John 18:37
I Am Come To Bear Witness To The Truth
Woodlawn Baptist Church
August 21, 2005
Introduction
Today as you consider this message, the last of seven messages that have tried to answer the question, “Why did Jesus come to earth?” I trust that you have had the opportunity to get a better look at the redemptive work of Christ. I believe there are few things more lacking in the world today than an understanding of what Christ has done for us, and though we can never fully understand these things, we ought never to be content to remain indifferent to the magnitude of Christ’s love for us. Just as surely as there are some who do not understand, many do not want to understand them and therefore have little appreciation for Christ, His work on our behalf, or for the task to which we have been called.
Jesus said that He had come to fulfill the Law. He fulfilled many of its prophecies and will fulfill the remaining. He is the Savior to whom the entire Old Testament points. He said that He came to call sinners to repentance. You were created for communion, for intimacy with God the Father, but in your sin you are unfit and unworthy of His presence. When Christ came to earth He shattered all of man’s misconceptions about your worthiness as He gave Himself freely to men and women whose lives were filled with sin and shame and He communicated His desire to commune with those very people. It is not a clean life or one filled with good deeds that God accepts. Rather it is the man or woman who is able to admit what they are in the eyes of God and repent of it and trust Christ who enjoys the fellowship of God.
Jesus said that He came to send a sword. The life of the child of God is an invitation to suffer as we follow Christ. He never promised to you or me a life of peace and prosperity. Following Him involves sacrifice and loyalty at all costs. He came to seek and to save sinners. Again, there was no shortage of sinners, but there has always been a shortage of people who will admit they are sinners. Jesus said that He came for judgment. He came as the Light of the world, and those who would willingly step into that light receive eternal life free from the penalty of sin, “but men loved darkness, rather than the light,” and it is that love for darkness that condemns a man to God’s judgment.
In my last message I told you that Jesus came that you might have life, and that you might have it more abundantly. He wants you to experience Him in His fullness. While Satan offers you empty and dead religion, Christ offers you a dynamic, personal relationship with Himself. He offers you more than you can imagine, more of His purposes and His powerful presence than you have ever known. So many people, even some of you are happy to stay in your limited experience of God and some of you even think that knowing Him in a greater way is unnecessary or extreme, but it is abundant living at its core and the only way it comes is to spend much time with the Savior, know Him and learn His voice.
In the text we’ll read today, Jesus makes a statement that I have come to believe encompasses all of these things and even more. At this point in the book of John, Jesus and His followers have observed the Passover meal; they have been to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed in agony to the Father. Some time afterwards Judas Iscariot led the angry mob out to the garden where they arrested the Lord. He was taken in the early morning hours before the High Priest, where He was unjustly tried and condemned. He was then led to Pilate, evidently around 6:00 a.m. I’d like for us to begin reading in verse 28.
“Then they led 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. Pilate then went out unto them and said, What accusation bring ye against this man? They answered and said unto him, If he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up unto thee. 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: that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake, signifying what death he should die. Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews? Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me? Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done? 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. 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. Everyone that is of the truth heareth my voice.”
There is much in this passage that we will not deal with. Notice that the Pharisees did not want to become unclean and be disqualified from observing the Passover by entering Pilate’s residence because he was a Gentile. Never mind that they were condemning and innocent man to death. It is also interesting that they were so concerned about observing the Passover meal that they could not see they were killing the Passover Lamb.
However, let us deal with the question at hand: Why did Jesus come? He says most plainly to Pilate, “I have come to bear witness to the truth.” “I was born for this purpose.” Reading that, there are four questions that arise in my mind: to whom did Jesus come to bear witness? how does He bear witness? what is this truth that He bore witness to? and lastly what difference does it really make to us?
To Whom Did Jesus Come to Bear Witness?
You can see in verse 37 that Jesus makes this statement to Pilate, but did He only come to bear witness of the truth to Pilate? Did Jesus leave the glories of heaven and enter the womb of Mary to be born and live out a meager existence and suffer the scorn and shame of men simply to stand before this Roman ruler?
Perhaps He was speaking of the Jews. After all, the Scriptures say that “He was sent unto His own.” Could it have been anyone living during His time, or some other select group? “For God so loved the world, that if my chosen people would believe?” Some chosen race? A favorite people? The Jews? Americans? No! That whosoever! Jesus came to bar witness to everyone, and not just to the people He personally met!
The Bible teaches us that Jesus bore witness to Moses and Israel. He bore witness to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. He bore witness to David and Jonah and everyone else in the Old Testament period. He bore witness to the world before the cross, on the cross, and to the entire world after the cross. So to whom did Jesus come to bear witness? To everyone – including each of you – so hear the testimony of Christ as He bears witness.
How Does Jesus Bear Witness to the Truth?
In John 8, Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees about Him bearing record, or witness to Himself. Read with me in John 8:12,
“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true. Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet me record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go.”
How does Jesus bear witness? Very simply He told people about Himself. “I am the light of the world…” “I am the bread of life…” “I am the door…” “I am the way, the truth and the life…” What does a witness do in a court trial? They testify, which is exactly what Jesus spent His earthly ministry doing – He testified, bore witness to the truth, but He did much more than that. Let’s read John 5:31ff. According to Jewish law, for a thing to hold up in trial it had to be verified by two or more witnesses. Jesus said,
“If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true (according to the law). There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness that he witnesseth of me is true. Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth. But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved. He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. But I have a greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.”
When Jesus came along, He bore witness to the truth by telling people about it. John preached about it. The Father testified about it, and the works Jesus did testified to the truth. It’s like Jesus is on trial, and He professes to the Jews and the Romans and to you and me that some thing is true. It is true because He has said it is true. He steps down off the witness stand and John is called as a witness. His testimony authenticates Jesus’ claims. John steps down and God the Father is called to the stand. His testimony is the same. Then last of all the works Jesus has been doing are put on the stand. Do they also testify that what Jesus is saying is true? In every way!
Well all that’s fine for the people living in Jesus’ day, but what about those who lived before Jesus? How did Jesus bear witness to them? He did it in a variety of ways. Jesus bore witness through the Law to Moses and Israel. He bore witness through the sacrifices. Every time a bull or goat or a lamb was slain testimony was given regarding the truth those people needed to know. Every time someone went to the tabernacle testimony was given regarding Jesus. He bore witness through the feasts, through the offerings, through the prophets and through various other types and figures throughout the Old Testament period.
What about now? How does Jesus bear witness to the truth to the world today? Let’s read 1 John 5:7ff.
“For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. 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.”
John said that three things bear witness, or bear record on earth today: the Spirit, and the water and the blood. Jesus said that the Spirit’s job is to convict the world of sin. He works in the hearts of men and women to testify to the truth of God. The water, or baptism bears record in that it presents a beautiful object lesson every time it is observed, and certainly the blood, or the cross of Calvary testifies to the truth.
In John 20:30, we are told,
“And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”
Simply put, Jesus continues to bear witness to our world today, to you and me through the instrument of His written word. While the world continues its insane search for signs and wonders and artifacts from the past, all the record they need is found right here in God’s Word.
Now, having said all that…
What Truth Did Jesus Bear Witness To?
Most simply put; Jesus bore witness to Himself, after all, truth is not some abstract idea; it is a person, so when Jesus said that He came to bear witness unto the truth, He literally could have said that He came to bear witness unto Himself. But let’s try to pin that down more clearly.
In 1 John 5 let’s take up in verse 11.
“And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”
The truth is that you and all the rest of humanity has been offered eternal life that can only be and only ever will be found in Jesus Christ through the shed blood sacrifice He made on Calvary!
In Matthew 14:33, Jesus and the disciples were in the boat after Jesus calmed the storm when one of them said, “Of a truth thou art the Son of God!”
Listen, we could go through the Scriptures all day long and they would testify of truth after truth concerning Jesus Christ. He is the Son of God. In Him is eternal life. There are absolutes in this life. There is only one way to heaven. The lost need to be saved. The saved need to be scripturally baptized. The scripturally baptized need to yoke up with a New Testament church where they can learn and grow and get involved in reaching others for Christ. The truth is that we are His ambassadors.
And if I could stress any one thing here it is that all men…every man or woman alive including you need Jesus Christ more than you know. You can know Him better than you already do. There are depths to His love that you have never experienced. There are heights to His power that you have never dreamed of working in your life. His purposes give meaning to life in a world that is crying out for meaning. I do not know of any other way to say it but just to say that you need more of God every day in your life, but the only way you get more of God is to give Him more of yourself.
What Difference Does It Really Make To Me?
Jesus said that those who were of the truth hear his voice. You might think of that as saying that everyone who is so inclined to hear the truth will listen to and will respond to the testimony Christ offers. Your response to that testimony will either acquit you or it will condemn you. The Jews condemned themselves by their response. Jesus bore witness to the truths I have mentioned to you through His preaching, through His miracles and through His love for an undeserving world, but they hated His testimony and they delivered Him up to death.
You see, while the truths of God are exactly what we need, they are exactly what our flesh and sinful nature most resent. I do not like to be told I am wrong. It is not pleasant to hear about my sin. We do not like to think that we are less than what we should be, that we somehow do not measure up, but that’s exactly what the truth tells us. God does not come along and tell us how wonderful we are to boost our self-esteem. He enters our lives and tells us that without Him we are nothing. He tells us that on our best days we are but filthy rags, the greasy scum that forms on top of a cold pot of stew, because if we ever see what we really are He can then give us what we are most in need of.
Now, the Jews were fortunate in that some of them were in the audience when Peter preached at Pentecost that they had crucified Jesus. Convicted by what they had done and by their sin they repented and were saved, but not everyone is afforded that opportunity. Do you suppose that 17 year-old Haley Hilderbrand dreamed that Thursday would be her last day on earth when she decided to have her picture taken with that tiger? Do you suppose that Julia Bond imagined her 30th birthday would be her last when she died sky-diving last Saturday? I know – you can say that both of those are cases of bad judgment. Sitting on a tiger or jumping out of a plane are pretty risky, there’s always the possibility of dying. But I ask you, is rejecting the testimony of Jesus Christ any less risky?
Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate on trial for the testimony He bore, but I want you to realize that it was really Pilate who was being tried. He stood face to face with the truth – the only possible way to eternal life and to a better life, and he turned away from it: rejecting it.
Today you stand in that place, and I ask you, will you too turn away, or will you embrace the truth being testified to you today? Will you place your faith in Christ? Will you repent of your sin and trust Him and Him alone to save you? Oh child of God will you turn from your tendencies toward self-sufficiency and independence and live by faith in the Son of God? Would you recognize that your soul hungers and thirsts for only what Christ can offer? Would you admit today that your marriage will only be made better through Him? Would you see that what your heart truly longs for is a fresh encounter with the Lamb of God?
Come to Him today! How long will we stand strong-willed? How long will it be before we can be broken before Him and one another? How long before we can get on our knees in the house of God and be open and honest with the Lord? Won’t you come to the altar today? Won’t you come to Christ? What will you do with the testimony of Christ in your life today?
