ITRODUCTION — TRUTH IN A WORLD OF VERSIONS
We live in a strange generation—one that has replaced reality with versions of reality. If you’ve noticed, we no longer speak about truth the way Scripture does. We speak in smaller, softer, more flexible categories:
“Your truth.”
“My truth.”
“Live your truth.”
“Speak your truth.”
It sounds good. It sounds affirming. It sounds empowering.
But it’s also fragile.
Because if your truth contradicts my truth, the question becomes:
What stands when everyone’s private version gets stripped away?
What remains when feelings fade, memories distort, and opinions divide?
The Bible’s answer is simple, solid, and stubborn:
There is truth.
There is one truth.
And the truth is a Person.
His name is Jesus.
Before we see Him heal, before we see Him teach, before we see Him die, John introduces Him with one sentence:
> “Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” — John 1:17
So this message is not simply philosophical.
It is not academic.
It is not abstract.
This message is about Christ—
Christ in your choices,
Christ in your doubts,
Christ in your moral battles,
Christ in your identity,
Christ in your search for meaning.
This message is about the moment when Truth Himself stood in a Roman courtroom, and the most powerful man in Judea asked the most important question of the human soul:
“What is truth?”
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I. YOUR TRUTH — THE WORLD OF FRAGILE REALITY
First, let’s speak the language of our culture.
“Your truth” is the language of experience.
It says:
“My feelings are real.”
“My story matters.”
“My wounds are valid.”
“My perspective is mine.”
And that is all legitimate.
Nobody should ever deny or belittle the story you carry.
But “your truth” can be sincere and still incomplete.
A person’s experience may be real, but that does not make it reliable. Pain can distort as much as it reveals. Trauma can shape memory. Desire can twist morality. Fear can shape conclusions.
The woman caught in adultery had “her truth.”
The Pharisees had “their truth.”
But Jesus had the truth.
The Samaritan woman had “her truth.”
The disciples had “their truth.”
But Jesus had the truth.
Your truth matters.
Your truth deserves a voice.
But your truth is not the foundation of your salvation.
Because salvation is not built on your feelings about God.
Salvation is built on God’s reality about you.
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II. MY TRUTH — THE WORLD OF SELF-INTERPRETATION
“My truth” is even more dangerous.
“Your truth” is usually emotional.
“My truth” is usually defensive.
“My truth” is what I use to justify myself:
“This is how I see it.”
“This is what I believe.”
“This is how I interpret things.”
“This is what feels right to me.”
“My truth” lets me be judge, jury, and defense attorney in my own case.
We see this everywhere:
Cain: “My truth is God wasn’t fair.”
Pharaoh: “My truth is Moses is the troublemaker.”
Saul: “My truth is I did obey the Lord.”
The rich young ruler: “My truth is I have kept all the commandments.”
Every one of those versions felt right to the person who claimed them.
Every one of those versions collapsed under the weight of God’s reality.
“My truth” is dangerous not because it is dishonest,
but because it is self-protective.
It shields me from repentance.
It excuses me from surrender.
It keeps God at arm’s length.
And in Scripture, the most chilling example of “my truth” comes from a Roman governor named Pontius Pilate.
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III. THE MOMENT TRUTH STOOD IN A COURTROOM
Picture the scene in John 18:
It is early morning.
The courtyard is cold.
The air is tense with political pressure and religious fury.
A mob is demanding blood.
The priests are shouting accusations.
The Roman soldiers are on edge.
And into that moment of noise and fear, the Son of God is brought before Pilate—
the only man in Judea with the legal authority to condemn or free Him.
Pilate questions Him.
Pilate studies Him.
Pilate listens to Him.
And then Jesus says the most explosive thing He ever said to a politician:
> “For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world,
that I should bear witness to the truth.” — John 18:37
The truth.
Not a truth.
Not one truth among many.
Not “my” truth or “your” truth.
The truth.
Then Jesus adds:
> “Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”
That sentence cut straight through Pilate’s armor.
It pierced him.
It exposed him.
So Pilate did what modern people do when conviction gets too close:
He dodged the question.
He smirked.
He shrugged.
He said the most sophisticated, evasive, cowardly sentence ever spoken:
> “What is truth?” — John 18:38
Not because he wanted an answer.
But because he didn’t want a responsibility.
Some questions are asked to learn.
Some questions are asked to avoid learning.
Some questions open doors.
Some questions close them.
Pilate wasn’t searching.
He was escaping.
And Scripture says something chilling:
He asked the question but never waited for the answer.
The only time in history when a man had the opportunity to let Truth Himself define truth—
he turned around and walked away.
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IV. PILATE’S QUESTION IS OUR CULTURE’S QUESTION
We live in a world full of Pilate’s shrug.
“Who can know truth?”
“Truth is relative.”
“Truth is personal.”
“Truth is what you feel.”
“Truth shifts with culture.”
“Truth evolves with society.”
This is nothing new.
The human heart has always tried to make truth something flexible, something negotiable, something private.
Because truth always demands a verdict.
Truth forces a decision.
Truth reveals motives.
Truth calls sin by its name.
Truth claims authority over desire.
Truth won’t bow to my preferences.
Truth won’t rewrite itself to fit my sin.
So instead of surrendering to truth, people redefine it.
That’s what Pilate did.
He tried to philosophize his way out of accountability.
He tried to turn a moral choice into a theoretical question.
But truth is not a debate topic.
Truth is not an opinion poll.
Truth is not an academic abstraction.
Truth is a Person standing in front of him.
And truth is a Person standing in front of you.
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V. THE TRAGEDY OF A MISSED MOMENT
Pilate had three things:
1. Truth in front of him
2. Conviction inside him
3. Pressure around him
He chose the pressure.
And that is the tragedy of “my truth.”
“My truth” protects me from having to surrender to the truth.
Pilate wasn’t a monster.
He wasn’t a villain.
He wasn’t bloodthirsty.
He was a man who wanted to do the right thing—
as long as it didn’t cost him his career.
He knew Jesus was innocent.
He declared it multiple times.
But he also knew the mob was dangerous.
The leaders were hostile.
Rome was watching.
His political seat was fragile.
So he washed his hands…
thinking water could clean a conscience.
It couldn’t.
“My truth” always ends with Pilate’s basin.
Trying to convince yourself you are innocent while knowing you surrendered to fear, pressure, or convenience.
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VI. JESUS DOESN’T JUST SPEAK TRUTH—HE IS TRUTH
This is the hinge of the entire message:
Truth is not a concept.
Truth is not a category.
Truth is not a proposition.
Truth is a Person.
> “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” — John 14:6
Not “I teach truth.”
Not “I represent truth.”
Not “I point you to truth.”
I AM truth.
So when Pilate asked,
“What is truth?”
the answer was standing three feet away.
And Pilate walked away from Him.
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VII. WHEN PERSONAL TRUTH FAILS YOU
Let’s push deeper into this tension between your truth, my truth, and the truth.
Because sooner or later—and every honest person knows this—your truth will fail you.
Not because it’s dishonest.
Not because it’s insincere.
But because it is too small to carry the weight of your soul.
Your truth is limited by your perspective.
Your background.
Your wounds.
Your desires.
Your biases.
Your fears.
Your blind spots.
You don’t know everything about yourself.
You don’t remember everything correctly.
You don’t interpret everything perfectly.
We need something bigger than our inner narrative.
We need something truer than our emotional logic.
We need something stronger than self-explanation.
If “your truth” was enough to save your life,
you wouldn’t need a Savior.
If “my truth” was enough to guide my life,
I wouldn’t need a Shepherd.
If “our truth” was enough to fix the world,
Jesus would not have come at all.
Every one of us has a story,
but not one of us has the capacity
to be the final authority over it.
Which brings us back to Pilate.
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VIII. PILATE’S TRUTH — THE TRUTH HE DIDN’T WANT
Pilate did not reject Jesus because he thought Jesus was lying.
He rejected Jesus because he was afraid Jesus was telling the truth.
There is a frightening honesty in the Gospel accounts:
Pilate knew Jesus was innocent.
Not once.
Not twice.
Three times he declares it.
His own wife sends an urgent message:
> “Have nothing to do with that righteous Man…”
Pilate wasn’t dealing with a criminal.
He was dealing with his conscience.
The problem wasn’t evidence.
It was courage.
“My truth” for Pilate was simple:
“Rome must stay calm.”
“My career must remain intact.”
“I must not upset Caesar.”
“This moment must not cost me anything.”
So he created a truth that protected him:
“I find no fault in Him… but you see to it.”
That sentence is the anthem of moral compromise: I want to be innocent without doing what innocence requires.
I want to be righteous without being courageous.
I want to wash my hands without changing my heart.
Pilate didn’t reject truth because it wasn’t clear.
He rejected it because it wasn’t convenient.
And every human being knows that battle.
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IX. WHEN TRUTH BECOMES TOO COSTLY
Let’s name it plainly:
There are moments when truth gets expensive.
Truth will cost you popularity.
Truth will cost you comfort.
Truth will cost you status.
Truth will cost you relationships.
Truth will cost you certain habits, addictions, and identities.
Truth demands surrender.
That’s why people say,
“Who can know truth?”
“Truth is relative.”
“There is no ultimate truth.”
These phrases aren’t philosophical.
They’re defensive.
They are modern versions of Pilate’s shrug:
“What is truth?”
It’s a brilliant escape hatch— because if truth doesn’t exist,
I never have to change.
If truth is fluid,
my conscience can be too.
If truth is personal,
obedience becomes optional.
Relativism is not intellectual sophistication.
It is spiritual self-protection.
It is the modern world saying,
“I do not want the responsibility of a God who can command something of me.”
But truth is stubborn.
Truth doesn’t dissolve when we ignore it.
Truth doesn’t evaporate when we redefine it.
Jesus still stands in the courtroom.
Jesus still speaks.
Jesus still claims authority.
Truth still demands a verdict.
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X. GOD’S TRUTH — MORE THAN INFORMATION
Now let’s pivot.
Truth, in Scripture, is not merely correct information.
Truth is redemptive revelation.
Truth is not simply something you know.
Truth is something you meet.
Truth is Someone you must surrender to.
The Gospel’s central claim is not:
“Jesus taught true things.”
No.
The claim is:
“Jesus is the truth.”
Truth has skin.
Truth has a voice.
Truth has a heartbeat.
Truth walks into broken towns and touches broken lives.
Truth leans over a well in Samaria.
Truth writes in the dirt before an angry mob.
Truth heals blind eyes, opens deaf ears, and confronts lying hearts.
Truth hangs on a cross.
Truth rises from the grave.
Truth intercedes at the right hand of the Father.
Truth is alive.
That is why “your truth” and “my truth” cannot save us.
Because salvation requires more than sincerity.
It requires a Savior.
Truth is not just a standard to believe.
Truth is a Person to follow.
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XI. WHEN TRUTH FINDS YOU
There is a remarkable detail in John 18:
Pilate went in and out of the Praetorium multiple times.
From Jesus to the mob.
Back to Jesus.
Back to the mob.
Back to Jesus.
Back to the mob.
He is the picture of a soul
torn between the voice of truth
and the voice of pressure.
And here’s the part that breaks your heart:
Pilate was so close.
Closer than Herod.
Closer than Caiaphas.
Closer than the crowd.
Closer than the soldiers.
He had the clearest view of Jesus
of anyone in that whole story.
Truth pursued him.
Truth stood before him.
Truth invited him.
But Pilate wanted safety more than salvation.
We all have a bit of Pilate in us.
The moments when truth comes close,
conviction is strong,
the Spirit is whispering…
but surrender will cost too much. And we walk away
Not because we doubt the truth—but because we fear it.
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XII. THE THIEF’S TRUTH — A DIFFERENT RESPONSE
Now contrast Pilate with another man in the same story:
The thief on the cross.
He had no power.
No status.
No influence.
No theological education.
No career to protect.
No crowd to impress.
And yet he made one of the most truthful statements in all of Scripture:
“We are receiving the due reward for our deeds…
but this Man has done nothing wrong.” —Luke 23:41
Pilate knew Jesus was innocent,
but the thief confessed it.
Pilate asked, “What is truth?”
The thief said, “This Man is truth.”
Pilate washed his hands to avoid responsibility.
The thief lifted his voice to embrace responsibility:
“Remember me…”
He didn’t defend himself.
He didn’t justify himself.
He didn’t soften the truth.
He didn’t rewrite his story.
He surrendered to the truth.
And truth answered him:
“You will be with Me…”
Pilate walked away from truth.
The thief walked toward Him.
Two men.
Two responses.
Two destinies.
Both encountered Truth in the flesh. Only one submitted to Him.
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XIII. THE TRUTH ALWAYS REVEALS THE HEART
This is the line the whole sermon leans into:
Truth does not expose facts.
Truth exposes hearts.
Pilate’s heart was revealed in one question:
“What is truth?”
The thief’s heart was revealed in one prayer: “Remember me.”
You can’t hide from truth.
Truth reveals motives.
Truth reveals loyalties.
Truth reveals desires.
Truth reveals the condition of the soul.
Truth doesn’t need your permission to be true.
It only waits for your willingness to surrender.
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XIV. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOUR TRUTH COLLIDES WITH THE TRUTH?
This is the collision every believer must face:
When your truth
meets
God’s truth…
Something must give.
Either your truth will surrender,
or God’s truth will be rejected.
There is no neutral ground.
Your truth may be comforting.
My truth may be convincing.
Culture’s truth may be popular.
But only the truth is eternal.
Only the truth can free you.
Only the truth can forgive you.
Only the truth can resurrect you.
Only the truth can name you, heal you, restore you, save you, and call you.
Your truth may help explain your past—
but only the truth can determine your future.
My truth may help me cope with my weakness—
but only the truth can transform my life.
The truth is not the enemy of your story.
The truth is the redemption of your story.
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APPEAL
There comes a moment—quiet, personal, unmistakable—when truth stops being an idea in the mind and becomes a voice in the soul.
And that moment is now.
You have heard about your truth.
You have examined my truth.
But you have stood face-to-face with the truth—
and truth is not condemning you.
Truth is calling you.
Not to shame you.
Not to expose you.
Not to break you.
But to free you.
Some of us have lived like Pilate—
in and out, back and forth, torn between conviction and convenience,
wanting to do the right thing as long as it doesn’t cost too much.
Some of us have lived like the thief—
fully aware of our guilt, painfully aware of our story,
but desperate for a Savior who remembers us.
And tonight, Jesus stands before you the same way He stood before both of them.
He is not asking you to clean yourself first.
He is not asking you to prove anything.
He is not asking for explanations, arguments, or performance.
He is asking for surrender.
A step toward the truth.
A step toward grace.
A step toward freedom.
A step toward Him.
If the Spirit is whispering in your heart—
“This is truth… this is for you… this is your moment…”
do not walk away like Pilate.
Walk toward Him like the thief.
Let your prayer echo his:
“Lord, remember me.”
And the same Savior who spoke life to a dying man
will speak life into you.
Come to the One who is not just truth for the world—
but truth for you.
Truth for your past.
Truth for your present.
Truth for your future.
Truth for your salvation.
And if you take even one honest step toward Him,
you will find He has already taken a thousand toward you.
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CLOSING PRAYER
Father in Heaven,
Tonight we come to You not with polished stories or perfect explanations,
but with open hearts.
We confess that our own truth is too small,
too fragile,
too inconsistent to build a life on.
We confess that we have sought comfort more than conviction,
convenience more than surrender,
and like Pilate, we have walked away too quickly.
But thank You, Father, that the Truth did not walk away from us.
Thank You for Jesus—
the Way, the Truth, and the Life—
the One who stands before us even now,
calling us to freedom,
calling us to forgiveness,
calling us to Himself.
Lord, we choose the truth.
We choose Your truth.
We choose the Savior who remembers sinners
and redeems broken stories.
For the one who feels like the thief,
whisper hope.
For the one who feels like Pilate,
whisper courage.
For the one who feels far,
draw them near.
For the one who feels guilty,
pour out mercy.
For the one who feels lost,
shine Your light.
Make us a people who walk in truth,
live in truth,
and speak truth with grace.
And when everything else shakes,
let us stand firm on Christ—
the Truth who never changes,
the Truth who never leaves,
the Truth who always remembers us.
In the saving name of Jesus,
Amen.
