Selected Exegesis

The content of Jesus’s (a.s.) message was the confirmation of the Torah and the explanation of rulings. To create a spirit of flexibility, accommodation, and acceptance among his audience, he confirmed the pure portion of the Torah of his time that was available and known to the people. He confirmed the principles and general, unchanging guidelines of ethics, jurisprudence, and law, which constitute the religion of Islam. According to God’s command, by abrogating and changing some of the specific subsidiary rulings and laws of Moses (a.s.), he made lawful some of the prohibited rulings of the Torah to lighten the burden on the Children of Israel. He conveyed to the people the specific laws and rulings of his own time. Since this abrogation relates to temporal specification, it does not conflict with the confirmation of the Torah.

Jesus the Messiah (a.s.) said: I have come to you with miracles from God and I command two things: observance of divine piety (taqwā) and obedience to me. These two (piety and obedience) each have their specific meaning, although divine piety in its general sense means the same as obedience to God’s rulings in matters of religious law.

In summary, Jesus (a.s.) had two missions: bringing rulings and implementing divine limits (ḥudūd). The axis of these matters is divine lordship (rubūbīyat), which is why he said: Since God is my Lord and your Lord, you must obey Him, and you must also obey me as I am your guardian by His permission and follow Him like you. You should worship Him as I do, for the straight path is this very servitude and worship.

The mention of these statements after describing the miracles is an expression of servitude, so that no one would think that Jesus (a.s.), who is a manifestation of the Creator, the Fashioner, and the Life-Giver, holds the station of lordship.