Jesus’ purpose for being born and for coming into the
world is reflected in His teaching by parables and by His miracles.
We see this from His reply to Pilate...
John 18:37: “Then Pilate said to him, ‘So you are a king’? Jesus answered, ‘You say that I
am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into
the world--to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens
to my voice’.
Compare two statements of Jesus, one found here,
“Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice.”, and another statement He
made in John 7:17, “If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether
the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.” Compare them...
Consider this about Pilate: Did Pilate want to listen to Jesus? Obviously no, so he couldn’t
‘see’ truth. To admit the truth of what Jesus said would demand that he follow
it and accept any consequences that go along with it.
Truth is the most important discovery you will make in your life. For the
Christian, every relationship & all future relationships will be defined by
the path of truth. Consider these four things:
1. Your associates will be determined by truth. (Psalm 1:1-4) “Blessed is the
man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of
sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the
Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by
streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not
wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” [you will choose your friends based
upon whether or not they have a love for truth]
2. Those whom you associate with (fellowship) on a religious basis will be
determined by this. (Eph. 5:8-13), “...for at one time you were darkness, but
now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of
light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what
is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but
instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they
do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible...”
[you will work & worship w/those whose desire is to please the Lord]
3) Your relationship with God will be determined by this. (1 Peter 3:10-12),
“For Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue
from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do
good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the
righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is
against those who do evil.” [you will strive to control your tongue &
pursue peace in all your daily living]
4) Your eternity will be determined by this. (1 John 4:1-6) “Beloved, do not
believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God,
for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the
Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the
flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from
God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now
is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome
them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are
from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to
them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God
does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of
error.” [you will therefore ‘test’ all teaching you hear by the Bible]
We see from this, the importance of knowing “What is truth?” Why was it hard for
Pilate to see the truth about Jesus? For people today, the same question is in order: ‘Why is it hard to
see the truth?’
For some, it is not hard. For those who are truly ‘pure in heart’, truth is not
hard to seek or follow. God has given us a revelation that can be understood
(Eph. 5:17 – “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the
Lord is.”). He has promised that such a heart will find the truth. Again, John
7:17 - “If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether the teaching
is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.”
Jesus taught in His parables why there is difficulty in
seeing truth. In Matt. 6:19-21, He said, “...for where your treasure is,
there your heart will be also.” Truth is “hard” to 'see' when one’s
real desire lies elsewhere. For some, truth is not their treasure...there are
other things in this life that is worth more to them.
Luke told of a lawyer whose treasure was not seeking to
know truth. Luke 10:25-37. He was not interested w/truth. In v. 25, we see his
motive; he stood up to “put him to the test”; He desired to ‘justify himself’
(v. 29); & he did not want to be merciful to non-Jews (Samaritans) -v. 37.
He thought he would trap Jesus w/this question he posed. Again, he was not
interested in truth; His “treasure” was self-justification.
TRUTH has a unique quality. It will reveal where a person’s ‘heart’ is. It will
reveal the truth about you, as to what you love most, in how you react to it! God’s word is truth (John 17:17). Do you want knowledge
of IT above all else? It revealed of this lawyer that such was not the case,
and it will reveal it about you.
This lawyer did not want to admit that a Samaritan could be his neighbor. But once Jesus
told him the truth of how to determine who his neighbor was, he saw it. [This
is revealed by his answers to Jesus’ questions.] Yet because he did not want to
treat this Samaritan as he ought, this was ‘hard’ to see. He didn’t really want
to know the truth of the matter; only to justify his current behavior.
There are other reasons why Jesus’ parables & miracles (truth) were “hard”
to see. Consider:
1) For some Jews, they feared of the religious leaders of their group. (John
12:42-43; 9:22)
2) Pilate hid behind the claim that truth was unknowable. John 18:38)
3) Some allowed others to define the character and teachings of Jesus without
hearing Jesus themselves. (Luke 7:33-35)
4) For some, it is simply that the ‘time of testing’ is more than they care to
suffer. (Luke 8:13) They want a religion life of ease & comfort.
Truth will exact a high price of you. Jesus said plainly in Luke 14:26-27 –
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and
children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his won life, he cannot be my
disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my
disciple.”
Consider a quote from H. L. Mencken: “For the truth-teller and truth-seeker,
indeed, the whole world has very little liking. He is always unpopular, and not
infrequently his unpopularity is so excessive that it endangers his life. Run
your eye back over the list of martyrs; nine-tenths of them stood accused of
nothing worse than honest efforts to find out and announce the truth.”
What has the truth cost you? Anyone who begins the course of pursuing
“UN-denominational Christianity” will quickly discover that most religious
people have no interest in such a stand. When others see that you are willing to
sincerely question long-held religious practices, you will become a perceived
threat to them. Those who cannot defend their practices based on the truth will
often “justify” themselves by a slanderous attack on you personally.
When you make a firm commitment to seek and stand upon the truth, then you will
find those difficult occasions where you must choose between relationships with
men and the truth of God. You must decide to live by principle &
righteousness (John. 24:15), If you live by what is right, God will be
‘with you’ – 1 Peter 3:10-12.
Those who take the ‘easy road’ will also face consequences (Prov. 13:21). Your
home will be affected (Prov. 17:13). You will change your views with the
changes in the current culture. The more men suppress the truth of God which
they know, the more futile, even senseless, they become in their thinking.
(Rom. 1:21)
Amos 5:14-15 – “Seek good and not evil, that you may live; so the Lord God of
hosts will be with you, as you have spoken. Hate evil, love good; establish
justice in the gate. It may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious to
the remnant of Joseph.”
“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, If you abide in My word, you
are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make
you free.” (John 8:31-32)
copyright 2018
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