John 18:36–38
Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be delivered over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not from here.”Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You yourself said I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”
Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?”
Pilate ask a good question. “What is truth?” This is the question of the ages. This is the question that every generation has asked since Pilate. In our shifting world how can we know for certain what is actually truth?
George Hadden Clark described this dilemma this way:
Suppose life is only a physicochemical reaction. Suppose what we call thinking is but the electrical energy of nervous excitation. Then could a reasonable case be made out for morality? Or if man is the evolutionary product of a chance collocation of inanimate particles, can any sacredness be assigned to life? If the world is such, why should not Lenin and Stalin murder their opponents? Or, again, if there is a God, and if God has made this world, and if in particular he has performed miracles at certain times in its history, one must ask what sort of world it is, what can be meant by natural law, and what is the function of science? These are not frivolous questions.
But they are difficult, they are very difficult, questions. We puzzle over them; we turn the puzzle upside down; we become entangled in our own devices. Then it is natural to feel discouraged, we give up hope, and we are tempted to say that there is no answer. The subject matter is so complex, and the theories advanced are still more so; and who knows, anyhow? One man thinks one thing, and another thinks another. And of all people, the philosophers, who have paid the most attention to these enigmas, are in the greatest disagreement. It is not that two competing answers are proposed for each question – in that case we could toss a coin and be right half the time – but there are innumerable opinions on each question, and it is doubtful that even one of them is right. The sources of error, of deception, of distortion are so manifold that perhaps a source of truth does not even exist. At least no one knows where it is. No one’s opinion is superior to any other. Nobody really knows anything. Oh, perhaps God knows, if there is a God; but how can man know? What is knowledge? Is knowledge just belief? Is knowledge the same thing as faith? And does faith have reasonable grounds that can be known as reasonable, or is faith without solid foundation? Do we just believe that we believe? And is it worthwhile trying to solve such abstract, speculative, philosophic riddles? [George Haddon Clark, A Christian View of Men and Things, 19-20.]
Philosophers have been wrestling with this question for centuries. In fact, we owe a great deal to various philosophers throughout the centuries – mostly for demonstrating what truth is not. For example, the skeptics claimed that truth was impossible to attain and so therefore one need not suffer the pains of searching for it. This may seem comfortable but it introduces a fatal flaw, if truth cannot be known how can we even know that truth cannot be known? If truth is impossible, than it is impossible to make the statement that truth is impossible, for in making that statement you are stating a fact and therefore you are making a truth claim.
The absurdity of Skepticism allows us to drive down to one basic idea in our quest for what is truth. Anything that is true must not be absurd. That is, truth must not be contradictory. Philosophers have called this concept the coherence view of truth. Something must be self-consistent and non-contradictory and must also correspond with reality if it is to be true. Any unambiguous, declarative statement must be either true or false. It cannot be neither true nor false; nor can it be both true and false. For example , “I am wearing a red shirt, 1) is true only if, in fact, I am wearing a red shirt and, 2) Must be either true or false, it cannot be both true and false. It must be coherent and it must correspond to reality – ie. that I am actually in fact wearing a red shirt.
In John 14:6 Jesus said very clearly:
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
Jesus makes a very direct truth claim without any equivocation. In doing so He leaves us with only two options: either His statement is true and all other systems that deny the exclusivity of Jesus are false, or else Jesus is lying and something else is true. You cannot have two directly opposing truth claims both be true. You cannot have it both ways.
What you can do is choose to accept Jesus’ words or reject them. You can choose to believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose again like the Bible claims, or you can reject it. You can choose to believe that Christ is the only way to eternal life like the Bible claims, or you can choose to reject it. But if you do reject Jesus’ claim that He is the truth that does not make what Jesus says false because What is true is true completely independent of whether you choose to believe it or not.
But if you do reject Jesus’s claim you should be aware of another claim He makes as well:
John 8:32
and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
If it is true that truth will set one free then it must also be true that not knowing the truth will keep one enslaved.
But what does that actually mean? What is it that traps those who reject Christ?
Jesus was not afraid to clearly state what the consequences were for accepting or rejecting Him:
John 3:36
“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
The apostle Paul said it this way in his letter to the Romans
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So what we see is that the Bible makes very specific truth claims and then raises the stakes so that if you reject those claims of truth you will face a wrathful God. Now, you can be like Pilate and shrug off these truth claims but the risk is much too high to be so haphazard. If the Bible is true and Jesus is in fact the way the truth and the life, then to reject Christ is to bring eternal condemnation and torment.
If the weather report warned that a storm was coming you could choose to ignore it, but ignoring the report won’t change the weather. You can plan a picnic at the park pretending all the while that no storm will come but pretending doesn’t change reality or the real risks of ignoring genuine warnings from weather reporting agencies. Chances of showers means real chances of a ruined picnic.
Now you might say “well lots of people makes lots of extreme statements. What makes the Bible any different than anyone else?” That’s a good question. You have to understand that the Bible is not like any other book. It has survived centuries of civilization since it was first written. Millions upon millions of people have lived and died by the words written in it. The Bible has shaken entire civilizations to the core. It has spawned movements like nothing else. It has caused many to gladly die rather than reject its words. On top of all of that, the Bible makes a significant claim like no other book – it claims to be inspired directly by God Himself. You can scoff at all of that if you want, but to do so is at your own peril. It has proven itself far too significant to just shrug your shoulders and ignore.
So when Jesus says “I am the way the truth and the life, no man comes unto the Father but through me.” You can ignore this statement. You can pretend Jesus never said it. You can discount its historical accuracy, but the Bible quite clearly records these words as coming from Jesus and it clearly identifies that Jesus is God. And if it is true that Jesus is God that makes His claim far far superior to the claims of weather people namely because God is the one who creates weather and controls the weather. So we are not talking about a chance of showers here – we are talking about an absolute claim that to reject Christ guarantees eternal wrath according to the very words of Christ Himself whom the Bible claims is God.
2 Peter 1:20-21
But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture becomes a matter of someone’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
The only smart thing to do is to do better than Pilate, and instead of merely asking the question and shrugging your shoulders while continuing to plan your picnics, you must truly seek out the answer to the question, “what is truth?” And this must inevitably lead you to grapple with Biblical truth claims since the Bible claims to be written under the authority of God which is a serious statement that would be absurdly foolish to ignore.
So then, when Jesus says “no man can come to the Father but through me” what exactly is He saying? The answer to that is to realize that Jesus is summarizing the overall truth claims of the Bible in one succinct statement. And what are those truths?
It begins by understanding that God created and owns everything.
Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
You must also understand that God is perfectly holy
It continues by describing God as a perfect and holy God
1 John 1:5
This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
A perfect and holy God requires perfect obedience and sinlessness. No one can come to the Father without perfect sinlessness in the same way that light cannot mix with darkness.
But man broke God’s law – this is what Adam did in the very beginning by disobeying God.
James 2:10
For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.Romans 3:10 -11 as it is written,
“There is none righteous, not even one;
There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
The consequence of sin demands an eternal penalty for sin – this is exactly what Jesus said. It is what the Bible teaches over and over again.
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Man cannot save himself because once he has broken the law he has crossed the line. He is no longer perfect. He can no longer stand in the presence of God. He must be cast out.
Isaiah 64:6
For all of us have become like one who is unclean,And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;
And all of us wither like a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
This is the bad news – it is terrible news. You can reject it, but again, we are grappling with the question what is truth. If you were to be honest with yourself you know that what I have said – what the Bible has said about you so far is true. You conscience reveals that to you. You know that you have sinned. You know that you cannot stand in the presence of God. You know that God must reject you based on your own sinful and dark ways.The wages of sin is death. Yet the Bible teaches that we can be set free from death. We are not without hope.
Christ came to earth as both God and sinless man.
Colossians 2:9
For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,
Christ demonstrated His love for us by dying on the cross – by paying the penalty of our sin
Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Because Jesus is God He demonstrated His power over life and death by rising from the grave and guaranteeing that He can raise up all those who trust in Him
1 Corinthians 15:4
and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
Jesus has done everything necessary to bring to life those who are dead, to provide a way to the Father, to offer a way to be free from sin, to be brought into peace and vibrant, joyful relationship with God. Jesus has provided the only way for us to be brought out from under the wrath of God and to become sons and daughters of God. Jesus Himself said there is no other way – this is because there is no other God-man that died for our sins. There is no other religion or truth claim that offers the answer to man’s predicament. There is no other way to be made right with God.
The Bible teaches that if you believe in Christ you will be saved
Romans 10:9
that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
So what is left now is to choose. Will you choose the truth claims of the Bible? Or will you choose to ignore them? I have already shown you the stakes.
Acts 17:30
“Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent,”
Your time is short. You have no idea how long your life will be. There is no point in ignoring the question of what is truth. There is no good in pretending that what the Bible presents isn’t serious and worth you consideration. In the end you must choose. God saves all who call upon Him. He promises to bring those who by faith trust in Christ for salvation – those who turn away from their sins and from any other means of finding peace with God. God promises to save all who trust in Christ alone. So what will you do now? Will you ignore the question? Will you reject the truth that Jesus died to pay the penalty due our sin and rose again conquering death? The choice is yours but understand, the stakes are high. There is, in fact, a storm that is coming. You can escape the rain if you will just trust in Christ and find that He truly is the way the truth and the life.