Given the exceptional birth of Jesus (as), can we place him higher than the other prophets?

No. A special birth does not make anyone more than a human being. What was special about Jesus (as) was his mission as the Messiah: he turned people’s attention from the outward form of religion back to its spirit.

If an unusual birth raised a person above everyone else, Adam would have to stand even higher, for he had neither father nor mother. The first verse above draws exactly this comparison. The birth of Jesus (as) was a sign of God, but it says nothing about a rank above all prophets.

What truly set Jesus (as) apart was his mission. He brought no new law and did not change the Torah. He changed people’s attitude. Many at that time clung to the outward form of religion and thought that was enough. Jesus (as) reminded them that what matters is within: love of God and kindness to His creation.

Every religion knows this problem. Someone who prays and leaves the prayer as empty as he came has only fulfilled the form. Jesus (as) did not abolish the form. He gave back to it the spirit without which it is worthless.

Later this idea was misunderstood. The philosophy of Paul separated the spirit entirely from the law, and from this a new picture of Jesus (as) emerged: someone who had done away with the law and therefore stood above all prophets. The disciples whom Jesus (as) had taught himself opposed this for a long time.

The Holy Qur’an honours Jesus (as) as a great and truthful prophet. But he remains a Messenger of God, a human being like the other Messengers who came before him.