“Do you really believe a fish swallowed Jonah?”
The question came after I preached a chapel service at a “Christian” college. Frankly, the inquiry startled me. I was much younger then, and though I had heard about liberalism which undermines the authority of Scripture, I had never met a professed believer who espoused such views, much less a professor of theology. His next statement rattled me even more.
“We try to focus on Jesus instead of arguing over Old Testament mythology.”
For nearly thirty minutes thereafter I listened as he insisted that Adam and Eve were not real people, Noah and his ark were fictional, and that Moses’ Red Sea crossing was imaginary. Instead, he proposed, wise students of the Bible should focus on Jesus’ words exclusively. “If Jesus did not say it,” he shrugged, “why worry about it?”
All the while I kept thinking to myself, “But Jesus spoke directly about every Old Testament incident you have mentioned.” How can we dismiss the historicity of Jonah and the fish when Jesus compared His death, burial, and resurrection to the prophet’s ordeal (Matt. 12:40)? In other words, Jesus obviously believed that a large sea creature swallowed His rebellious prophet, so why shouldn’t we?
Furthermore, our Savior quoted directly from Genesis 2, referring to Adam and Eve, in order to emphasize the permanence of marriage (Matt. 19:4-6). Additionally, Jesus compared His Second Coming to the days of Noah during the flood, specifically mentioning the ark he built (Matt. 24:37). And while Jesus did not mention the Red Sea crossing specifically, he did affirm the Jewish belief in Moses as a justification for belief in His Messiahship (John 5:46).
Any notion that Jesus denied or dismissed the historicity of the Old Testament, including its supernatural elements, is patently false. Yet, as I recall the exchange and the assertions of that misguided professor, it occurs to me that he said out loud what I suspect many churchgoers secretly believe. Some will rush to affirm the words of Scripture written in red but will be just as quick to quibble over the Bible’s miracles and morality. Whether it’s the record of Israel’s antiquity or the assertions of the Apostle Paul, some are eager to eliminate everything outside of Jesus’ life and teaching.
But is doing so wise? How did Jesus view the Old Testament? And what did He anticipate about the Scriptures that would follow His ministry? Is it reasonable to hold a high view of Jesus’ teaching and a low view of the rest of the Bible?
A focal passage from the lips of Jesus answers questions like these clearly. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus insisted, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished (Matt. 5:17-18).”
Jesus never spoke about any Old Testament event or miracle as if it did not happen. With complete confidence, He trusted everything the prophets previously wrote. Thus, following Jesus while rejecting the authority of His Scriptures is nonsensical. He not only quoted the Old Testament repeatedly but also claimed to be the fulfillment of its entirety.
And how did He fulfill what was written beforehand? Our Lord kept God’s Law perfectly, He taught Jewish doctrine correctly, and He fulfilled Messianic prophecies completely. Jesus’ virgin birth in Bethlehem, His subsequent journey to Egypt, the miracles of His ministry, His betrayal and abandonment, and His tragic death on a cross along with His ensuing resurrection were all predicted with precision before our Savior’s incarnation. Why would we reject the very Scriptures which so accurately pinpoint the details of our Savior’s life before they unfolded? If Jesus trusted the Old Testament, so should we!
But what about the New Testament? How do we know Jesus had confidence in the writings of the apostle who followed Him? Thankfully, our Savior promised about the New Testament exactly what He proclaimed about the Old Testament. While anticipating the Holy Spirit’s arrival, Jesus assured, “When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you (John 16:13-14).”
Stated simply, Jesus guaranteed that the coming revelation would carry the same veracity as the former revelation. Down to the smallest letter (the jot) and tiniest Hebrew marking (the tittle), the Old Testament was and is fully reliable. Likewise, the New Testament brought with it the same perfection because it, too, is the Word of God (2 Pet. 1:20-21, 3:15-16).”
The bottom line is that if we cannot trust the content of the Bible, then neither can we trust Jesus, who clearly had the highest view of Scripture possible. Thus, when we give our lives to the Savior, we should adopt His view of the Bible and rest knowing that all Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16).
So, the next time you claim, “Jesus loves me this I know,” remember that the reason for your confidence is, “for the Bible tells me so.”
Adam B. Dooley
November 5, 2025
