Jesus made some troubling statements for anyone who doesn’t believe the Old Testament is reliable or accurate. In Mark 10:26, Jesus was answering the Pharisees who were trying to trap him into saying something they could hold against him. So they asked about divorce. Jesus answered, “But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’” In these brief words, Jesus affirmed that there is no such thing as a long creation in which he made the world and then waited millions of years until he decided it was time to create man and woman. Instead, he says they were made at the beginning. Various translations even state it was at the creation. If you don’t agree with Genesis 1 that specifies six literal days of creation, then you don’t agree with Jesus.
Then there is the matter of the flood. Did it really happen? Many people try to get around it, but Jesus affirmed that the flood came and killed everyone except Noah and those in the ark with him. “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Matt 24:38-39). If you don’t believe the flood account, then you are disagreeing with Jesus and not only that, but you must also deny that Jesus is coming back at a time when people will be ignoring him and doing their own thing. If you believe in evolution and deny the flood, then you will be like those caught in the flood because you must then deny Jesus as well.
Do you think it is preposterous that a huge fish could swallow a person, keep him alive for three days and spit him back up on the beach? If you do, then you must believe that Jesus lied about that too. He not only affirmed that it happened, but he used that truth to tell his doubters that he would die and be resurrected in three days. Jesus’ point in this not only verified the reliability of the Old Testament, but he let everyone know that ignoring him and his death, burial, and resurrection will bring condemnation.
The choice is clear. Believe everything Jesus said or call him a liar. If you decide on the latter, then you can expect eternal condemnation. If you believe Jesus, then you have this assurance from him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24).
If you don’t believe Jesus about the past, what makes you think you can believe Jesus about your future?
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