Jesus was hated & arrested, now in conversation and standing before Pilate (Roman Governor) of Judea…
John 18:35-38a 35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?” 36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
- Jesus is God’s Son, Jesus is God manifest in the flesh… Our Creator… God’s abode, called heaven!
37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” 38 “What is truth?” … I find no basis for a charge against him…
- Did you know that truth takes sides… Satan’s lies on one side, Jesus’ truth on the other side… You and I in the middle like Pilate asking, What is Truth? Pilate then says, I find no basis for a charge…
- Pilate KNEW Jesus was speaking truth, yet he chose to reject truth, & yielded to the chief priests…
Pilate asked, What is Truth? The reason Jesus came into the world was to testify to the TRUTH… Jesus is the TRUTH… John 14:6 6 … “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me… Jesus came into the world… John 1:14 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
- Jesus is Truth, full of divine unmerited favor, grace and truth, trustworthy, true, veracity…
- In the four Gospels, Jesus used the phrase, “I tell you the truth” nearly 80 times… Jesus came to testify to the truth… He came into a world of sin, darkness and lies to bear witness, speak truth…
- Why? Because of man’s sinful nature, all have sinned, the world stands in darkness, the heart of man is desperately wicked… Eph 1 tells us we are spiritually dead in trespasses and sin… Then we read about the ultimate invisible enemy, Satan… 2 Corinthians 4:4 4 The god of this world/age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
- Satan is a liar and blinds minds of people to the gospel message of truth… In Revelation 12:9 9 The great dragon was hurled down–that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him…
- Just as Adam & Eve were led astray in the garden by the ancient serpent… He hasn’t changed his gameplan but just what God tells us in this verse, “he leads the whole world astray”… Invisible force, that can only be defeated through Lord Jesus Christ… Put on the full armor of God, Eph 6
- EVERYTHING we see, hear, experience… LIFE ITSELF, Must be filtered through the lens of scripture: TRUTH… Is what I believe aligned with the truth of God’s Word? Politically, spiritually, culturally, medically… What I’m being told, or policy positions, mandates… Do they align with the Bible or does it contradict what scripture says… Do I submit to pressure tactics that go against my conscience… Or do I stand strong in faith? These are hard times… Hard times develop strong faith
FACTS…
- Truth never changes, Proverbs 12:19 19 Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.
- Truth gains strength under pressure, Acts 7:54-60… Story of Steven, Daniel, David, Paul, etc… Grows us
- Truth is suppressed by wickedness, Romans 1:18 18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness,
- Truth matches the teachings of God’s Word, John 17:17 17 Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.
- Truth sets us free, John 8:36 36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free… No matter what, have Jesus
- Truth is found in Jesus, John 14:6 6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
testing