What Jesus believed

There are those who doubt the Word of God to be true and accurate. There are those who have read or have heard of stories in the scriptures and ask, “Did those things really happen?” For example:

·      Some doubt the creation account in Genesis 1-2. Were Adam and Eve the first humans?

·      Some doubt that the story of Jonah in the belly of a fish for three days really happened.

How would you respond to people who have doubts regarding whether these things happened? There are a few ways to handle a conversation like this. One potential thing to do is to consider what Jesus had to say regarding these events. Did Jesus ever affirm these events during His earthly ministry? And if so, how should that impact our faith? Let’s consider a few passages.

Matthew 19:4-6: “As Jesus answered the question regarding divorce for any reason, He replied by saying, “…Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” Jesus reminded His audience about the Genesis chapters one and two. From His answer, we can see Jesus believed the creation account (including Adam and Eve being created) in Genesis to be true! In fact, Jesus spoke about Adam and Eve’s son Abel in Matthew 23:35. If Jesus believed these events to be true, shouldn’t we? We can have confidence the Genesis account is true.

Matthew 12:38-41: “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, ‘Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.’ But He answered and said to them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.”  What did Jesus believe concerning the story of Jonah and the Sea Monster? He believed that it happened. The sign the people would receive would be the sign of Jonah the prophet, in that just as he was in the belly of the fish for three days, so would Jesus be in the grave for three days. So, what’s the point?

Jesus believed the Old Testament writings to be true. He believed the Creation Account, the events surrounding Noah, and everything else recorded, Matthew 23:35.  Is there any reason for us to doubt what was written? Satan would love to weaken our faith. Let’s believe what Jesus believed! God’s word is true!