disciples: No blood offering, of beast or bird, or man, can take away sin, for how can the conscience be purged from sin by the shedding of innocent blood? No, it will increase the condemnation”.
The Gospel of the Nazarenes was also put on the list of writings to be rejected by the church (as you can read in more details, in article” #07 – The Bible and the missing books”.)

Changing his name, his colour, his human status into a Divine God, are all fabrications, propaganda and a distortion of truth, Jesus in not God, and God does not need to be a human, for He is the Creator of humanity, not bound by human limitations or appearances. As Jesus himself said: “I confess before heaven, and call to witness everything that dwells upon the earth, that I am a stranger to all that men have said of me, to wit, that I am more than man. For I am a man, born of a woman, subject to the judgment of God; that live here like as other men, subject to the common miseries”. Peace be upon him.

So, what happened on the day of the crucifixion?

It is important to note that the crucifixion was a method of execution used by the Persians, Seleucids, Carthaginians, and Romans from around the 6th century BC to the 4th century AD. While this mode of execution no longer exists today, many countries still uphold the death penalty, employing different methods such as lethal injection, firing squad, hanging, and more…

So what happened that day? As reported in the early and late Scriptures, there are 2 theories and both theories attest that Jesus of Nazareth was not crucified that day:

• The first theory attests that it was either Simon of Cyrene or Judas (who’s appearance changed) and died crucified that day and not Jesus.

• The second theory attests that on the day of the crucifixion, there were two men with the same name Jesus: “Isho (Jesus) of Nazareth” and “Isho (Jesus) Bar-Abbas” (a petty criminal).

At the time of the crucifixion, the language spoken was Aramaic. During this period, surnames as we understand them today were not in use. People were typically identified by their given name followed by “Son of…” In Aramaic, the phrase “Isho (Jesus) Bar-Abbas” would translate to “Jesus Son of the Father.” The word “Bar” means “son” and “Abbas” means “father.” This aligns exactly with the description in the Apocryphal texts, which clearly said “Jesus, Son of the Father,” was crucified that day.

Pontius Pilate: (The man who is presumed to have ordered Jesus’ crucifixion)

Further more if it was Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified that day and not the petty criminal “Jesus son of the Father”, why would the Abyssinian Church and the Coptic (Egyptian) Orthodox Church of that time raised “Pontius Pilate”: The Equestrian Procurator of the Roman province of Judaea from AD 26-36 and the presumed executor of Jesus of Nazareth to Sainthood and assigned June 25th to St. Pontius Pilate day? The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church also recognized Pontius Pilate as a saint in the sixth century.

All these facts confirm that the early Churches of Christianity were in accordance with Islam and that the “Messiah, Jesus” (Peace be upon him) was not crucified and that he was just a humble prophet just as described in the article ” #2 – The Prophets of God”.

What the Qur’an says about Jesus?

The Qur’an relates things in great detail. There are several verses in the Qur’an which confirm Jesus’ (pbuh) mission, miracles and ascension. Verses 3:59 makes the connection between Adam and Jesus, describing how Adam was created without a father nor a mother, and Jesus was created without a father (pbut).

Jesus was a man and a great prophet of God and he was the last on the long list of prophets (Aron, Abigail, Isaac, Abraham, Jacob, Amran, Avner, Avishai, Ezra, Nehemiah, Zerubabbel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Jonah… ) that were specifically sent to guide the Children of Israel.

“They say, ‘God has taken a son (Jesus).’ Glory be to Him! Everything in the heavens and the earth belongs to Him; all things are obedient to Him. He is the Originator of the heavens and the earth, and when He decrees something, He says only, ‘Be!’ and it is.” Qur’an 2:116-117

“Indeed, they are deniers of the truth who say, ‘God is the Christ, the son of Mary.’ For the Christ himself said, ‘Children of Israel, serve God, my Lord and your Lord.’ If anyone associates anything with God, God will forbid him the Garden and the Fire will be his home. The wrongdoers shall have no helpers. They are deniers of the truth who say, ‘God is one of three.’ There is only One God. If they do not desist from so saying, a painful punishment is bound to befall such of them as are bent on denying the truth.” Qur’an 5:72-73

How Does God describes himself in the Qur’an:

Say: He is God, the One and Only, God, the Everlasting, the Unchanging; He does not father, nor was He fathered. And there is nothing comparable to Him. Qur’an chapter 112

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