In Matthew 19:3-6, the eyewitness biographer records this exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees:

Matt. 19:3 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” 4 He [Jesus] answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

The topic that the Pharisees were testing Jesus on was marriage and divorce. The question was rather stupid and poorly thought out. But, Jesus’ answer tells us a lot about His view of the book of Genesis. First Jesus points the Pharisees to Genesis as if it alone provides the authoritative answer to their trick question. Then Jesus quotes Genesis 1:27 as if it literally meant what it said, “God created him; male and female he created them”. Then Jesus quotes Genesis 2:24 as if it literally meant what it said, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh…”

There was no equivocation on Jesus’ part and no hint that He secretly believed that the opening story of Genesis was a man-made poetic myth or that it was less than historically true. In fact, Jesus’ final statement on the matter makes it perfectly clear that Jesus literally believes that God is the one who brings a man and woman together and makes them one flesh. All of this is predicated on Jesus’ personal knowledge that Adam and Eve were literally and historically the first two humans that Jesus created.

Challenge Questions: If you call yourself a Christian or a Christ-Follower yet don’t believe that the story of Adam and Eve is historically true or accurate, what authority are you basing this belief on? Is it right for you to call yourself a Christian or a Christ-Follower when your view of the scriptures are at odds with Jesus’ views? (Online source)

Chris Rosebrough of Pirate Christian Radio