Jesus states that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Him.
Through the backdrop of the conversation between Jesus and Pilate, governor of the Roman province of Judea presiding over the trial of Jesus before His crucifixion, I want to define what truth is, which will provide the topic for the next discussion on how to apply truth to our particular circumstances.
During Pilate’s interrogation of Jesus as recorded in the book of John, chapter 18, verses 28-38, Pilate asked Jesus if He was a King of the Jews? Pilate wanted to know if he was going to have deal with a threat to Rome’s authority.
Jesus responded with an explanation that His kingdom was not of this world. The word kingdom in this text means royalty, that is, to rule. Jesus is saying his authority to rule is not like the earthly kingdom of the Romans, but is given from the heavenly realm.
Pilate, after hearing Jesus explain His kingdom asked again, “So you are a king?’ Because Jesus was the promised Messiah of Israel to save them from their sins (Matthew 1:21), and would rule over everything on earth for eternity, He answered He was a king and a witness to the truth, and that “everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” The answer Jesus gave showed Pilate that He was not a rebel leading an insurrection against Rome, but that He was the king of the kingdom of truth.
Satisfied that Jesus did not pose a threat to Rome, and without waiting for a response, Pilate responded with another question, “What is truth?”
Thayer’s Greek Lexicon defines truth as what is true in any matter under consideration.
Truth is a person, the person of Jesus Christ.
Just what does it mean that Jesus Christ is the truth? Since the Bible, the written Word of God, is given to us by inspiration of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17) through the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 2:10), I’ll let the Bible answer that question.
This particular discussion provides the foundation about why it’s the Biblical mindset in which we need to base our thoughts, words, and actions.
The limited amount of scripture I highlight is nowhere near the totality of what God has to say on the subject.
While the Apostle John was exiled on the island of Patmos, Jesus Christ appeared to John and instructed him to write what he saw in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia (Revelation 1:11-12). What John saw is the content of the book of Revelation.
Each of the seven churches received a letter that identified Jesus Christ as the author of the letter with a description of who Jesus Christ is and His character qualities. Letters to the following churches speak to our topic.
To the church at Smyrna Jesus describes Himself as the First and the Last (Revelation 2:8); Jesus also stated this to John in Revelation 1:8 that He is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last. Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. Jesus’ statement tells us He is outside of time, He has always been and will always be, and He is the authority in our physical world.
To the church at Philadelphia, Jesus describes Himself as holy, He who is true (Revelation 3:7).
To the church at Laodicea, Jesus describes Himself as the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: Amen (meaning trustworthy), the Faithful (meaning can be relied on) and True (meaning that His very being, and the corresponding idea signified by His name, are real and true, genuine) Witness (witness of God’s guidance), the Beginning of the creation of God (meaning Jesus Christ is the source of creation) (Revelation 3:14, Colossians 1:16-17).
Revelation 19:11-16 records that Jesus Christ is called Faithful and True, The Word of God (meaning Jesus is the spoken word of God), and having the name KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS (meaning sovereign of all kings, and supreme in authority; master over all).
The Apostle Paul tells us it pleased God that all the divine fullness of God should dwell in Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:19). We understand Jesus Christ, as the Creator, is the authority.
We understand that Jesus Christ is true and genuine, that His is trustworthy and can be relied upon. So just how does one take the truth of God’s word and apply it to a particular situation? In our next discussion I will show you how starting with foundational truths of God’s Word will inform your decision making in accordance to God’s will for you.