Overview (Verses 50 - 51)

Jesus Endorsing a Message
 
And [I have come] to confirm that which has already been sent down of the Torah and to make lawful to you some of the things which were forbidden you. I have come to you with a sign from your Lord; so remain conscious of God and obey me. God is indeed my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him alone. That is the straight path. (Verses 50-51)
 
This is the final part of the address made by Jesus to the Israelites. Here, certain basic facts are revealed which concern the nature of Divine religion as outlined in the messages preached by all prophets and messengers. These facts acquire an even greater importance when stated by Jesus himself, considering all the mistaken notions which have been formulated about his birth and his nature. All such mistaken notions are the result of deviation from the basic truth of Divine faith which remains the same with all messengers.
 
When Jesus says: “And I have come to confirm that which has already been sent down of the Torah and to make lawful to you some of the things which were forbidden you,” he highlights the nature of true Christianity.
 
The Torah, which was revealed to Moses, and which contained the legislation to be implemented in the life of the community, according to the needs of that particular time and the special circumstances of the life of the Israelites, is here endorsed by Jesus. Indeed, his message was a confirmation of the Torah with some modifications, making lawful to the Israelites certain things which had previously been forbidden them. The prohibition of these things was originally a punishment inflicted by God for certain acts of disobedience and deviation they had committed. It was now God’s will to grant them His mercy through Jesus and to make lawful to them again what they were forbidden for a time.
 
This shows that it is in the nature of any religion to include legislation to organise the life of the community, and not to be confined to providing moral standards, or restricted to the realms of feelings and conscience or worship and rituals. Religion is the way of life God lays down for people to implement and a social order which ensures that implementation.
 
The elements of faith and belief cannot be isolated from worship, morality or general law in any religion which aims at organising human life according to God’s constitution. All these elements constitute a complete whole and any dichotomy between them is bound to nullify the effect of religion on the life of people and is contrary to the concept and nature of faith as God defines it.
 
This is what has happened to Christianity. Owing to certain historical circumstances on the one hand, and to the fact that although it was intended for a certain period, until the last message was revealed, it continued to be upheld after its time, and a split occurred between its legislative aspect on the one hand and its spiritual and moral ones on the other. The deeply rooted and mutual hostility between the Jews and the followers of Jesus caused a separation between the Torah, which contained the legal code, and the Gospel, which placed its strong emphasis on spiritual revival and moral refinement. Moreover, that legal code was intended for a limited period and a particular group of people. It was the will of God that the permanent and comprehensive legal code for all humanity would be revealed later, at its appointed time.
 
Whatever the reasons, the net result was that Christianity was reduced to a creed which lacked a legal code. As such, it was unable to regulate the social life of the nations which embraced it. Such a regulation of social life requires an ideological concept with a clear interpretation of the existence of the universe and of human life, as well as the position of man in the universe. It also requires a system of worship, a moral code and, inevitably, a set of legislative rules derived from all these to put the life of the community on a sound basis. This is the proper structure of religion which ensures the establishment of a social system with a clear and sound basis and effective safeguards. When Christianity suffered the dichotomy delineated above, it was no longer able to provide a comprehensive system for human life. Hence, its followers were forced to divorce their moral and spiritual values from their practical values in all aspects of their lives, including their social system. This led to the establishment of social systems in the Christian world on bases other than their only natural one. Hence, they were lame systems.
 
This was not a simple incident or a trifling matter in human history. It was a far reaching catastrophe, generating all the misery, confusion, perversion and immorality which haunt the present material civilisation in all the countries which still profess to be Christian. The case is practically the same in countries which have discarded Christianity even though they have not introduced great changes in their practical lifestyle.
 
As preached by Jesus Christ himself, Christianity, like every religion worthy of the name, is the legal code which regulates human life on the basis of a clear ideological concept of faith in God and sound moral values derived from that concept. Without such a wholesome structure there can be no Christianity, and indeed no faith. Without such a structure there can be no social system which satisfies the needs of man, whether spiritual or practical, and which elevates human life so that it comes into direct contact with God.
 
This essential fact is one of the concepts which we can deduce from Jesus’s statement: “And [I have come] to confirm that which has already been sent down of the Torah and to make lawful to you some of the things which were forbidden you.” (Verse 50)
 
When he so addresses people, he relies on the paramount fact of the oneness of God which is stated in the clearest of terms: “I have come to you with a sign from your Lord; so remain conscious of God and obey me. God is indeed my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him alone. That is the straight path.” (Verses 50-51)
 
He thus declares the essence of the ideological concept which is basic to the Divine religion in all its forms. The miracles he performed were not of his own doing. As a human being, he had no power to accomplish them. He was given them by God. His message is based, first and foremost, on the need to fear God and to remain conscious of Him and to obey His Messenger. He also stresses that God is his Lord and the Lord of all people. Jesus himself was not the Lord; he was the Lord’s servant. Those who follow him must, therefore, address their worship to the Lord, for He alone is worthy of worship. He concludes with a comprehensive statement of fact: to believe in God alone and worship God alone, and to obey His Messenger and implement the system He laid down — all this is “the straight path”. Everything else is deviation and cannot be part of the true faith.