I remember hearing an interview many years ago from a well-known evangelical who went to young people on a college campus to ask them if truth is real. He asked the simple question, does two plus two equal four. One engineering student’s answer blew my mind. The answer went something like this:
“Not always,” he said.
“What do you mean?” the host asked.
“Well, if you’re in a parallel universe it may be something else.”
“We’re not in a parallel universe. What does two plus two equal here.”
To my shock, the engineering student wouldn’t answer the question. He refused to admit the truth that two plus two equal four.
That young man may have been talented. He may have had more ability than all his peers. He may have been at the top of his class. Who knows? Maybe today he works for a prestigious engineering firm and has everything he ever wanted.
With that said, that’s not an engineer I want building a bridge, skyscraper or even my house. If he can’t figure out the truth contained in math, he’s worthless as an engineer.
When Jesus stood before Pilate in John 18, He was standing before a man who had power, authority, and the ability to determine life or death. Pilate was no soft politician. He was a vicious, self-assured ruler. Yet, when confronted with Jesus, he asked a question that has echoed through history.
What is truth?
It may not have been a genuine question. Maybe it was snarky, dismissive. Whatever his motivation, Pilate, like so many today, assumed that truth was either unknowable or irrelevant. Yet, standing in front of him was the very embodiment of truth itself—Jesus Christ. Pilate walked away, rejecting the opportunity to know the truth. As sad as it sounds, many today do the same.
So, what is truth? And just as importantly, what is it not?
What Truth Is Not
1. Truth Is Not Just a Collection of Facts
Facts are important, but they can be manipulated, misinterpreted, and misused.
- For instance, science is often treated as a neutral, objective pursuit of truth. But science is always interpreted through the lens of human assumptions. People can twist facts to fit their own narratives. That’s why a theory like evolution is accepted so readily as fact. It isn’t. It’s simply a theory that fits the facts as some see it.
- The media is a master at manipulating facts. Headlines can present true statements in a way that misleads and stirs up emotions. Political campaigns frequently take an opponent’s words out of context to paint a false picture. Sometimes the media will even use an ambiguous word in a title just because it causes doubt in the mind of the reader. These may be facts. They aren’t truth.
- Even Pilate had the facts. Jesus stood before him, innocent. Yet the mere collection of those facts did not lead him to the truth. He even ignored his wife who explained to him that she was told by God that this man was innocent. Pilate wanted nothing to do with the truth.
2. Truth Is Not Just an Opinion
Opinions are based on available facts, but those facts can be incomplete or misunderstood.
- Pilate dismissed Jesus because he had already formed his own opinion. I am not a Jew, am I? he quipped. He saw Jesus as just another religious dispute, not the King of Kings. He missed the greatest truth. The Lord of the universe in human form stood before him.
- Today, many rely on “fact-checkers” who themselves operate with biases and incomplete knowledge. If truth were simply a matter of opinion, it would change based on who holds the loudest microphone. For Pilate, those who held that microphone, the religious leaders, shouted down the truth with lies. They hid the truth behind their own narrative, much like people today do.
3. Truth Is Not Just a Conclusion
Even when all the facts are correct, we can still draw wrong conclusions.
- Pilate declared, “I find no guilt in Him.” That was the right conclusion. Yet, he still handed Jesus over to be crucified. He had the right facts but made the wrong decision. He caved to pressure rather than acting on the facts and declaring what was ultimately true.
- In much the same way, scientists see order and design in creation but still conclude that it all happened by chance. Drawings of animals that never existed line the walls of natural history museums simply because someone imagined them that way despite the facts. That isn’t truth. That’s Pilate-like bias.
- The same kind of misunderstanding of facts has led some couples to live together outside of marriage, assuming that they will discover the essence of marriage if they do so. They think relationships are like trying on shoes: you try them all on until you find the right one! This is far from the truth. What these couples miss is the deeper covenant that makes marriage what it truly is. Truth leads to obedience to God’s Word. Facts misinterpreted lead to a wrong answer.
4. Truth Is Not Just a Philosophy
Philosophy seeks wisdom. Wisdom is valuable. But wisdom apart from truth is the deepest of rabbit holes.
- The people of that day prided themselves on logic and reason. Yet, their philosophies never led them to Christ. Greeks and Romans alike worshiped many deities. But none of those led them to the truth.
- Pilate was educated and well-versed in Roman law and governance, yet all his learning did him no good in recognizing the truth standing in front of him. His philosophy ultimately failed him. He was removed and, ultimately, executed.
- Similarly, some today have degrees similar to the smart, young engineer who wouldn’t admit that two plus two equal four. Their accumulation of knowledge doesn’t help them discover the truth.
5. Truth Is Not Just a Religion
Many religions claim to seek the truth, but not all find it.
- Eastern religions often emphasize that truth is unknowable. They just accumulate facts without ever revealing their significance. “The question is more important than the answer,” they claim. This leads to confusion and utter hopelessness, certainly not the truth.
- Even Christianity, if treated as just another religion, is not the truth. There are many who claim to follow Christ but do not truly know Him. They see their faith wrapped up in a doctrinal statement. Don’t get me wrong. Biblical doctrine is good. Doctrine without understanding the truth is legalistic and worthless.
- Pilate was familiar with Roman religious traditions, including the worship of Caesar. But none of that knowledge helped him recognize the real King. The Truth stood before him. Yet he questioned its existence.
Pilate had access to all these—facts, opinions, conclusions, philosophies, and religions. Yet none led him to the truth. In the end, he walked away, forever missing the only truth that mattered – Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.
What Truth Is
1. Truth Is Codified, Solidified, and Verified
What does this mean? It means truth has structure.
- Codified: It follows an objective standard. Like a racetrack with a finish line, truth has a defined endpoint. Christ is the true finish line everyone needs to cross.
- Solidified: Truth does not shift with culture or personal preference. Darwinian evolution, for example, constantly changes its claims because it lacks a firm foundation. Christ and His Word remain the same throughout every generation.
- Verified: Real truth stands up to scrutiny. Unlike politics and media spin, truth does not crumble under examination. Christ didn’t crumble under Pilate’s scrutiny. On the other hand, Pilate’s resolve crumbled, sending him tumbling into the abyss of confusion and injustice. Ultimately, he sent the sinless Son of God to the cross.
2. Truth Is Found in a Person—Jesus Christ Alone
This is the ultimate reality Pilate missed. The standard of truth is not merely words in a book. it centers on a Person.
- At this point, Jesus didn’t point Pilate to the existing Scriptures because Pilate had already dismissed them. Instead, Jesus pointed Pilate to Himself, the Living Word. He said, “Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” Ultimately, we find the real Jesus in Scripture. However, Scripture without Jesus is simply soulless religion.
- In John 14:6, Jesus declares, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Truth is not just a concept. It is embodied in Christ and confirmed by His Word.
- This is where so many false religions and cults go astray. Many times, they read the same Bible we do. Yet they reduce its truth to a set of principles, rather than teachings that always lead to Christ. Truth is a living reality found in Jesus.
If our faith is in Christ, then we stand on a foundation that is codified in His Person, solidified through faith, and verified in His work on the cross as confirmed by His Word.
Jesus is the Truth We Must Embrace
All religions have founders, but only Jesus claimed to be the truth and proved it by rising from the dead.
- Pilate crucified Jesus. But he couldn’t keep Him there. Jesus rose from the dead despite soldiers or seals placed there to keep Christ dead. He ultimately overpowered Pilate and proved what the truth was.
- Buddha, Confucius, Muhammad, Joseph Smith—all claimed to have truth, but none were truth. They died and are gone. They didn’t conquer death. Death ate them for breakfast. Jesus proved something they couldn’t. He is Lord.
- Jesus alone bridges the gap between sinful man and a holy God. He died on the cross. He was buried but didn’t stay there. He rose again in victory, just to prove the point that He is Lord even over death. Then He sat down at the right hand of God –- the place of supreme authority and power. No one else has done that. Jesus alone has accomplished it despite the best-laid plans of human beings.
So What?
Pilate stood face to face with Truth Himself and walked away. Many today do the same. The world asks, “What is truth?” but refuses to listen to the answer.
Let’s not make the same mistake. Let’s avoid Pilate’s error and find truth in the Jesus of the Bible. We must fully embrace Him as the Truth. If we do, we will glorify Him and proclaim His truth in a world that desperately needs it.
The question is, will we be like Pilate, or will we be like those who hear His voice and follow Him? The choice is yours.
Do you know Jesus? If not, find Him here.
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