This morning's community message is entitled, Jesus is the Truth. And we'll look to John chapter 18. Our primary text is John chapter 18, verse 38. But I'm going to read the preceding context in your hearing because it's important for us to gain an understanding of what's happening here in the situation. And so I'm gonna read the context preceding verse 38. So verse 28 in John 18. Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium, and it was early morning. But they themselves did not go into the praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover. Pilate then went out to them and said, What accusation do you bring against this man? They answered and said to him, If he were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered him up to you. Then Pilate said to them, You take him and judge him according to your law. Therefore the Jews said to him, it is not lawful for us to put anyone to death, that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which he spoke, signifying by what death he would die. Then Pilate entered the praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to him, are you the king of the Jews? Jesus answered him, are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning me? Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the three priests have delivered you to me. What have you done? Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews. But now my kingdom is not from here. Verse 37, Pilate therefore said to him, Are you a king then? Jesus answered, You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. Pilate said to him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, I find no fault in him at all. So our primary text under consideration is verse 38, and Pilate's timeless statement in which he says, What is truth? Since the fall of Adam and Eve in the garden, man is, to quote the Apostle Paul, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 2 Timothy 3, verse 7. Adam and Eve knew truth prior to their fall in the garden when they walked with God in holy fellowship and communion with God. The Lord God walked in the midst of the garden, and Adam and Eve enjoyed perfect and pure fellowship with the living God. This was pristine fellowship in a pristine condition. They knew perfect truth. But tragically, the disobedience and unbelief of Adam and Eve resulted not only in their loss of spiritual life and physical life, but their loss of the comprehension of real truth. They became spiritually blind and sought to develop their own understanding of the truth, which only results ultimately in utter despair and emptiness. Man has sought throughout the ages to develop his own systems of truth, his own systems of religion, but he's failed in his endeavor to reach up to the holy, pure, and righteous God. Throughout the ages of human history, man has continued his quest for the truth. Nations have passed through history. Kings have risen and fallen. philosophies have been developed, world governments have risen to power and failed, and countless volumes of human wisdom literature and human religious works have been produced. But in all of this, man has failed to come to a soul-satisfying knowledge of the truth. The Bible in John 18 brings us to an individual who in many ways personifies that emptiness, frustration, and the futility of men who sought to discover their own truth in human ingenuity and idol worship. This brings us to the historical figure of Pontius Pilate in John chapter 18. And my first point under consideration is, who is Pilate? Who is Pontius Pilate? Well, he was Roman procurator of Judea. He was a member of the equestrian or middle class of Romans. So he never quite got up to the upper echelon of the aristocratic class. He never quite got up there. But he was yet of the middle class and he was still well off. And he had a prominent position in the Roman government. He was appointed procurator of Judea in AD 26 by Emperor Tiberius. He was procurator for 10 years. Pilate's area of jurisdiction included Samaria, Judea, and as far south as Gaza and the Dead Sea. Pilate's power was virtually absolute over all non-Roman citizens of his jurisdiction. Of course, if you were a Roman citizen that day, you could always appeal to a higher court or to the emperor himself. But for the Christians of that day, they were under constant persecution, and Pilate himself had power over them where he could send them to death if he willed. Pilate was characterized by cynicism and skepticism. We see that in his statement, what is truth? You can hear it in that statement. He lacked honor, justice, and integrity. Pilate was motivated by the wishes and the wills of the political people around him, and also the religious Jews who hold some sway over Pilate himself. He had power. He could have released Jesus, but he elected not to do that because he wanted to conform to the wishes and the whims of the people around him. My second point under consideration is the socio-religious environment of Pilate. It's important to understand this culture of that time. The dominant culture present throughout the Roman Empire in the first century was Greek. The Greek language, education, art, literature, and philosophy permeated Roman civilization. These worldly views and mindsets are what Pilate would have known very well. He was exposed to it, he knew it, he learned it, he no doubt studied it, and this was all well known to Pilate. Now, there's four main religions, or four main forms of religion in the empire during this first century. I like to go over this so we have a background to what's happening here. The first main religion was pagan religion. This involved the worship of a pantheon of Greek gods. And we're all familiar, we've heard this before. We've heard of Zeus, he was regarded as the chief god. Poseidon was regarded as the god of the sea. Ares, the god of war. Aphrodite, the goddess of love, and so on and so on. The general populace sought the blessing of these gods to promote their well-being in business, agriculture, marriage, politics, and war. So there's pagan religion going on in the Roman Empire. But secondly, there was emperor worship. And that's due to the fact that the Roman Empire grew in such dominance and over several areas of land, the growth and dominance of the empire gave increasing credence to the idea that the emperor himself was a god. They saw the emperor as a god because of the success of the Roman Empire. The Roman Senate elevated some emperors, such as Augustus, to a god, and he was to be prayed to throughout the Roman Empire. You can see the conflict and the persecution that would have resulted to Christians who elected not to pray to the Roman Emperor. A third main religion was the Eastern mystery cults that spread to the Roman Empire throughout the East, or from the East, I should say, to the Roman Empire. The popular ones include the worship of the goddess Sibylle and Isis, also the gods Serapis and Mithras. Now these cults encourage worship of the gods by emotional outbursts, song and dance, even group orgies, and ecstatic states of trance and prophecy. Now get this, initiation into these cults involved an elaborate ceremony. They dug a human life-sized pit in the ground. They placed a wooden crate overhead on the mouth of the pit. The initiator was put into the pit. A bull was then sacrificed over the pit with the blood then pouring down on the person. The person was to look up and drink the blood of the bull and make sure it covered their entire bodies. The claim of this mystery cult was that this blood baptism bestowed a new birth and the gift of immortality on the believer. This is the kind of mindset that permeated the Roman Empire. This is the kind of environment that Christians had to deal with. Truth, where is it at? Well, we'll see. Another main religion, of course, was philosophy. And there were three main schools of philosophy throughout the empire. They all promised peace and fulfillment to their followers. Philosophy is what I call the worship of human mind and its achievements. The first was Platonism. We've all heard of Platonism, of course. In the first century, there was a revival of Middle Platonism, which is a combination of Plato and Aristotle, the ideals of both. At the heart of Platonism was the belief that the eternal God, his ideas were the source of everything in the universe. By contemplating God and his eternal ideas, one would become like God and transcend himself above the evil world of matter and false ideals. Platonism actually rejected divine revelation. There was no divine revelation. It was the ideas of Plato and Aristotle that permeated this mindset. A second major philosophy was Epicureanism. Epicurus taught that pleasure was the supreme desirable quality. Epicurus also taught that true happiness only came through living lives of quietness, retirement, peace, and self-control. Well, it sounds good, doesn't it? Live a life of quietness, retirement, peace, self-control. I mean, we'd all desire that, wouldn't we? But there was no belief in the life after death in Epicureanism, and you can see there was no belief in the divine authority of Scripture as well. Now, the final philosophy I'd like to consider is Stoicism. And we all know, of our modern era, the most famous Stoic philosopher, if you're a science fiction buff, like I'm somewhat, but not really, Star Trek and Mr. Spock. Mr. Spock is the classic example of the Stoic philosopher. The Stoics taught that the universe was controlled by a power that was either called God, fate, providence or reason. So God was impersonal. But he was attributed a name. They called him God. But they also called fate, reason, providence, as being the supreme controller of the universe. They taught that fulfillment came by living in harmony with reason. This involved controlling, disciplining, and suppressing the passions or emotions. So if you've ever seen Star Trek, that's Mr. Spock. Now, all of this Pilate was exposed to, and he knew, yet he could not discover the truth in all these human creations. His timeless statement lives on. What is truth? Now, that brings me to my third point, as Jesus, the proclaimer of the truth. Our Lord Jesus, the proclaimer of the truth. Now, what is the significance of the preceding verse, in verse 37, before Pilate's famous statement? Pilate poses the question to him, are you a king? Jesus said he came into the world to bear witness to the truth. In Luke's Gospel account, in chapter 20, verse 21, we find the scribes and the chief priests sending out spies to catch Jesus in some statement that they could use against him. Of course, they were out to get him, and they were out to put him up for insurrection against the Roman government. Any way they could, they wanted to trip him up in any statement or anything he did, so they can capture him and send him to the Roman government, and hopefully he would be crucified. But you can see In this statement that, let me read this, they question him saying, teacher, we know that you speak and teach correctly, and you're not partial to any, but teach the word of God in truth. And this is what they said to him. You can see that the wicked even make incorrect statements, or they make statements of truth, even though they don't believe it themselves. You see, God can, in his providence, can use unbelievers to make statements of truth, and yet even the ones who proclaim these statements don't believe it themselves. In John 8, verse 40, Jesus said, But as it is, you are seeking to kill me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God. This Abraham did not do. Jesus sought to proclaim the truth, and yet he was persecuted for doing that. John 8, 45, But because I speak the truth, you do not believe me. Jesus Christ came into the world to speak the truth of God, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Yet men like Pilate were blind, and they would not and could not believe in him. They could not believe in the truth. Jesus further declared to Pilate, everyone who is of the truth hears my voice, in verse 37. So not everyone will hear and believe Jesus. The vast majority of all who ever live will not believe his words or believe in him. Why? Because they are not of the truth. The truth of God is not in them. All are born with a sinfully corrupt nature that is manifested in a lying, deceitful heart and mouth. Oh, the need for divine grace, the need for sovereign grace to come and open up the minds and the hearts of the unbeliever. Because if we aren't shown the truth, and the Spirit of God does not open up our minds to the truth, we will be those who will eventually pass into hell as unbelievers. But Jesus said in John 8, 44, you are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. He is the source of all lies. He's the father of lies, Satan himself. Oh, look to Christ, because he's the source of divine truth, and he will direct you to God the Father. All mankind is divided into those who hear Christ and hear His voice, and those who are outside of Christ and are of the world and do not hear His words. The fourth truth I'd like to consider is that Jesus is the truth personified. He's the embodiment of the truth. John 1.14, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. There's no need for him to gain additional truth, to learn truth. He's the embodiment of truth. He is the fullness of truth. He is God incarnate. The Greeks and the Gnostics, they all sought the truth in some higher knowledge or impersonal reason or logic, but they failed to apprehend the truth. That truth is found in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. John 117, Jesus said, for the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. Actually, John made that statement, I'm sorry. John 14, verse 6. Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me. Ephesians 4, 21. But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard him and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus. We don't need to look any further. We don't need to look to the world's philosophies. We don't need to look to our government leaders. Yes, there are leaders set up for a purpose, to rule and to maintain order in our country. But the source of our divine truth comes from God himself, and is embodied in Christ, and he speaks the truth. My fifth point under consideration is God's objective truth is expressed in the Bible. His direct revelation to man. God has not left us ignorant or without knowledge. He's embodied the truth in his word. The word is God's direct revelation to man. The immortal words of our Lord Jesus, sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth, John 17, verse 17. Paul said in Ephesians 1.13, The gospel concerning our Lord Jesus Christ is the truth, is the message of salvation that will deliver us from sin and death. Listen to it, hear it. 2 Timothy 2.15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. We hold the truth in our possession. It is in the palms of your hands. It is in your lap at this moment. It is God's eternal truth, and it will persevere. It will extend throughout the ages. It will be proclaimed throughout all human history and on into eternity. God's truth will not pass away. It is our truth, so let's hold dear to it. Now at this time, I'd like to shift gears and look at something a little bit different. I'd like to look at those in human history who sought the truth but could not find it. I'd like to look at those whose lives ended in ruin because they sought the truth in all the wrong places. Now I've put together a little list here, and I'll read it in your hearing. So here's a list of famous people who died tragic deaths. Comedian Robin Williams, He committed suicide by hanging himself in his home. He had suffered from severe depression. Actress Marilyn Monroe died of an overdose of prescription drugs designed to treat depression. Singer Whitney Houston died from an overdosing on prescription drugs and alcohol, which led to her drowning in her very own bathtub. Elvis Presley died of an overdose of various anti-anxiety pills and painkillers. Michael Jackson died of cardiac arrest induced by psychoactive and psychoanesthetic drugs. Adolf Hitler committed suicide. Vincent van Gogh committed suicide by gunshot. Cleopatra committed suicide. Ernest Hemingway committed suicide. And finally, Judas Iscariot committed suicide when he was overcome by guilt because he sent the righteous holy one, the innocent one, to the Jewish leaders and the Roman government. So what did he do? He hung himself because he was overcome by guilt. And the list goes on and on and on throughout human history. How many have died tragic deaths? the number in the millions, perhaps even billions. God himself only knows those who've died tragic deaths because they sought the truth in all the wrong places. Fame, fortune, power, sensual pleasure, significant achievements, none of this is the answer to life. We are created to know and experience an intimate relationship with God our creator and savior. Jesus is the truth. Seek him. I'm going to conclude this morning with some exhortations, in which I'll consider that we need to walk, wear, and worship the truth. Walk, wear, and worship the truth. First of all, let us walk in the truth. 2 John 1, verse 4, I was very glad to find some of your children walking in truth, just as we received commandment to do from the Father. 3 John 1 verse 3, For I was very glad when brethren came and testified to your truth, that is, how you are walking in truth. 3 John 1 verse 4, I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth. Oh brethren, let's walk in the truth. Why? It brings joy and pleasure to our spiritual leaders, to our pastors and elders. But most importantly, it brings joy and pleasure to those watching from heaven. Our Lord Jesus Christ is pleased when we walk in the truth. So let us take up the truth. Let us take up our Bibles. Let us read our Bibles. Let us meditate on the scriptures as often as we can. It is the truth. And when it infiltrates our minds, it will infiltrate our mouths and our lives, and we will walk in the truth. A second exhortation is to wear the truth, wear the truth. Titus 2.10, Titus writes, not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect. Adorning the doctrine of our God, that is what we're called to do. 1 Peter 3, verse 5, for in this way, in former times, the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands. Oh, what a glory it is to watch a woman being submissive to her husband. She may be married to an unbeliever, but if she is adoring herself with the holy righteous word of God, she is seeking to submit to her husband. And that brings glory to God and acknowledges the fact that the word is is supreme and is her leader. Lord, at this time, too, also, let's consider Matthew 5, verse 16. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. We are to walk in the light so that the world looks at us and sees our good works. The good works which we walk in are predicated upon the word of God, walking in truth. So let us aware the truth that God may be glorified. Finally, let us worship the truth. John 4, verse 23 and 24, and this is well known to you. But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. For such people the Father seeks to be his worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. We are of the truth. We've been born by the Spirit of God. We are no longer walking in darkness. We are of the truth. Therefore, let us wear the truth, let us walk in the truth, but let us worship the truth, the Son of God, the living God. And that's why we're here this morning. And that's why we come to worship and come on the Lord's Day. to hear the word of God, but that we may worship the truth, the living Christ, who has borne our sins and has died for us, so that we might know the truth. Oh, the truth has set us free. God has set us free. So let us now walk as we should. Let us exhort one another, encourage one another to walk in the truth, to wear the truth, and to worship the truth. What a great pleasure it is to be a Christian. For those of us who know that in our prior past, before we became Christians, we know that the world had nothing to offer to us. The world and its darkness, and its religions, and its philosophies, and all the achievements that man can achieve in the world, none of it can totally satisfy our souls. Only Christ Himself, the living, risen Savior. He saved us, so we come to communion this morning, so that we may honor Him, and enjoy what He's done for us, and worship Him. My brethren, let us now partake of communion.