Answer
Wa Alaykum Assalam Brother Muhannad,
Thank you for your question, which I can sum up into three queries:
- Could Jesus determine the eternal destiny?
- Could he forgive sins?
- Being charged, by the Jews, of claiming himself God, would these three points prove that he was really God?
How could one say that Jesus claimed to determine people’s eternal destiny when he said in (John 5:30):
[By myself I can do nothing: I judge only as I hear.]
He could not even determine or know his own fate, as he said, according to the Bible:
[A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. And he could do no mighty work there.” (Mark 6:4-5)
[But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the son, but the Father.] (Mark 13:32)
On God only did he rely and confide all his affairs:
[Father, into Thy hands I command my spirit.] (Luke 23:46)
[My God, my God, why hast thou foresaken me.] (Mark 15:34)
Neither could he forgive sins, he was always praying and teaching his disciples to pray to God for forgiveness and support:
[Going a little further, he fell to the ground and prayed.] (Mark 14:35)
[But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.] (Luke 5:16)
[And he said unto them, ‘When ye pray; say: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name, Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for as we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’] (Luke 11:2-4)
If you read carefully your reference to (Luke 12:8-9): “I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the son of man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God.”
This means that – like every other prophet – whoever believes and follows his message would be acknowledged by the angels of God. You can read the meaning of a similar statement in the Quran Surah 4, verse 80:
{Whoever obeys the Messenger (Muhammad), then he has already obeyed Allah; and whoever turns away, then in no way have We sent you (as) an ever-preserver over them.}
Again, considering your quotation from (Mark 2:5-7):
[When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic: ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’]
Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves: “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”,
Here, the indirect speech “are forgiven” proves that forgiveness is not by Jesus but by “God alone.”
Now, when we come to the quotation: “The Jews answered him …because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God …”, this simply implies that the Jews are falsely trying to accuse Jesus of making himself God, in order to fulfill their conspiracy to send him for trial and death.
However, Jesus repeatedly affirmed his humanity, and warned those who deify him, as in (John 5:30) above, and also:
[Jesus replied, Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the son of man has no place to lay his head.] (Matthew 8;20, and Luke 9:58)
[As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God.] (John 8: 40)
[The son of man came eating and drinking, and you say: ‘Here is a gluttonous man…’] (Luke 7: 34)
[And having said this, Jesus said again: ‘I confess before heaven, and call to witness everything that dwelleth upon the earth, that I am a stranger to all that men have said of me, to wit that I am more than man. For I am a man, born of a woman, subject to the judgment of God; that live here like as other men, subject to the common miseries.] (Barnabas 94)
[Then Jesus feared greatly, and turning himself to God, said: ‘Take me from the world! O Lord, for the world is mad, and they will nigh call me God!’ And having said this he wept.] (Barnabas 47)
However, in vain could anyone claim the divinity of Jesus or any other human being. You can read in the Qur’an Surah 9, verse 31, the meaning of:
{They have taken to themselves as lords, apart from Allah, their doctors and their monks and al-Masih (Jesus), the son of Maryam (Mary); and in no way were they commanded to worship [anyone] except One God; there is no god except He; All extolment be to Him, [He is] above whatever they associate [with him]}
You can also read in Surah 9, verse 33, the meaning of:
{He [is The One] Who has sent His messenger (Muhammad, peace be upon him) with the guidance and the religion of Truth (i.e. Islam) that He may make it topmost over all religion, though the associators hate [that].}
I hope my answer is satisfactory and helpful to you. In case you need more information, please do not hesitate to contact us again. Thank you again for your question and please do keep in touch.
As-salaamu alaykum.