WHAT IS TRUTH?
John 18:31
Joh 18:28 Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover.
29 Pilate then went out unto them, and said, What accusation bring ye against this man?
30 They answered and said unto him, If he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up unto thee.
31 Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye him, and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death:
32 That the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake, signifying what death he should die.
33 Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews?
34 Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me?
35 Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done?
36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.
38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.
39 But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews?
40 Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber.
The drunk husband snuck up the stairs quietly. He looked in the bathroom mirror and bandaged the bumps and bruises he’d received in a fight earlier that night. He then proceeded to climb into bed, smiling at the thought that he’d pulled one over on his wife. When morning came, he opened his eyes and there stood his wife. "You were drunk last night weren’t you!" "No, honey." "Well, if you weren’t, then who put all the band-aids on the bathroom mirror?"
Of all the places in the world where you would expect to find the truth it would be in a court of law. Court is where many things are decided.
• Custody of the kids
• Pain & suffering in the event of an injury
• Liability in an accidental death
• Guilty or not if a crime has been committed
This system (the best in the world) is dependent on natural born liars to tell the truth.
Jesus in court
The case: He claims to be a king
The judge: Pilate
The prosecution: Caiaphas the High Priest
Witness for the defendant: None
Witness for the prosecution: Our word vs 30
Verdict: No Fault vs 38
Sentence: Death
Pilate was concerned about one thing ROME
• He even said Judge him according to your law.
• But if he claims to be king of a land held by Rome
• The interrogation verses 33 - 37
Jesus’ reply …my kingdom is truth… verse 36 – 38
• Jesus was the truth (John 14:6) so.. he came to bare witness of himself
Pilate asks “What is Truth?”
1. Truth is Absolute
• Truth is fixed. Immovable. This is why the bible is as relevant today as it was in the first century. Truth transcends cultures, generations, and empires.
• The devil wants to make truth a moving target.
2. Truth is Biblical
• Scientific truth usually has a bias.
• Without the bible what is the basis for right & wrong?
• "You can’t have national morality apart from religious principle." -George Washington
• "We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion." -John Adams
3. Truth is Inconsiderate of Opinion
• What is God’s opinion
• If you insert your opinion over truth, you are denying Christ himself for he is truth.
1 John 5:10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
• If you want to debate about interpretation that is one thing but if we have clear understanding then it is only a matter of our obedience
4. Truth is Incompatible with Moral Relativism
• What is right for one is right for all.
• Abraham Lincoln asked a fellow once, "Well, let’s see how many legs this cow has?" "Four, of course," came the reply disgustedly. "That’s right," agreed Lincoln. "Now suppose you call the cow’s tail a leg; how many legs would the cow have?" "Why, five, of course," was the confident reply. "Now, that’s where you’re wrong," said Lincoln. "Calling a cow’s tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg."
• Tradition, denominations, and upbringing have no precedence over truth.
• Follow truth not you heart.
Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
5. Truth is a preservative
• Decay is a result of people following something other than truth (decadence illustration)
• Anchor yourself to truth
• "The philosophy of the schoolroom in one generation will be the philosophy of the government of the next." -Abraham Lincoln
• More than I want:
Comfort
Convenience
Acceptance
Tradition
Happiness
Pleasure Normality
Success
Entertainment
Accolades
Satisfaction
Prosperity
I want truth
6. Truth is the way to Heaven
What is truth
Truth is the base on which the Constitution of the United States of America was framed.
Truth is what makes a code of morality possible.
Truth is power by which to live
Truth is the only rule that God gave us by.
Truth is most precious.
Truth is freedom not confinement.
“ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” no longer captive to limited understanding.
More Verses on truth
1Co 13:6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
2Co 13:8 For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.
Ga 5:7 Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?
1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
2 Thessalonians . 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Jesus does not here affirm that he was born to reign, or that this was the design of his coming; but it was to bear witness to and to exhibit the truth. By this he showed what was the nature of his kingdom. It was not to assert power; not to collect armies; not to subdue nations in battle. It was simply to present truth to men, and to exercise dominion only by the truth. Hence the only power put forth in restraining the wicked, in convincing the sinner, in converting the heart, in guiding and leading his people, and in sanctifying them, is that which is produced by applying truth to the mind. Men are not forced or compelled to be Christians. They are made to see that they are sinners, that God is merciful, that they need a Redeemer, and that the Lord Jesus is fitted to their case.
