Islam_in_Focus_text

12. How familiar with Jesus were those Roman soldiers
who came to take him to the cross? How certain were they
that it was the right person they took to the scene? Did they
really recognize him when they went to arrest him? Did they
have any particular interest or urge to identify Jesus at that
time when public festivities were taking place and fear of
public outburst was imminent?
13. Can a believer imagine that Jesus (who was one of
the five most determined and persistent messengers of God)
would speak to God from the cross in the manner he is said
to have spoken, in a tone of reproach or at best of anxiety? Is
it proper for a distinguished Prophet like Jesus to say to God
at a trying time that God has forsaken him? Is that to be tak-
en as a pattern or precedence in addressing God or in react-
ing to the trying experience?
14. Was God the Most Merciful, the Most Forgiving
and the Most High unable to forgive men's sins except by in-
flicting this cruel and most humiliating alleged crucifixion
on one who was not only innocent but also dedicated to His
Worship and Cause in a most remarkable way? Is this the
application of God's Mercy and Forgiveness or the reflection
of His Justice and Love?
A study of the surrounding circumstances of the time,
the behavior of the mundane authorities, the public reac-
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