The evidence indicates that as Jesus taught and ministered He verified the complete reliability and comprehensive authority of the Old Testament. Unlike the skeptics, who've often masqueraded as theologians, nowhere are we left with the impression that the Lord considered those 39 books corrupted, incomplete, or tainted with allegory, fable, or fiction. To Jesus they were flatly and absolutely the Word of God. Can His true followers afford to do any less than the Messiah did? If the Old Testament had contained errors of any sort, be they historical, scientific, or doctrinal, the incarnate Son of God would have surely brought correction during His time on earth. Instead, Jesus only corroborated the content of the Old Testament. The Master certainly had plenty of opportunity to address alleged mistakes, for during His earthly ministry He quoted from 24 different Old Testament books. But rather than casting aspersions on various Old Testament prophets or what they wrote, Jesus instead validated accounts and passages that critics seem to find pleasure in bemoaning. Here are just a few instances from the Gospels that contain Old Testament references that draw fire from the skeptics.

- Abel, Lk 11:51

- Noah, Mt 24:37-39; Lk 17:26-27

- Sodom and Gomorrah, Mt 10:15; 11:23, 24; Lk 10:12

- Jonah, Mt 12:39-41; Lk 11:29, 30, 32

- Moses, Mt 8:4; 19:8; Mk 1:44; 7:10

- The Validity of Genesis 1 & 2 (Creation),
Mt 19:4-5; Mk 10:6-8; and traditional marriage in the same passages

If the accounts of Noah, Jonah, Sodom and Gomorrah, or the six-day creation in Genesis weren't absolute truths and real events, would Jesus have spoken matter-of-factly of them? 

As He taught, Jesus never wavered or discounted anything the Old Testament prophets wrote. Judging from Jesus' approach throughout the New Testament, if these and many other accounts were mere fable, it is unthinkable that God incarnate would not have taken the numerous opportunities He had to correct what is known as HIS OWN WORD. After all, Jesus was complete, absolute, and total truth with feet and hands, wasn't He? (Your answer here needs to be an emphatic "yes!") It is inconceivable to think that if the Old Testament held errors of any sort Jesus would have avoided speaking up. Plus, the apostles, having no desire to protect Judaism as represented by the Pharisees, would have gladly recorded any such statements.

If we mortals attempt to pick and choose which books or accounts from Genesis to Malachi we deem as only lore, allegory, or somehow untrustworthy because they don't suit our fancy or that of the skeptics, atheists, intellectuals, and secular scientific community, then we pit our opinions squarely against those of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. In reality, if we dare reject the trustworthiness of the Old Testament, then we are in effect also rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ with it!

So, the next time someone besmirches the credibility of God's Word - be they friend, family, clergy, teacher, or scholar - remind them that Jesus, the sinless, perfect, Son of God, by His own words defended it. It would be wise for those who think they somehow know better than Jesus Christ to repent from such delusions of intellectual superiority and do so quickly! Once you know the facts, it seems impossible that a true believer can trust in Jesus but reject the inerrancy of God's Word.

Here's just part of what a survey of Jesus' teaching tells us about the Old Testament:

 

1. Authority - Matt. 22:43

2. Reliability - Matt. 26:54

3. Finality - Matt. 4:4, 7, 10

4. Sufficiency - Luke 16:31

5. Indestructibility - Matt. 5:17-18

6. Unity - Luke 24:27, 44

7. Clarity - Luke 24:27

8. Historicity - Matt. 12:40

9. Facticity (scientifically) - Matt. 19:2-5

10. Inerrancy - Matt. 22:29; John 3:12, 17:17

11. Infallibility - John 10:35

    

During the high priestly prayer found in John 17, Jesus prays to His Father in Heaven about those who follow Him. He said: "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." He said it - believe it!