Jesus on Genesis

A Biblical Creation Series: Part 1

by: Wesley Coleman

As Christians, it’s essential to understand and evaluate the claims of Jesus Christ. First, we should understand the claims and views of the creation account in scripture according to the Son of God. If Jesus was who He claimed He was, then that means He has the most reliable testimony of human history and the origin of the universe. Indeed, we should take His account of scripture as the utmost authority. There are many reasons to believe the Genesis account is evidence of young six-day creation, and today we intend to start with this Christ-centered exegesis.

Jesus overtly mentions the creation account two times in his recorded ministry. The first is on the issue of divorce in Matthew and Mark. The second is on the issue of the blood of the prophets in Luke. This is what Jesus replies to when confronted by the Pharisees and Sadducees on the issue of divorce.

 

“...He who created (κτίσας) them from the beginning made them male and female….”

~ Matthew 19:3-6

“...from the beginning of the creation (κτίσεως), God made them male and female.”

~ Mark 10:3-9

These passages indicate that God made humanity from the beginning of creation (Latin ktiseos – κτίσεως). This seems to indicate the beginning of the creation, i.e., the creation week. However, one could argue that creation means the creation of humankind or marriage, so let’s look at other passages where the word creation is used (Romans, Colossians, 2 Peter, and Hebrews). Doing this will clarify what or who’s beginning Jesus is referring to.

“For since the creation (κτίσεως) of the world (not mankind, rather ‘the world’)… [God’s invisible attributes were] being understood by what has been made….”

~ Romans 1:20

“For the eagerly awaiting creation (κτίσεως) (not mankind, rather all that is in ‘slavery to corruption’, i.e., the world) waits for the revealing of the sons and daughters of God.”

~ Romans 8:19

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation (κτίσεως) (not mankind, rather ‘all things’): for by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth… all things have been created through Him and for Him.”

Colossians 1:15-16

“...mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For, ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things (not mankind, rather ‘all things’) continue just as they were from the beginning of creation (κτίσεως).’”

~ 2 Peter 3:3-4

“...the world has been created (κατηρτίσθαι) by the word of God so that what is seen has not been made out of things that are visible.”

~ Hebrews 11:3

Here, “creation” never refers to the creation of man, but rather it generally refers to the creation of all things, i.e., the whole world and its inhabitants. Therefore, Jesus is communicating that God created Adam and Eve at the beginning of creation and all other created things. The Pharisees and Sadducees believed in this literal week of creation[1], so if this is not what Jesus means to do, it would be an optimal time to correct them and His followers.

God created them “male and female” directly from Genesis 1:27, where the author uses “bara” to describe both the universe and humankind. Bara is used in one other place in the Genesis creation account. Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning, God created (bara) the heavens and the earth.” Bara means to create or shape (usually involving a divine act).

It is a common narrative trait of the Ancient Hebrews to arrange events according to intensifying purpose and interest rather than a chronological listing of events[2]. This is known as “block logic.” Bara is used both to signify the divinity of each particular instance of creation and like a magnifying glass to zoom in and give a more detailed inspection to show the significance of an aspect of creation. This ties the concept of marriage to the creation of man in the same way as the creation of the universe is tied with the creation week, from one general creation to a more specific creation portrayal.

Additionally, Jesus depicts humanity as having martyrs since the foundation of the world.

“…the blood of all the prophets, shed since the foundation (καταβολῆς) of the world… from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah….”

~ Luke 11:50-51

The foundation (καταβολῆς) has ten occurrences, and they are all explicitly linked to the whole original creation event. The reference seems to be further evidence to suggest that God created Adam with the completeness of creation at its beginning stages. 

Moreover, in Romans 1:20, it is said that God’s “…invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived…” by a created thing that has perception. Now, what in creation has a perception of God? It stands to reason that that would be humanity.

Jesus is unmistakable – God created Adam with the rest of creation in the beginning.

The Bible also contains verses about the creation week as an actual event. Exodus speaks to how God made the world set an example for man to work six days and rest on the Sabbath. The justification for that command is stated as such. In 2 Peter, He speaks to the fact that, in the last days, scoffers will come and deny that the creation event, the global flood, and the coming judgment are actual events.

“For in six days, the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day….”

~ Exodus 20:11

“…the earth was formed out of the water and by water… [then later] destroyed by being flooded with water… [then further] reserved for fire….”

~ 2 Peter 3:3-7

In Isaiah, God describes the creation being formed for its inhabitance. This suggests that the creation was made in a mature state. Plants would spring up to adult trees, water would fill the entire ocean in an instant, the sun and celestial bodies would appear from great distances, and Man and the animals would be made to a maturity level capable of surviving independently.

“For thus says the Lord, who created (bara) the heavens – He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create (bara) it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited – I am the Lord, and there is none else.”

~ Isaiah 45:18

It is possible to illustrate the entire narrative of the creation and fall of man, excluding the Genesis account. These passages explicitly give credence to the creation account as described in Genesis. It speaks to the garden of Eden, the creation of man from dust, the creation of woman from man, the serpent’s deception of Eve, then the deception of Adam, and the violation of the everlasting covenant.

“…wolf and the lamb will graze together… They will do no evil or harm on all My holy mountain….”

~ Isaiah 65:25

“…mankind would return to dust.”

~ Job 34:15

“…man does not originate from woman, but woman from man….”

~ 1 Corinthians 11:8-9

“…Adam who was first created and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman was deceived….”

~ 1 Timothy 2:13-14

“You were in Eden, the garden of God… You were on the holy mountain of God… You were blameless in your ways From the day you were created Until unrighteousness was found in you.”

~ Ezekiel 28: 11–15

“…as the serpent deceived Eve by his trickery….”

~ 2 Corinthians 11:3

“But like Adam, they have violated the covenant….”

~ Hosea 6:7

“The earth is also defiled by its inhabitants, for they violated laws, altered statutes, and broke the everlasting covenant.”

~ Isaiah 24:5

“…death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the violation committed by Adam… For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the One, the many will be made righteous….”

~ Romans 5:12-19

As you can see, Jesus and the Bible take the entire Genesis account of the creation and fall of man as a historical narrative and a CRUCIAL part of the GOSPEL. In the last verse, it’s clear that Adam is a historical person, just as Jesus was. Jesus is even described as the second Adam by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:45-49. Further, Jesus also confirms the flood narrative in Matthew and Luke when speaking to his disciples on His return to earth.

 

“For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark.”

~ Matthew 24:38-39

“...And just as it happened in the days of Noah… until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.”

~ Luke 17:26-27

“For this is like the days of Noah… When I swore that the waters of Noah Would not flood the earth again….”

~ Isaiah 54:9

In Matthew and Luke, Jesus is relaying the flood account as history. He describes the days of Noah and compares them to actual future events. God speaks to Job of the covenant made to Noah to verify the flood narrative. These passages show the truth, from the words of Jesus to His disciples and God to Isaiah, of the flood account described in Genesis.

Now that we have established that Jesus takes these two accounts in Genesis to be conveying something to the audience that is more than just spiritually or ritually significant, in the following article, we will go to the account in Genesis, chapters 6 through 9, of the global flood.

Source: NASB 1995

1. The interpreter’s dictionary of the Bible, GA Buttrick. (2015).

https://doc.uments.com/g-the-interpreters-dictionary-of-the-bible.pdf

2. The Philosophy of the Hebrew Language | AHRC. (n.d.).

https://www.ancient-hebrew.org/language/philosophy-of-the-hebrew-language.htm

NOTE: Thanks for reading, and please feel free to share your thoughts and criticisms in the comments. “Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another (Proverbs 27:17)”!