“What do you believe about Jesus?” my friend Amina asked, with genuine curiosity in her eyes. Amina longs to know God and she has devoted herself to Islam. I met Amina through the English class I taught this past summer, and we immediately hit it off. We became good friends by the time we shared a soda one blazing afternoon in Central Asia when she posed her question to me. She asked her question out of a real desire to know my response and not as a trap. Rarely in this context is an opening for the Gospel so readily handed to you as in that moment, so I was caught off-guard. This was one of the first times on my six-week trip that I had an opportunity to speak about Jesus directly. I, and my friend who had already guessed I was a Christian by our previous conversations, knew the possible consequences for both of us speaking about Jesus in such a public place. But my timid friend was uncharacteristically bold that day when she asked me her question, and she eagerly waited for my answer.
“Well, you know how God’s people offered sacrifices to God for their sins, like you did for Eid al-Adha?” I asked, calling back to the conversation we were having minutes earlier when we discussed her recent Islamic holiday and the meaning of sacrifices in the Old Testament. She voiced her assent impatiently, looking to me to continue.
“God did send the greater sacrifice that he promised, and this time, it was a person. It was God’s word, coming down to earth as a person. His name was Jesus, and he answered all the promises God made in the Old Testament. The Spirit came down on a young woman who was not important, but God chose her. She gave birth to Jesus in a place where the animals stayed because there was no room to stay in a place with beds.”
Confusion crossed Amina’s face. “No, no. We believe that Jesus was born to a virgin named Maryam as well, but he was not unimportant. He was born into a family of kings and priests. He was wealthy and had a very good education in religious things. Jesus was very important.”
“You are right. Jesus did come from a long line of priests and kings, but people did not think Jesus was important. He was just a teacher. In fact, a lot of people hated Jesus, just like they do now.”