THINKING BIBLICALLY ABOUT TRUTH - John 18:28-38

All right, if you have your Bible, go

ahead and meet me in the Gospel of John,

John 18 · chapter mention

chapter 18. John chapter 18. We'll begin

John 18 · chapter mention

in verse 28. We'll read on through verse

38.

Now, we have a servant leader in our

group, and I'm not calling everybody

out. All the servant leaders in the room

kind of they got real. What What's he

going to say? We have a servant leader

on our team who loves to wear crazy

socks. And my son uh the other week

noticed that he had his crazy socks on.

And so the servant leader did is the

servant leader bought a pack of those

crazy socks for my son. And so what I

did is I went to my son's room. Hey, can

I have a pair of those crazy socks? And

and here's here's what he said. I

started to pick out some and and he

goes, "Well, don't don't pick those

ones. Don't pick those ones. Those ones

are a little too crazy.

So, if you're going to wear them, choose

these ones because they're not as crazy.

So, I'm I'm I'm wearing some this

morning.

I know if you can see them from the back

row,

>> but share all the I share all that to

say this that there are things that

people are known for.

Our servant leader is known for those

crazy socks. And uh every uh Christmas

he receives crazy socks as a gift

because that's what he's known for.

Well, when it comes to being a

Christian,

what are we known for? When it comes to

being a Christian at your work, when it

comes to being a Christian in your home,

being a Christian in your friends group,

what are you known for?

If I were to summarize what Christians

should be known for, there are many

things that we can put in that place.

But for the sake of the message this

morning and really continuing throughout

our series, thanking biblically, I want

to point our hearts to being people,

being believers, being sons and

daughters of God that are known for one

thing, and that is truth.

We live in a world today where truth

seems to be relative. Your truth, my

truth, their truth, whatever is your

truth, whatever feels good, whatever

working for you, then you live life

according to that truth.

But there's a problem with that ideal

because if one thing is true for you and

it's not true for me or one thing is

true for me and it's not true for you

and if truth is all relative then really

there is no truth.

And we live in a world that operates on

a system of truths. We exercise our

obedience and our faith in truths all

the time. And often we do it without

even thinking about it.

However, and we learned much of this

last week when we looked at what it

means to think biblically about God's

word, we take issue with the truth of

God. We take issue with the truth of the

Christian faith

often times not because we don't believe

it but because it demands something of

us.

And what the truth demands is that we

build our life on it.

Jesus shared a story in his gospel

ministry about an individual

or two individuals who built their

homes.

One individual built his house on a

foundation made of sand.

Another built his house on a rock solid

foundation.

Now both individuals had storms and

chaos and life's circumstances come

against them. They both faced it. One

was not immune while the other went

through it. They both faced trial much

like us today. But there was only one

individual, one house that withtood

everything the world throws at us. And

it was the house that was built on the

solid rock.

So many people in our world today are

building their lives on a truth that is

sinking sand.

And it goes to show that the culture,

the generation, our families and our

relationship are in the shape that they

are in because we have refused

to build our lives on what is true. This

is where our passage speaks today. In

John chapter 18,

John 18 · chapter mention

Jesus is before Pontius Pilate.

He's been betrayed. He's been put on

trial and he faces now the one who is in

charge of keeping the peace among the

Jews in the region of Jerusalem.

Now, if you remember, Jesus was betrayed

by one of his very own. And earlier in

John chapter 17, Jesus is praying in the

John 17 · chapter mention

garden.

And do you remember what he prayed for?

He prayed that his followers would be

sanctified by the truth of God.

Now, when we talk about truth,

particularly when we look at biblical

truth and how Jesus demonstrates this

truth in John chapter 18, we're not

John 18 · chapter mention

talking about a truth that's random.

We're not talking about a truth that's

abstract, but we're talking about the

kind of truth, the truth by which

reality rests.

Everything that we know in the universe

from the physical to the metaphysical to

the natural to the supernatural, it all

hinges on truth

and a truth that is revealed in the

person Jesus Christ.

And so Jesus, he's praying

and he's praying unto the father and

he's asking for the truth to sanctify

his followers. And here's what's

incredible, church. That's not just a

prayer for them.

It's a prayer that extends for us today.

God wants you and God wants me. God

wants us to be sanctified by his truth.

He wants us to be molded, to be

transformed, to be shaped, and to be

influenced by his truth.

That means more than just agreeing with

a great sermon on a Sunday morning or

highlighting or underlining a Bible

verse that speaks to you or hitting the

heart to favorite your most listened to

podcast and all those things are great

and I would encourage all those things

but nothing replaces your personal

devotion to the truth of God,

to his character,

the understanding of his nature, what it

means to be transformed by his mercy and

grace, so that your sin is no longer the

identity that reigns and rules in your

life, but it's the truth of God who

guides you and influences you.

And so later in John chapter 17,

John 17 · chapter mention

Judas shows up with Roman soldiers

and they ask Jesus, "Are you the one?"

And I love this. Do you remember how

Jesus responds? He says, "I am he."

Now, that's important if you understand

what that means. In the Old Testament,

Jesus is using the personal name of God.

In the Hebrew, it's this ego am I.

It's the personal name of God.

And when Christ utters that before the

Roman guards that are there to arrest

him, the scripture says they fall down.

Because what truth does, what the power

of truth does is it demands action.

Now you could relate to this. I know at

some point in my life I related to this.

The Roman guards, they don't fall down

in worship.

They fall down at the revelation of

truth.

Truth will do one of two things.

truth will transform you

or because you are more in love with

your sin than you are with the person of

Jesus Christ, you will be more

emboldened to reject truth.

But that doesn't change the truth.

And so the Roman soldiers, they get up,

they arrest Jesus, he's taken before

trial, he's beaten, he's ridiculed, he's

mocked.

And it shows us that the issue isn't

whether we believe in the truth because

the scripture says even the demons

believe.

The question is whether you are in

submission to the truth.

Over the course of this series, we've

talked about what it means to think

biblically about God, what it means to

think biblically about Jesus, what it

means to think biblically about

salvation, what it means to think

biblically about God's word. What does

it mean for us as Christians to think

biblically about truth in a world that

spits on truth?

In a world that is attempting to

redefine truth. Do you know how the

gospel

has prevailed and thrived throughout the

centuries, through cultures,

through every attempt to silence it?

It is done so through a people who have

committed to stand for the truth of God

and to say no matter what the world says

is popular, no matter what people close

to me might think about my confessions

of faith, I will not waver and I will

stand tall with resolve and strength.

Not in our own ability, but in the one

who fills us and transforms us. I will

stand on truth. And do you know what

that does? That shows a world in need

that you're someone who lives different.

There is something that is recognized in

you. Jesus in the sermon on the mount

will call it the light that you shine.

And when you shine that light in the

darkness that is the evil and chaos of

our world, when you shine that light, it

opens up people

to the truth of the gospel, to the truth

of who God is.

But this is why so many people struggle

with biblical truth.

Not because it's unclear or outdated or

unreasonable,

but because, and I want us to remember

this, biblical truth calls out our sin.

It confronts our autonomy and it demands

something from us. So with that in mind,

let's go to John 18. We'll read from

verses 28 through 38.

So Jesus is before Pontius Pilate.

He was the one in charge of maintaining

the peace in and around Jerusalem.

He finds himself in Jerusalem punches

Pilate because what is taking place

right now that is a celebration

for the people of God? It's Passover.

And so during Passover, you have a

pilgrimage

of Jews entering into Jerusalem in

accordance with tradition, in accordance

with laws of purification and ceremony

to offer their worship unto the Lord. So

Jerusalem is crowded. There's been a

massive influx of people. There was a

group of individuals known as the

Zealots who were we would describe as

like terrorists before the Roman Empire

who wanted to overthrow Rome and become

the nation of Israel with a king again.

And so there was some unrest throughout

years.

Rome on occasion would have to send an

army into Jerusalem to quell any signs

of rebellion. And so so this is this is

sort of the energy that's taking place

right now. Not that there was an

uprising waiting to happen, but rather

there is fear of an uprising that can

happen. So in verse 28,

then they led Jesus from Caiaphas

to the governor's headquarters.

It was early morning.

They did not enter the headquarters

themselves, otherwise they would be

defiled and unable to eat the Passover.

That's quite ironic. We'll unpack that

verse here in just a moment. So Pilate

came out to them and said, "What charge

do you bring against this man?" They

answered him, "If this man weren't a

criminal, we wouldn't have handed him

over to you." Pilate told them, "You

take him and judge him according to your

law. It's not legal for us to put anyone

to death," the Jews declared. They said

this so that Jesus's words might be

fulfilled indicating what kind of death

he was going to die. Then Pilate went

back into the headquarters, summoned

Jesus, and said to him, this is where we

get to the meat.

Are you king of the Jews?

Jesus answered, "Are you asking this on

your own

or have others told you about me?

I am not a Jew, am I? Pilate replied.

Your own nation and the chief priests

handed you over to me. What have you

done?

And I love this because when we talk

about truth this morning,

again, we're not talking about an

abstract idea because in the context of

John 18, truth is being revealed through

a battle of kingdoms. You're probably

picking up on this.

>> Who does Pilate represent? the Roman

Empire,

the kingdom of Caesar, who was the world

power at that time,

dominating anyone who stood in their

way, highly influential throughout the

then known world. That that's one

kingdom

flexing power, flexing authority,

flexing their office. And then on the

other hand, you have another kingdom,

a kingdom of one who proclaims to be

king.

a kingdom of one who proclaims to be God

in the flesh.

And he's not flexing his power through

an army. He's not flexing his power

through offices.

He's not dominating anyone who would

stand in his way. As a matter of fact,

he invites [snorts] anyone who would

stand in his way to repent and become

part of his kingdom.

Two kingdoms at play. One that flexes

worldly power and authority, one who

flexes true power and authority.

>> And this is where we get to it in verse

36.

My kingdom, this is Jesus speaking, is

not of this world.

If my kingdom were of this world, my

servants would fight so that I wouldn't

be handed over to the Jews. But as it

is, my kingdom is not from here. In

other words, my kingdom can't be

contained by worldly powers, worldly

authorities, worldly armies, worldly

offices cannot contain what my kingdom

is about. Do you know why? Because you

cannot put truth in a box.

You cannot limit truth. You cannot

contain truth. Truth gets out there.

Truth reveals itself. And this is what

we see take place here. Verse 37, you

are a king then. And Pilate is not

inquiring because he's interested. He's

inquiring because as one who has been

chosen by Rome to quell any rebellion,

he wants to ensure that there's no one

who is competing for power.

He wants to silence anyone who would

compete for power. So you are a king

then? Pilate asks, "You say that I'm a

king?" Jesus replied.

I love this.

I was born for this

and have come into the world for this.

What did Jesus come into the world for?

What was he born for? As we see these

pictures of kingdoms

colliding with one another, he says to

testify to the truth.

Everyone who is of the truth listens to

my voice. Now, here it is. Here's the

question. Here's the question that we're

asking today. Pilot's asking this

question, but I want to make a

clarification. Pilate is not asking this

question out of genuine desire.

Pilate is scoffing at this revelation

from Jesus.

And so, Pilate responds with,

"What is truth?"

And all God's people said, "Lord, would

you bless your word? Holy Spirit, would

you stir our hearts?

We had a lot go on in the service this

morning. It was blessed. We got a lot to

talk about in this message. I'm going to

run through it because it's great and I

need you to bear with me for the sake of

time. So John 18, we're in the final

hours before Jesus goes to the cross

before he will die the most gruesome

death the world has ever known. But he

won't stay dead. He'll rise from the

grave three days later. He will flex his

power and authority. The kingdom power

that Jesus describes in this dialogue

between Pilate is a power that gets

flexed and seen throughout his

resurrection.

And it's here in this tense exchange

between Jesus and Pilate that Jesus

makes it clear what truth is. So, here's

what I want to do. We're going to go

back to the passage. We're going to pull

out some truths that point us to what

Jesus is revealing here about his

kingdom and about the truth of who he

is. If you're taking notes, here's the

first thing that we see. Truth isn't

swayed by preference. This is the

mistake we make. This is the mistake

Christians make today. We think because

we've made a confession of faith,

because we're believers, because we

serve in the church, because we give,

because we're present, because we do all

the right things that Christians are

supposed to do. That if people don't do

it the way we do it, then they must not

be living to the truth. They must not be

living in accordance with the truth.

Did you know if you went to a third

world country,

to a tribe in the jungle

who legitimately and genuinely confessed

Christ as Lord, do you know they would

worship differently than you?

Well, Roland, how could they worship

differently than us? Because they're not

from America.

They don't gather in air conditioned

rooms with comfy seats.

Some of them gather in fear for their

life that it might be the last day they

draw breath because people are coming to

persecute them and annihilate them and

silence the gospel. What am I getting

at? Your preferences don't sway the

truth. It doesn't change the truth. Now,

your preferences are your preferences

and that's fine so long as they line up

biblically.

But again, your preferences are just

yours.

It doesn't change the truth of who God

is and how he works and how he moves and

how he accomplishes things. Roland, what

do you mean? Go back with me to verse

28.

Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the

governor's headquarters. It was early

morning. They did not enter the

headquarters themselves, otherwise they

would be defiled and unable to eat the

Passover. Do you see the irony here?

What are they afraid of? I don't want to

defile myself.

If I defile myself, I'll be unable to

participate in religious traditions.

And yet, though that fear is legitimate,

what are they doing? They're killing the

king.

How ironic that out of a desire to not

be defiled, they would invite someone in

to do the defiling for them.

Truth isn't swayed by preference.

Preference. They're so careful about

defilement, yet they're delivering an

innocent man to death. Now go to verse

31.

How do they respond to Pilate? They say,

"It's not legal for us to put anyone to

death." The Jews declared, and they set

this so Jesus's words might be

fulfilled, indicating what t what type

of death he was going to die.

We lean on our preferences

more than we lean on truth.

When truth becomes inconvenient

when truth is really demanding a

selfless type of life, we take issue

with that.

Anyone who has been married for a minute

knows that we take issue with being

selfless.

Often it's easier for us to just want

things done our way in our time how we

want it.

be selfless, sacrifice my own comfort,

sacrifice my own desires.

No thank you.

And yet we continue to bring that into

the world, into the world of the church.

We continue to bring that into our

lives.

We bend the truth. We avoid the truth.

We redefine the truth to protect our

position, to protect our comfort, to

protect our agenda. And this is this is

so clearly seen.

This is not a jab. But of course, what

do they say? If the shoe fits, right,

what do you have to do? You got to take

ownership. You got to put it on.

>> I think this is seen very clearly in the

preferences of the church.

How we desire certain agendas, we desire

certain styles, we desire certain

rhythms. And when those styles, those

rhythms, and those agendas aren't met,

then it affects how we worship.

Now, I only share this because I've been

there as well. Do you know how selfish

that is?

>> To say because it's not done the way I

want it to be done. I'm not going to

worship.

I'm going to be angry. I'm going to have

an attitude about everything that I

probably shouldn't have an attitude

about. Rather than saying, "How about I

just worship God?

>> How about I worship God the way he wants

>> me to worship him?

And when it comes to worshiping God,

what does the scripture say? That those

who worship him worship him in what? In

spirit and in truth.

Often times we're all about the spirit.

But we'll change truth to preference.

Here's the application. Examine your

heart today. Where are you dodging

truth? Because it threatens your plans.

It threatens your preference. It

threatens your position.

James 1:21 says, "Receive the implanted

James 1:21

word which is able to save your souls."

Now, that's a truth.

Receive the implanted word. Receive the

truth of who God is in character, in

nature, in reality, and it will save

your souls.

Notice it doesn't say change it,

manipulate it.

so that it's in accordance with your

preferences. Here's here's the second

thing. Truth is connected to the

kingdom. We've already kind of unpacked

this here a while ago, but notice how

how Pilate steers this conversation.

Remember what is his job? To quell any

signs of an uprising.

And in verse 33, I I love how this

conversation begins to play out because

it really clarifies what what this is

about.

This is about truth.

But out of this truth, what do we see at

play? We see a battle of kingdoms. And

by the way, it's no battle at all.

When we talk about a spiritual battle,

when we talk about good versus evil,

it's not a battle as if God is breaking

a sweat in order to claim victory.

Like the devil is not equal in power to

God. He is nowhere close.

He has limited power. He has limited

influence and it's only limited by the

amount that you give him.

But it's no comparison to God. God

doesn't break a sweat. He doesn't wipe

his brow

in this battle because it's already been

won.

But but notice the conversation. It's

it's a battle of kingdoms and it's with

truth at the center.

And the kingdom that is built on truth

is a kingdom that stands.

That's the church because we build it on

truth. This is why the church has

continued to prevailed throughout

centuries. This is why the church

prevails in countries and in regions

around the world where enemies are set

against it to silence it. We see faith

is elevated. We see worship is deeper.

Why? Because you can't silence truth.

Truth is connected to the kingdom. Let

me read to you verse 33.

Pilate went back into the headquarters,

summoned Jesus, and said to him, "Are

you king of the Jews?" Jesus answered,

"Are you asking this on your own or have

others told you about me?" "I'm not a

Jew, am I?" Pilate replied, "Your own

nation and the chief priests handed you

over to me. What have you done?

My kingdom is not of this world. His

kingdom. Why? Because the kingdom of God

is a kingdom of truth.

And the kingdom of this world is a

kingdom of lies.

Turn on CNN. Turn on Fox News. Turn on

C-SPAN. Turn on Newsmax.

That's a kingdom regardless of what

channel you prefer. It's all a kingdom

built on lies.

Because there's only one kingdom that

lasts forever, church. That's the

kingdom of God.

And what this world needs is a church

that is built on truth. Not on

preference, not political platforms, not

oneliners, not laws, but on God's truth.

Can all of those be supplemental? In a

way, sure. But absence of the truth of

who God is.

What is it? It's meaningless.

It's clanging symbols. It's noise. It's

chasing after the wind. There's no

satisfaction in the kingdom of this

world. So why do you choose to continue

to live in it,

to lean on it, and to call it your own?

And maybe if if

maybe for the person in in here this

morning who who has never stepped foot

in God's kingdom,

I want to speak directly to you. Would

would you receive his mercy and his

grace?

And would you turn from the kingdom of

this world, a kingdom of preference, a

kingdom that's built on lies,

and would you turn to the kingdom of

truth,

so that you would understand

what Christ desires for you?

Biblical truth is about allegiance to

Christ. And what we see here is his

kingdom advances not by force but

through faithful witness. Now mind you,

there will come a day upon his return

when he comes with heaven's army

and he will annihilate sin once and for

all. But until then, he is patient. And

do you know why he's patient? Because he

doesn't want anyone

to die lost. He wants you to come to

repentance.

And he's that's not a general statement

that God is patient so that people would

come to repent repentance. No, no, no.

God was patient so that Roland would

come to repentance.

My name

was is in his heart, in his mind. He

chose my name in accordance with his

will to save me. He is patient with me

and he's patient with you. Here's here's

the last thing.

Truth demands a response.

Jesus says, I love this at the end of

verse 37, "Everyone who is of the truth

listens to my voice."

Are you listening to the voice of God?

And what does Pilate respond with?

What is truth?

Now, Pilate responded

and he didn't respond favorably.

History tells us that Pilate continued

to respond unfavorably. Now, we we can't

be the judge of people's hearts. We

don't know what's going on in people's

lives. I heard a phrase the other day

that said this, "Never attribute to

malice

what is most likely ignorance in people.

We can be so selfish in thinking the

world is all about us, right, our

preferences, that everything people do

that we don't agree with, we we take it

as a jab to our identity and we take it

personal. Hey, listen. Not everything's

personal

cuz people are going through it. They're

enduring darkness. And so, don't

attribute to malice. Don't attribute to

hate what people just don't know

anything about.

Oftentimes people respond the way they

respond because of their background, how

they've been raised, pain that they're

enduring, pain that they've gone

through. We don't know people's story,

which is why we're called to love people

and we're called to invite them in. But

truth demands a response. Let me close

here.

What will you do with the truth?

Will you be like Pilot? Scoff, what is

truth?

Or will you bow to it in submission?

I'm not talking about disagreeing with

truth. I'm talking about yielding your

will,

your life, your heart to the truth of

who God is. The Bible demands

our obedience.

We're going to talk about that in a

couple of weeks as we conclude this

series. What does it mean to think

biblically about obedience? But the

Bible doesn't demand it as if God is

some cosmic killjoy. No, he invites us

in because there is greater joy in

building a life on the truth of God's

kingdom than there is on building a life

on the sinking sin of the world's

kingdom. Would you pray with me? Lord,

we thank you for your word. We thank you

for how you move and how you work. And

Lord, here in just a moment as we sing

together, as we lift up your name

together, God, would you be glorified?

Would you call hearts

out of submission to the world's kingdom

and draw them to yield to your kingdom.

God bless us today as we bless your

name. In Christ's name we pray. All

God's people said,

>> "Hey, would you stand to your feet with

me? Let's sing together.

Let these not just be words on a screen.

Let them be the prayer of our heart. Let

it be the truth that we proclaim. A

truth because it means something.

Because we've experienced its

transforming power. Our our altar is

going to be open. This is an opportunity

for you to pray.

I'd love to pray with you if the Lord

leads. If you'd love to have some

one-on-one time with the Lord, this is

for [music] you to have that moment with

God. I love you, church.