Our ears and our eyes are easily deceived these days. From scams through the phone, email, and social media to
computer generated images in movies and now the advancements of Artificial Intelligence
Beyond that, there is the battle for truth in the realm of information. In classrooms, parliament, courtrooms,
newscasts, Instagram and the internet the battle rages on. We live in a he said, she said world.
To complicate matters, for some reason we decided that everyone is entitled to their own version of the truth. I can
have my truth and you can speak your truth. The problem comes when they don’t align. Now what? You have your truth
(your view) and someone else has theirs. Your truth is the lens through which you view and interpret the world, people,
conversations, events, information, history, and reality.
How can this be? If we all get our own version of the truth, our own reality in which to live, we will simply be passing
by each other unable to really interact or communicate. What a chaotic, lonely world that is proving to be!
When Jesus was arrested and tried before the Roman Governor Pilate, He said “for this reason I was born, and for this
reason I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me” (John 18:37). Pilate
responded with “What is truth?” (verse 38).
I don’t think Pilate was embarking on an intellectual quest here. This wasn’t a philosophical discussion. His life had
been spent in politics and the law. He was very familiar with the twisting of “facts” to suit an agenda. He had seen that
which is false be presented as truth many times. His concern was how to navigate this political minefield in a way that
upheld the law, appeased the Jews so there was peace in Jerusalem, and hopefully spare an innocent man along the
way. As we know, he caved in to the pressure and chose politics over justice, convenience over truth.
The night before this exchange, Jesus prayed for His followers at what we call the Last Supper. Here, as recorded in
John 17:17, Jesus prayed “Sanctify them (set them apart for God’s use) by the truth; Your word is truth.” Jesus answered
the question before Pilate even asked it. God’s Word, a standard that is not from us or by us, but one that is given to us
by the One who is over us, is truth. Jesus also said that same evening “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one
comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
If we honestly want the truth about ourselves, our lives, our purpose, right and wrong, and how to be right with God,
we need to go to the standard of truth. God’s Word (the Bible) and God’s Son (Jesus). In your search for truth, spend
some time checking into who Jesus is and what Jesus said. Look into the Bible to see what God actually said, not what
you assume is in there. Come to Him to encounter truth.
Have you seen the words “the truth will set you free” on a courtroom wall? What a strange place to put that. In many
cases the truth will put someone in that room behind bars! This is a misquote, a partial quote of what Jesus also said on
this topic.
“If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free”
(John 8:31,32). Do you see the difference? Reading or hearing the truth doesn’t set you free. Repeating the truth doesn’t
set you free. Believing what Jesus said, living in obedience to His teaching – this is what shows that we know the truth
and it is in living this way that the truth will set you free.
Please don’t end up as another casualty of the battle for truth. Go to the source, the standard. Listen to Jesus, believe
Him, and follow Him. Then you will know the truth and find the freedom you are hoping for.