How Christians Can Explain Easter to Muslims
Hello! It’s Holy Week. Have you ever considered how you might explain Easter to Muslims? While Christians like you and I know why we celebrate Easter, most Muslims don’t – Muslims like my friend Ahmad. He thought Easter was about rabbits and chocolate eggs! Ahmad didn’t know it had anything to do with the Crucifixion.
Ahmad believed Christians did pagan rituals during the holiday!
Because Muslims like Ahmad don’t understand what Easter is about, it gives you and I opportunities to share the Good News, in love, as an authentic Christian witness. I’ll share with you how I did that with my friend Ahmad, so you can do the same.
What Muslims Believe About Easter
First, know most Muslims like Ahmad don’t believe God would allow Jesus to be crucified. They reject the foundational beliefs of Christianity, and most Gospel presentations are foolishness to them. (To learn more about what Muslims believe, read Chapter 7 of my book, Muslims: 5 Biblical Essentials.)
Three Things to Know and Do
With that foundation, here are three important things to know and do. First, share what you believe! I quote from scripture, like this:
“Ahmad, I believe what God, inspires in the Holy Bible, in Romans 10:9: If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you’ll be saved.”
I expected that Ahmad, like most Muslims, would probably reject that, and he did. So next, I addressed the crucifixion with three Muslim-friendly scriptures from the Bible like this:
“Ahmad, the Crucifixion was something that God said HAD to happen, and he inspired prophets to write about it for over 1,000 years before it happened.”
Here’s why God said it had to happen as revealed in Matthew [26:56], ‘…to fulfill the words of the prophets as recorded in the Scriptures.’
Now here’s what God inspires about this in 1 Corinthians [1:18]: “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.”
God inspires this in 1 Corinthians [2:14]: “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.”
Finally, after sharing what I believe and addressing the Crucifixion, I invited Ahmad to study the Bible with me. He accepted and I prayed with him:
“Holy Spirit of God, please fill Ahmad so he can understand and accept the truths that come from you. In Jesus’ name.”
Ahmad and I together said “Amen.”
Ahmad went on to study the Bible, using content from my book, The Way to Paradise, and he eventually accepted Jesus. Praise God!
I hope this story inspires and empowers you to share what you believe, and to share what Easter means with your non-Believing friends.
Remember, most Muslims don’t understand Easter, and during times of crisis like this, they are more open to hearing about it, in love, from an authentic Christian witness like you.
Next Steps:
- Read and learn more about what Muslims believe from Chapter 7 of the book, Muslims: 5 Biblical Essentials.
- Watch and learn more about sharing the Bible with your Muslim friend in this 15-minute, iHOPE Empowers Video, “Essential #3: Share the Bible.” Enroll HERE to watch the entire 5-part series and get the corresponding Small Group Study Guide. You can also find it in RightNow Media.
- Study the Bible with your Muslim friend, using the book, The Way to Paradise, a Bible study written just for Muslims.
