The Koran and the Bible report that in his declining years, Ibrahim was given two sons by God - Ishaq and Ismail. Ibrahim was ready to sacrifice one of his sons, Ishaq, by order of the Almighty. This is how this scene is described in the Qur'an. Ibrahim said: "My son, I see in a dream that I am stabbing you as a sacrifice, and see what you think." He said: "My father, do what you are commanded; you will find me, if Allah wills, patient." And when they both surrendered to Allah and he threw him on his forehead..." (37:101-103). At this moment, according to al-Tawra, Abraham (Ibrahim) had already raised a knife to stab his beloved son Ishaq on an altar specially made of wood. But at the last moment he was stopped by an Angel. The Qur'an says: "And We called out to him, 'O Ibrahim! You have justified the vision." Thus We reward the virtuous! Indeed, this is a clear test. And We redeemed him with a great sacrifice" (37:104-110). As the Bible adds, at that moment an angel of the Lord called Abraham from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham! Thou shalt not lift up thy hand against the lad, nor do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, because you have not spared your only son for Me" (Gen. 22:12). And Abraham saw a ram (lamb) entangled in the bushes not far off, and sacrificed it instead of Isaac (Isaac). For such faith, love and obedience, God blessed Ibrahim and promised that he would have as many offspring as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the sea. As is known, Jews and Arabs descended from Abraham. Thus the first part of the prophecy was fulfilled. The second said that in his descendants all the peoples of the earth would receive a blessing (Gen. 22:17-18). That is, from his family will come the Savior of the world.

The sacrifice of Ishaq was a type or prediction to people about the Savior, Who, as the Injil (Gospel) says, being the Son of God, would be given by His Father to death as a sacrifice for the sins of people: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged, but he who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the Only-begotten Son of God" (John 3:16-18).

Muslims believe that Jesus was no higher than other prophets. That this is not the case, Isa has repeatedly denied. Thus, arguing with Jesus, the Jewish leaders asked Him: "Are you greater than our father Abraham (Ibrahim), who died? And the prophets are dead: what do you make yourself?" (John 8:53) What did Christ answer to the Jews? He said, "Abraham your father was glad to see my day... Verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:56, 58). Jesus made it clear that He was greater than Abraham. The patriarch died because he was no different from other people, but Jesus, being the eternal Son of God, existed before Abraham from eternity: "Before Abraham was, I am."

Let's continue the tour of the city. On these sun-drenched hills, around 1000 B.C., King David (Daud) established his capital. Although not so long ago the 3000th anniversary of the capital of Israel, timed to coincide with its construction by David, was celebrated with pomp, in fact, the age of Jerusalem, according to archaeologists, is much older. At least for a thousand years. And this sounds very plausible, because according to legend, Adam, the very first man, settled in these places after being expelled from paradise. After the death of King David, his possessions were divided into the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Judah. And, as you know, "a house divided against itself will collapse." And indeed, soon the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem, destroyed the First Temple, and took the Jews into captivity. But half a century later, the ruler Cyrus came here, who was a great friend of the Jews and allowed them to partially restore the main Jewish shrine. Later, the phalanxes of the invincible Alexander the Great marched over the biblical hills. In the first century BC, they were replaced by cohorts of Romans

Under King Herod, who for his activities, cruelty and cunning was called the Great - although in fact he depended on the will of Rome - the Holy Land reached great prosperity. On the ruins of the First Temple, the Second Temple was erected, the ruins of which have survived to this day. Fortresses and palaces were built in Jericho, Masada and other places. During the reign of Herod, Isa ben Mariam was born. The Jews saw in Him only the Messiah who would liberate their homeland from the oppression of the hated Romans. When these hopes were not realized, Jesus was given over to crucifixion, and Jerusalem, which had rejected its Savior according to the prophecy of Christ in 70 AD, was razed to the ground by the emperor Titus.

The Last Supper and the Arrest of Jesus

Muslims deny the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus. Most of the interpreters of the Qur'an agree that another person was crucified instead of Him. This theory is quite acceptable to Muslims, especially since the cross symbolizes the helplessness, rejection and weakness of the Christian Jesus. They believe that Jesus must have either crushed His enemies or escaped arrest and execution. God could not allow Christ to be arrested and crucified and had to intervene miraculously to save His prophet. The origin of this point of view in Islam is explained by the presence of various heresies of that time and their penetration into the regions of Arabia. In the time of Muhammad, the areas of trade routes to Syria, Egypt, and Persia served as a refuge for all kinds of heretical sects, zealously persecuted by the Byzantine Church. Such heretics of early Christianity as Basilides, Cerinthus, Carpocrates, as well as the heresies of Docetism and Manichaeism, taught about the "happy deliverance" of Jesus Christ from crucifixion: by replacing Him with another person (Manichaeism, Basilides, Carpocrates), by separating the spiritual and carnal essence of Jesus, the "theory of illusion", etc. Muhammad met with some of these false teachers in Bosra, which is reflected in the Sunnah, from whom he borrowed his ideas about Christianity. It hardly needs to be said that, as in the case of the Muslim understanding of the Trinity, all this has nothing to do with the actual teaching of the Church.

To find out what really happened to Jesus in Jerusalem, you can only read the book of Injil (Gospels). Let us return to the story of Jesus, who, after being baptized by John (Yahya), began to preach the coming Kingdom of God throughout Palestine and went to Jerusalem in fulfillment of the prophecies. The entrance of Jesus, whom the Christian Church celebrates with a special holiday, celebrates the entrance of Jesus. Hardened in their sins, most of the children of Israel did not believe that Jesus was the Son of God. Even though God gave special signs regarding Jesus. Here is what is said about all these memorable events in the Qur'an: "Behold, Allah will say: "O Jesus, son of Miriam! Remember My mercy to you, how I have strengthened you with the Holy Spirit. You have spoken to people in the cradle and adults. And behold, I taught you the Scriptures, wisdom, the Torah, the Gospel, and behold, you made of clay the likeness of birds with My permission, and blew on them, and they became birds with My permission. You healed the blind and the leper with My permission, and you brought the dead with My permission. And behold, I kept the children of Israel from thee, when thou camest unto them with clear signs. And those who did not believe among them said, "This is only obvious sorcery!" (5:110-112).

Fearing to lose their influence among the people, the priests and scribes set out to kill Him. When Jesus learned of this plot, he gathered the apostles in the house. According to the Injil (Gospel), after partaking of the Old Testament Passover (a special dish established in honor of the flight of the Jews led by Moses from Egypt), Jesus Christ instituted the sacrament of Holy Communion at this supper. this is My Body, which is broken for you for the remission of sins" (that is, for you it is given over to suffering and death, for the forgiveness of sins). Then he took the cup, blessed it, thanking God for all His mercies to the human race, and, giving it to the apostles, said: "Drink from it, all of you, this is My Blood of the New Covenant (that is, the new covenant of God with people, in contrast to the Old, Moses), which is shed for you for the remission of sins." These words mean that under the guise of bread and wine, the Savior gave His disciples the same Body and the same Blood that the next day after that He gave to suffer and die for our sins.

During this meal, known to Christians as the Last Supper, the Savior announced to the Apostles that one of them would betray Him. It was Judas Iscariot. Having dipped a piece of bread in a dish with salt, Jesus handed it to the betrayer, saying: "What you do, do quickly." He went out and, coming to the Jewish priests - who were looking for Jesus to kill - revealed to them the location of the Savior for a reward of thirty silver coins.

Muslims mistakenly reject the death and resurrection of Jesus. However, here are the words of the Qur'an itself: "O Jesus, will I take you away and lift you up to me, I will remove you from those who disbelieve, and I will exalt your followers over those who do not believe in the Day of Judgment?" (3:53). No matter how hard Muslim theologians try to obscure this phrase, asserting, like the scholar Ibn Kathir, that the expression "I will kill You" supposedly implies a dream, but it is obvious that this is nothing more than an attempt to cast a shadow on the wattle. The Qur'an clearly says that Jesus will be killed by those who do not believe in Him. This verse of the Qur'an unequivocally affirms the divinity of Christ. Indeed, the expression "those who disbelieved" cannot be applied to the faith of the Jews in God, since they had been such since the time of Moses (Moses). That is, we can only talk about the fact that they did not believe in Jesus, that He is the Son of God. Which is confirmed by the Gospel. Thus, the main accusation that was brought against Jesus by the Jewish high priest at the trial was precisely that He called Himself the Son of the Most High.