122. This refers to the Day of Judgement.
123. The reference here is to the response of the world to the call of the Prophets.
124. This reply indicates that the Prophets would say that their knowledge was confined to that limited, outward response which they had encountered during their lifetimes. The true reaction to their call at various places and in different forms would only be known completely to God Himself.
125. The initial question would be addressed to all Prophets as such. Then each of them would be called upon to bear witness separately, as stated in several places in the Qur'an. In this connection the question that will be addressed to Jesus is specifically mentioned here.
126. That is, with God's command Jesus brought people to life from the state of death.
127. Jesus is being told that the faith of the disciples in him was also the result of God's grace and succour, for he, himself, did not have the power to produce even one man of faith in that land of disbelief. It is also made clear that the true religion of the disciples of Jesus was Islam.
128. Since the disciples have been mentioned here, the continuity of the
subject is interrupted momentarily in order to introduce another incident connected
with the disciples. This clearly shows that those who had been directly instructed
by Jesus considered him merely a human being and a slave of God; they had no
conception of their master either being God or a partner of God or the son of
God. Jesus had, rather, presented himself to them as a slave of God with no
claims to divine authority.
One might feel inclined here to raise the question: What is the occasion for
this parenthetical interjection in a conversation that is to take place on the
Day of Judgement? This parenthesis, in my opinion, is not in fact part of such
a conversation, but rather forms part of a discussion in this world regarding
a conversation that will take place on the Day of Judgement. The conversation
that will take place on the Day of Judgement is mentioned here precisely in
order that the Christians may derive a lesson from it and direct themselves
to the right way. Hence, the mention of this incident regarding the disciples
- even though it seems to interrupt the continuity of narration - is in no sense
out of place.That is, are Muslims - Ed.
129. The Qur'an is silent on the question of whether this meal was sent down in response to this prayer. There is also no other authoritative basis to help us arrive at a clear conclusion. It is possible that the repast was actually sent down. It is also possible that the disciples withdrew their prayer after hearing the stern warning in response to it.