Truth what is true?
Like Pontius Pilate, multitudes today sneer, "What is truth?" The ultimate virtue in our culture today is tolerance. Anyone who insists that there is an absolute standard of truth is regarded as an intolerant bigot and a threat to the welfare of our nation.
The Christian unashamedly regards Jesus Christ as the standard of truth. Jesus said, "I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me" (John 18:37).
Describing the crucifixion, John wrote, "The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe" (John 19:35).
John knew firsthand that Jesus had died on the cross. He was also an eyewitness to the resurrection. When John examined the empty tomb, "he saw and believed" (John 20:8). The apostle was speaking about what he knew from experience to be true.
The resurrection verified that Jesus was "the way and the truth and the life."
As the apostle Paul said to the Athenians, "He (God) has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead" (Acts 17:31). In Jesus Christ, God established a standard of right and wrong that never changes.
Far from being repressive, that standard is for our benefit. As former Secretary of Education William Bennett said, "Religion is on the side of civilization; more people ought to begin to recognize it."
Jesus came so that we "might have life, and have it to the full" (John 10:10). He said, "Learn from me ... and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:29).
Jesus' response to Pilate was plain: "Everyone on the side of truth listens to me (John 18:37)." And unless someone else dies and conquers the grave, the logical and wise response is to listen to Jesus.
Pilate asked Jesus a straightforward question, and Jesus answered clearly. Jesus is a king, but one whose kingdom is not of this world. There seems to have been no question in Pilate’s mind that Jesus spoke the truth and was innocent of any crime. It also seems apparent that while recognizing the truth, Pilate chose to reject it. It is a tragedy when we fail to recognize the truth. It is a greater tragedy when we recognize the truth but fall to heed it.
Consider:
I. To what or whom do you turn when you need advice? Why?
2. Why is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus central to any consideration of "truth"?
3. Do you think determining "the truth" depends more on what you think and believe at the beginning of a study or discussion, or more on the answers you have at the end?
Pastor Paul Leavens - Minister - Christian Church in Lindsay