Worship & law
Jesus fell on his face: prostration in the Bible
In Gethsemane Jesus “fell on his face, and prayed”. Muslims fall on their faces before God in every prayer. This topic looks at prostration in the Bible, from Abraham to the angels.
1The question
How did Jesus and the prophets before him bow before God?
2What Christians believe
Christians answer that Jesus fell on his face in Gethsemane because of his deep anguish, not to follow a set form of prayer. The Gospels show him praying in many ways: standing, kneeling, lifting his eyes to heaven.
Christians today pray in many positions, and some churches still kneel or bow low. For most Christians the position of the body matters less than the attitude of the heart.
3What the texts say
Jesus in Gethsemane
And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
The prophets fall on their faces
And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto them.
And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
Israel worships with faces to the ground
And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground.
The angels before God’s throne
And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
4What scholars say
Bible scholars note that the Hebrew word usually translated “worship”, hishtahavah, means to bow down to the ground. Falling on one’s face was the deepest act of reverence in the ancient Near East.
Historians of Christian worship note that full prostration remained part of some Eastern Christian prayer, for example during Lent, long after most Western churches stopped using it.
Scholars agree that in the Bible falling on the face before God is the posture of Abraham, Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Ezra’s congregation, and of Jesus in Gethsemane.
5The Islamic perspective
In Islam, prostration (<em>sujud</em>) is the high point of every prayer. The Qur’an commands believers to bow and prostrate, and tells Mary to do the same:
O ye who believe! Bow down and prostrate yourselves, and worship your Lord, and do good, that haply ye may prosper.
O Mary! Be obedient to thy Lord, prostrate thyself and bow with those who bow (in worship).
When Muslims place their foreheads on the ground, they are praying in the way the Bible shows the prophets, the people of Israel and Jesus himself praying. Muslims see this as one more sign that Islam continues the worship of the prophets.
6Objections and responses
“Jesus fell on his face because he was in anguish, not as a ritual.”
Response: That may be so, but it shows how Jesus prayed when he prayed most deeply: face to the ground before God. The same posture appears again and again in the Bible as the way to worship.
“Christians are free to pray in any position.”
Response: Islam agrees that God hears every sincere prayer. The question here is not what is allowed, but what Jesus and the prophets did. Their way of falling before God is kept alive today in Muslim prayer.
7Conclusion
Both sides agree that Jesus fell on his face to pray in Gethsemane and that the prophets of the Bible did the same. Christians see a sign of his anguish and pray in many ways. Muslims see the posture of the prophets, which they keep in every prayer.
Look up every place in Genesis to Joshua where someone “fell on his face”, and note who they were bowing to.
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Related topics
Sources
- Bible, King James Version:Matthew 26:39Genesis 17:3Numbers 20:6Joshua 5:14Nehemiah 8:6Revelation 7:11
- Qur’an, translated by M. Pickthall:Qur’an 22:77Qur’an 3:43
- Paul F. Bradshaw, Daily Prayer in the Early Church (1981)