Wednesday, April 15
Jesus taught that the Bible is the Word of God in the sense that what it says is synonymous with what God says. Its origin is found in God and, therefore, contains ultimate authority for every aspect of life. God worked through history to reveal His will to humanity through the Bible.
For instance, in Matthew 19:4, 5, Jesus refers to a quote written by Moses. But Jesus takes this passage and says, “He who made them at the beginning … said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother’ ”. Instead of saying “Scripture says”, Jesus says, “He who made them at the beginning … said”, attributing to the Creator’s word what the narrator of Genesis wrote. God is, in fact, regarded here as the author of this statement, even though it was written by Moses.
Read the following passages. How did Jesus understand the historical persons and events of the Bible?
Jesus consistently treats Old Testament people, places, and events as historical truth. He refers to Genesis 1 and 2, Abel in Genesis 4, David eating the showbread, and Elisha among other historical figures. He repeatedly speaks of the sufferings of the prophets of old (Matthew 5:12, 13:57, 23:34-36, Mark 6:4). In a message of warning, Jesus also describes the days of Noah: “As … they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matthew 24:38, 39). There is every indication that Jesus was referring to this mighty act of God’s judgment as a historical event.
Because Jesus Himself refers to these historical people as real, what does it say about the power of Satan’s deceptions that many people today, even professed Christians, often deny their existence? Why must we never fall into that trap?
