61.14 – So We supported those who believed against their enemy, and they were the ones who prevailed
This verse seems to say that ‘Īsā and his disciples fight against their enemies with the support of Allah (cf. 3.52). If this is its meaning, the character of the quranic ‘Īsā here is significantly different from that of Jesus in the New Testament. The confusion in this verse seems similar to that in 9.111, where the “Gospel” ( injīl ) is grouped together with the Torah and the Quran as promising that believers “fight in the way of Allah, and they kill and are killed.”
In the insightful book God, Muhammad and the Unbelievers , David Marshall analyzes the suggestions of 61.14 and 3.52 and speculates that this portrayal of ‘Īsā was created to support the story of Muhammad in Medina.
This misunderstanding of the teaching and example of Jesus found in the Gospel accounts raises questions about the accuracy of the Quran and its origin. From a Christian perspective, it is unfortunate that the peaceable way of Jesus in the New Testament did not find a place in the Quran’s portrait of ‘Īsā. It could have provided a valuable contrast to the picture of a warrior who prevails over his enemies and could have offered an alternative to fighting, killing, and dying while fighting.
Christian readers may be disappointed that the last verse in the Quran that mentions the name ‘Īsā is a verse that seems to portray him as a fighter.

61.14 – So We supported those who believed against their enemy, and they were the ones who prevailed
This verse seems to say that ‘Īsā and his disciples fight against their enemies with the support of Allah (cf. 3.52). If this is its meaning, the character of the quranic ‘Īsā here is significantly different from that of Jesus in the New Testament. The confusion in this verse seems similar to that in 9.111, where the “Gospel” (injīl) is grouped together with the Torah and the Quran as promising that believers “fight in the way of Allah, and they kill and are killed.”
In the insightful book God, Muhammad and the Unbelievers, David Marshall analyzes the suggestions of 61.14 and 3.52 and speculates that this portrayal of ‘Īsā was created to support the story of Muhammad in Medina.
This misunderstanding of the teaching and example of Jesus found in the Gospel accounts raises questions about the accuracy of the Quran and its origin. From a Christian perspective, it is unfortunate that the peaceable way of Jesus in the New Testament did not find a place in the Quran’s portrait of ‘Īsā. It could have provided a valuable contrast to the picture of a warrior who prevails over his enemies and could have offered an alternative to fighting, killing, and dying while fighting.
Christian readers may be disappointed that the last verse in the Quran that mentions the name ‘Īsā is a verse that seems to portray him as a fighter.