What is Truth?
John 18:38 - 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.
Each one of us depends on truth and though many view it as relative; there can be no absolutes, no answers, and no trust without it.
Many times we try to define truth as an inanimate fact, one that is, well it’s true. But what really is truth? Maybe we need to instead of looking at truth as fact, look at truth as a person.
John 14:6 King James Version (KJV)
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Jesus Christ is the embodiment of truth and in him we will be made free!
Points to Gather:
- There were Jews that believed on Jesus
- Believing on Jesus is different than being a disciple of Jesus
- Matthew 7:21-23 King James Version (KJV)
- 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
- 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
- 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
- James 2:19 King James Version (KJV)
- 19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
- There are followers that just follow the crowds, or they might follow the guy with the most charisma.
- A follower might follow action, but they will never be a part of the real experience unless they take initiative to get involved.
- Continuing in Jesus’ Word defines His disciple
- What does it mean to “Continue” in Jesus’ Word?
- Is a surface reader “continuing” Jesus’ Word?
- What about one who studies Jesus’ Word with a preconceived notion about the meaning?
- What about one who will not apply The Word to his personal life?
- One who continues in the word will be one who is a disciple of it, and even though the word doesn’t explicitly cover an issue of life, they will be one who takes principle and applies the principles of the word to every area of his/her life.
What is a disciple?- A disciple is more than just a student
- A disciple adheres to the teachings of another making them his rule for life including conduct
- A disciple’s life is completely committed to the teachings of his master/teacher
- John 6:66
- A disciple will live sacrificially, submitting his will to that of his master/teacher
- Galatians 2:20
- Psalm 1:1-6 King James Version (KJV)
- 1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
- 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
- 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
- 4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
- 5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
- 6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Bondage is always predicated on lies.
Satan is the father of lies.
Satan is the master of enslavement.
How does knowing truth make you free?
- Truth is a Redeemer!
- How many times (don’t answer) have we lied, shaded the truth, or been hypocrites to protect our “honor” and when we came out with the truth; we felt relief?
- Truth always produces openness!
- Since Jesus is the Truth and our Redeemer, knowing Him will redeem our lives from bondage and destruction.
- Is this just a matter of being like, Oh yeah, I know that guy; or does knowing mean something deeper?
- Many times the Bible uses the word knowing to describe something much more than an acquaintance of someone or something. The word “know” is used at times to describe an intimate relationship between husband and wife.
- The word “know” is also used to describe and intimate or personal attachment to ideas, things and people.
- Matthew 12:33 King James Version (KJV)
- 33 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.
- The whole purpose of Jesus coming to earth was for the sake of relationship, and why wouldn’t that include a restoration of an intimate relationship with an Almighty God or the Word of Life?
Somehow the Jewish leader’s picked up on this idea that Jesus was trying to indicate they were in bondage and He was indeed. They felt if they would claim their birthright by Abraham, that would substantiate their next claim that they were never in bondage to any man.
Let’s look at the facts though and see how far their physical bondage went.
- Throughout history the Jewish people would follow God and then fall away and some of the people they were in physical to were: The Egyptians (at the time of Moses), The Philistines (as early as the Judges), The Assyrians (at the time of Daniel), The Persians (at the time of Esther), The Greeks (at the time of the Maccabean Revolt), and the Romans (at that current time). So this statement that they were never in bondage to any man was Lies, Lies, Lies;
Their bondage was at this time was not just a physical bondage, but they were also under a spiritual bondage. The had organized a religion that was based on what God showed them, and had turned it into a mechanical machine with no life.
Their perception of themselves was that they would never admit they were in bondage and therefore could never be made free.
Jesus saw right through the bunny trail they tried to send Him on, and brought them right back to the point. The main bondage that Jesus is interested in freeing you from is the spiritual bondage that we all find ourselves in at one point or another.
Jesus went right from hearing their excuse about being Abraham’s children to giving a valuable lesson on sin. The Covenant that God has with Abraham and his children was given with many promises. There was a physical heritage there was a part of that covenant and a spiritual heritage. The Pharisees and the Sadducees assumed that the two heritages were mutually one and inherited by them just because they were children of Abraham. The Bible is clear that they are indeed a different heritage with the spiritual heritage being given to those of faith.
God is not interested in a mechanical religion that merely obeys His word by the letter; rather, He wants an obedient heart that willingly has submitted to His word.
Jesus brings them back to the statement that Abraham is their father and tries to help them understand that they are involved in sins at which Abraham would have been appalled. Jesus very clearly indicated to them that their deeds, their works were not a part of the Abrahamic Covenant.
The Jewish Leaders had murder on their heart and would do what was right in their own eyes fulfilling within themselves the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Though they sacrificed many things “for the sake of God”, they in effect had made their god themselves and did what they did to be seen of men.
Jesus pointed this out indicating to them that what they were doing was a product of allowing the devil to be their illegitimate father.
The Pharisees began to catch on to where Jesus was headed and they began to accuse Him of being a product of an illegitimate union. Then to try to justify their statement they tried to claim God as their Father. The irony of this situation is astounding.
If Jesus would have said that God was His Father, to them that would have been blasphemy, but now here they are making that claim, when in fact even their lives don’t match up with that claim.
The truth is, that Jesus came from God and now has gone to God. As Jesus pointed out to them, if they are claiming to be children of God, then they would strive to do the will of their Father, but the reality is that they were indeed doing the will of their father and he is the devil.
Jesus initiated a challenge to them. It was as though He was saying; look, what I am saying and what you are saying are two different things, but you have yet to find me in sin. He then points out to them that if they really are of God, then they would hear God’s Words. Their actions speak for themselves.
That made their blood begin to rise and they accused Him of being a half-breed Samaritan as well as having a devil.
As Jesus spoke with them He tried to help them to see who He was, but they had Him in a box thinking that the Messiah would do things that Jesus was not doing. Their assumptions of who Jesus was supposed to be was not based on the prophetic word, but on a constructed thought process based on their worldview.
Jesus made the statement “Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death”. This angered them some more and they began to compare Jesus against Abraham and the prophets. Jesus wanting to bring them to Himself said to them; in my own words, if I would say that I don’t know the Father, I would be just like you and be a liar.
The statement that Jesus made that before Abraham was “I Am”, was understood by all of them there. Jesus was making a claim to deity. God was known by their ancestors as the I AM, and so they understood Jesus’ claim. The Jewish leaders then took stones to throw at Jesus. This indicates that murder was indeed in their hearts, and that Jesus wasn’t just saying things off the cuff.
What does it mean that Jesus is the I AM?
Jesus is the fulfillment of everything, every promise, and that everything points to Him.
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