Cross & salvation

Paul versus Jesus

Much of Christian teaching on salvation and the Law comes from the letters of Paul, who never met Jesus during his ministry. This topic compares the teaching of Jesus in the Gospels with the teaching of Paul in his letters, on the Law, on who Jesus was sent to, and on where Paul’s authority came from.

1The question

Did Paul faithfully pass on the message of Jesus, or did he take the faith in a new direction?

2What Christians believe

Christians answer that there is no conflict. Paul was called by the risen Jesus himself on the road to Damascus (Acts 9), and the leading apostles, James, Peter and John, accepted him and gave him “the right hands of fellowship” (Galatians 2:9).

Christians hold that Jesus fulfilled the Law and that Paul explains what that means for believers after the cross: they are made right with God by faith in Christ. Jesus focused his ministry on Israel, and after the resurrection sent his followers to all nations, which Paul carried out.

3What the texts say

Jesus on the Law

For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Matthew 5:18 · KJVRead in context →
And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
Matthew 19:17 · KJVRead in context →

Jesus on his mission

But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Matthew 15:24 · KJVRead in context →

Paul on the Law and his mission

Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
Galatians 2:16 · KJVRead in context →
For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:
Romans 11:13 · KJVRead in context →

Paul on where his gospel came from

For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Galatians 1:12 · KJVRead in context →

Paul and Peter in Antioch

But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed.
Galatians 2:11 · KJVRead in context →

4What scholars say

In the nineteenth century F. C. Baur of the Tübingen school argued that early Christianity was marked by a deep conflict between the followers of Peter and the followers of Paul. Few scholars today accept his full theory, but the question he raised is still debated.

N. T. Wright (What Saint Paul Really Said, 1997) argues that Paul was a faithful interpreter of Jesus, not the founder of a new religion. James D. Tabor (Paul and Jesus: How the Apostle Transformed Christianity, 2012) argues the opposite: that Paul’s gospel differed from the message of Jesus and of his first followers led by James.

Scholars agree that Paul’s letters are the earliest Christian writings we have, earlier than the Gospels, and that Paul did not know Jesus during his ministry.

5The Islamic perspective

The Qur’an presents Jesus as a prophet who confirmed the Torah, and it honours his disciples as helpers of God who surrendered to him. It says nothing of Paul:

And (I come) confirming that which was before me of the Torah, and to make lawful some of that which was forbidden unto you. I come unto you with a sign from your Lord, so keep your duty to Allah and obey me.
Qur’an 3:50 · PickthallRead in context →
But when Jesus became conscious of their disbelief, he cried: Who will be my helpers in the cause of Allah? The disciples said: We will be Allah's helpers. We believe in Allah, and bear thou witness that we have surrendered (unto Him).
Qur’an 3:52 · PickthallRead in context →
O ye who believe! Be Allah's helpers, even as Jesus son of Mary said unto the disciples: Who are my helpers for Allah? They said: We are Allah's helpers. And a party of the Children of Israel believed, while a party disbelieved. Then We strengthened those who believed against their foe, and they became the uppermost.
Qur’an 61:14 · PickthallRead in context →

Muslims see the Jesus of the Gospels, who upheld the Law, kept to the lost sheep of Israel and taught “keep the commandments”, as close to the Jesus of the Qur’an. They see in Paul’s letters a new teaching: salvation without the works of the Law, a mission to the Gentiles, and a gospel received “by revelation” rather than from those who walked with Jesus.

6Objections and responses

“The apostles accepted Paul, so his message must be the same as theirs.”

Response: Galatians 2 records agreement on one point: Paul would go to the Gentiles and the others to the Jews (2:9). The same chapter records Paul opposing Peter “to the face” in Antioch (2:11). Acceptance on one point did not mean full agreement.

“Jesus sent his followers to all nations, so Paul was only obeying him.”

Response: That command comes after the resurrection (Matthew 28:19). During his ministry Jesus said he was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel (Matthew 15:24). And the first followers had to debate for years whether Gentiles needed to keep the Law (Acts 15), which suggests no clear command had settled it.

7Conclusion

Both sides agree that Jesus, in the Gospels, speaks of the Law as lasting and focuses on Israel, and that Paul teaches that believers are not under the Law and calls himself the apostle of the Gentiles. Christians see one message in two stages. Muslims see two different teachings, and follow the words of Jesus.

Read Matthew 5:17–20 and Galatians 1:11–2:16 side by side, and weigh whose words best fit the other.

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