Jesus Is The Truth

 

Election Day is coming soon and the airwaves are filled with political ads. At this time of year, I’m grateful beyond words for whoever invented the mute button on the TV remote! I know that people of a certain age tend to think that things were better “back then”; still, I sure don’t remember the degree of falsehoods and outright malicious lies that exist today. On the other hand, the Gospel tells us that things may not be as different as we think. Jesus said to Pilate, “For this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me” (John 18:37). Pilate replied, “What is truth?” (John 18:38).

 

Jesus proclaimed, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). We know that He is the way to eternal life. He showed by His resurrection that He is the life. We accept these as part of our faith but we may not give much thought to the fact that He is the truth. The Greek word translated as truth in the Bible can also be translated as reality. Jesus is the reality of God’s nature in human form. As God, He is the ultimate source of truth. Jesus speaks God’s truth to us, a truth that overrides our human opinions. We accept His truth, or we stand in opposition to God. There is no middle ground.

 

In the NIV Bible translation, Jesus says “I tell you the truth” 80 times in the Gospels, by my count. He challenged His listeners on a number of occasions. Some of them said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” (John 6:60), and no longer followed Jesus. The apostles remained because, as Peter said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).

 

If we read or hear the Gospels and don’t think that Jesus says some hard truths, we should stop and ask ourselves - are we accepting His teachings as God’s word and not just recommendations to consider in addition to what the world teaches us?

 

 You might find it a useful spiritual exercise over the next few weeks to read the Gospels and see if Jesus’ truth is also your truth. I’ve included the scriptural references below.

 

Jesus says, “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). Let this be our goal, to know the truth and to live it out each day.

 

Matthew: 5:18, 5:26, 6:2, 6:5, 6:16, 8:10, 10:15, 10:23, 10:42, 11:11, 13:17, 16:28, 17:20, 18:3, 18:13, 18:18, 19:23, 19:28, 21:21, 21:31, 23:36, 24:2, 24:34, 24:47, 25:12, 25:40, 25:45, 26:13, 26:21, 26:34

Mark: 3:28, 8:12, 9:1, 9:41, 10:15, 10:29. 11:23, 12:43, 13:30, 14:9, 14:18, 14:25, 14:30

Luke: 4:24, 9:27, 12:37, 12:44, 18:17, 18:29, 21:3, 21:32, 23:43

John: 1:51, 3:3, 3:5, 3:11, 5:19, 5:24, 5:25, 6:26, 6:32, 6:47, 6:53, 8:34, 8:45, 8:46, 8:51, 8:58, 10:1, 10:7, 12:24, 13:16, 13:20, 13:21, 13:38, 14:12, 16:7, 16:20, 16:23, 21:18

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The individual posts in this blog have been collected into a book, Reflections From the Basic Truths Blog.  It is available for free as an ebook through Barnes and Noble, https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/reflections-from-the-basic-truths-blog-james-yarmchuk/1147055811?ean=2940181202702, Apple Books, and multiple other book websites. It is available for a minimal charge on Amazon and can also be purchased as a paperback through them.