Short answer
Yes. Paul, a Christian missionary of the first century, preached things Jesus did not teach. Paul never met Jesus during his ministry. He called the message he preached "my gospel". When a man asked Jesus how to gain eternal life, Jesus told him to keep the commandments. Paul wrote that no one is justified, made right with God (﷾), by the works of the law. Jesus was circumcised, as God's (﷾) covenant with Abraham required. Paul told the believers of Galatia that if they were circumcised, Christ would profit them nothing. Christians' teaching that Jesus' death pays for sins is set out in Paul's letters, not in Jesus' own answer about eternal life. The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) brought back what Jesus taught: one God (﷾), and obedience to His commandments.
Full explanation
Paul never met Jesus during his ministry
Paul was not one of the Twelve and never met Jesus during his ministry. When Judas was replaced among the Twelve, the disciples set a condition. The man had to have been with them from the baptism of John to the day Jesus was taken up. Paul says he received his gospel, the good news he preached, not from any man but by a revelation of Jesus Christ. He calls it "my gospel". His first letters, from around the year 50, are the oldest books of the New Testament. They are older than any of the four Gospels.
“Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.”
“But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
“In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.”
A standard textbook. It dates Paul's earliest letters to around 50 CE, Mark to about 65-70, Matthew and Luke to about 80-85, and John to about 90-95, and notes that Jesus spoke Aramaic while the Gospels were written in Greek by authors who do not name themselves. It also says Paul did not know Jesus during Jesus' lifetime and came to faith only after the crucifixion.
What Paul preached from the start
Acts is the New Testament's history of the first believers. It says that straight after his conversion Paul preached in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. In Athens the philosophers heard him preach Jesus and the resurrection. They took him for a man bringing in strange gods. Paul himself says that if Christ is not risen, his preaching and their faith are empty.
“And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.”
“Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.”
“And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.”
The way to eternal life
A man asked Jesus what good thing he must do to have eternal life. Jesus answered: keep the commandments. He also said that whoever breaks the least commandment and teaches others to do so will be least in the kingdom. Paul wrote that by the works of the law, the deeds the Law of Moses asks for, no flesh shall be justified. He also wrote that a man is justified, made right with God (﷾), by faith without the deeds of the law. James, in the same New Testament, sides with Jesus' answer: a man is justified by works and not by faith only.
“And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 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.”
“Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
“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.”
“Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.”
“Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.”
Circumcision
Circumcision is the cutting of the foreskin. God (﷾) gave it to Abraham as an everlasting covenant. Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day. Paul told the Galatians that if they were circumcised, Christ would profit them nothing. Yet Paul circumcised Timothy himself, because of the Jews in that region. Acts also records what the believers in Jerusalem had heard. Paul, they said, taught the Jews among the Gentiles (non-Jews) to forsake Moses, "saying that they ought not to circumcise their children".
“This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.”
“And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.”
“Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.”
“Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek.”
“And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.”
Blood and the cross
Paul's letters teach that Jesus' blood justifies believers, and that he became a curse for them. When Jesus was asked directly how to have eternal life, in Matthew, Mark and Luke, he did not mention a death for sins at all. The Law says every man shall die for his own sin. Ezekiel says that when the wicked man turns from his sins, they shall not be mentioned unto him, and he shall live. Jesus told the parable of the lost son, also called the prodigal son. The father runs to meet his returning son, falls on his neck and kisses him. No sacrifice is made, and no one is punished in the son's place. Jesus told the Pharisees, a strict Jewish religious party, that God (﷾) wants mercy, not sacrifice. Islam's own sacrifice at Eid is no payment for sin. The Qur'an says: "It is not their meat nor their blood, that reaches Allah: it is your piety that reaches Him."
“Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.”
“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:”
“And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 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.”
“The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.”
“The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.”
“But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.”
“And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.”
“But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
“It is not their meat nor their blood, that reaches Allah: it is your piety that reaches Him: He has thus made them subject to you, that ye may glorify Allah for His Guidance to you and proclaim the good news to all who do right.”
| Question | Jesus | Paul |
|---|---|---|
| How to gain eternal life | Keep the commandments | Not by the works of the law, but by faith |
| Circumcision | He was circumcised on the eighth day | If you are circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing |
| His death for sins | Not mentioned when he was asked about eternal life | Believers are justified by his blood |
What Christians say about Paul
Christians hold that Paul preached the same gospel as the disciples who knew Jesus. They point out that James, Peter and John gave Paul the right hand of fellowship. They say Paul handed on what he himself had received: that Christ died for our sins. They also point to Jesus' saying that he came to give his life a ransom for many.
“And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.”
“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;”
“For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
The religion Jesus taught
The Qur'an says Jesus told his people only what God (﷾) commanded him: worship Allah (﷾), my Lord and your Lord. His disciples answered that they believed in Allah (﷾) and called themselves Muslims, those who submit to God (﷾). The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) kept circumcision as part of the natural way, as Jesus had.
“"Never said I to them aught except what Thou didst command me to say, to wit, 'worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord'; and I was a witness over them whilst I dwelt amongst them; when Thou didst take me up Thou wast the Watcher over them, and Thou art a witness to all things.”
“When Jesus found Unbelief on their part He said: "Who will be My helpers to (the work of) Allah?" Said the disciples: "We are Allah's helpers: We believe in Allah, and do thou bear witness that we are Muslims.”
Abu Hurayra reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) named circumcision first among five practices of the natural way (fitra).
Verse by verse
Galatians 2:9 — Epistle to the Galatians, chapter 2, verse 9
“And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.”
Cited for
The pillars of the Jerusalem church, James, Peter and John, accepted Paul's gospel.
The response
The same passage divides the work: Paul to the Gentiles, Peter to the circumcised. At Antioch the fellowship broke down. When men came from James, Peter withdrew from eating with the Gentiles. Paul opposed him to his face. Years later James and the elders told Paul that thousands of believing Jews were all zealous of the law. They had heard that Paul taught Jews to forsake Moses.
Where it lands — The handshake did not settle the matter. Peter and Paul clashed openly at Antioch, and the Jerusalem believers stayed zealous for the law.
1 Corinthians 15:3 — First Epistle to the Corinthians, chapter 15, verse 3
“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;”
Cited for
Paul only passed on what the first believers already taught: that Christ died for our sins.
The response
Paul does not say here from whom he received it. Whoever first said it, it is not Jesus' answer. When he himself was asked how to have eternal life, he named the commandments, not a death for sins.
Where it lands — Jesus' own answer about eternal life says nothing of a death for sins.
Mark 10:45 — Gospel of Mark, chapter 10, verse 45
“For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
Cited for
Jesus himself said he came to give his life a ransom for many, so the atonement is his teaching, not Paul's.
The response
These are the sayings in Mark 10:45 and Matthew 26:28. Neither makes belief in a death for sins the condition of eternal life. Each time Jesus is asked in the first three Gospels how to have eternal life, he points to the commandments and to following him.
Where it lands — In Matthew, Mark and Luke, each time Jesus is asked how to have eternal life, he points to the commandments and to following him. He never makes faith in a death for sins the condition.
Perspectives
Mainstream Christian
Christians hold that Paul was an apostle, called by the risen Christ. They say he preached the same gospel as Peter, James and John, and that his letters are Scripture.
The leaders of the Jerusalem church, James, Peter and John, gave Paul the right hand of fellowship.
Rebuttal
Grant that they shook hands. The same passage divides the work: Paul to the Gentiles, Peter to the Jews. At Antioch Peter then withdrew from eating with the Gentiles, and Paul opposed him to his face. Years later James and the elders told Paul that thousands of believing Jews were zealous of the law.
Paul says he passed on what he had received: that Christ died for our sins.
Rebuttal
Grant that Paul passed this on. He does not say in this verse from whom he received it. Whoever first said it, it is not Jesus' answer. When he himself was asked how to have eternal life, he named the commandments, not a death for sins.
The Islamic perspective
Jesus taught one God (﷾) and obedience to His commandments. Paul never met him during his ministry. Paul preached a different gospel, in which faith that Jesus died for sins saves, and it is Paul's gospel that the churches preach. The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) restored the religion of Jesus.
Paul never met Jesus during his ministry. So he did not meet the condition the disciples set for the man who replaced Judas among the Twelve.
Paul says his gospel came to him not from any man but by a revelation of Jesus Christ, and he calls it "my gospel". A claimed revelation is tested by whether it agrees with what God's (﷾) prophets taught. Paul's gospel departs from Jesus' own answer about eternal life.
The Second Letter to Timothy, written in Paul's name, says Jesus was raised from the dead "according to my gospel". Paul says that without the resurrection his preaching is empty.
Jesus sent the man who asked about eternal life to the commandments. Paul says no one is justified by the works of the law.
Jesus was circumcised under an everlasting covenant. Paul said circumcision makes Christ of no profit, and yet circumcised Timothy.
The gospel preached in the churches today is Paul's gospel, not the one Jesus gave when asked. It teaches salvation through faith that Jesus died for sins.
Before Paul, the Law and the Prophets made each person carry his own sin and promised forgiveness to the one who repents. Jesus quoted God's (﷾) words "I will have mercy, and not sacrifice".
The Qur'an teaches that Jesus called people to worship Allah (﷾) alone, and that his disciples were Muslims.