This evening’s sermon text is from John 18:37-38a, a portion of our Lord’s trial before Pontius Pilate. “Then Pilate said to [Jesus], ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.’ Pilate said to Him, ‘What is truth?’”

Grace, mercy, and peace are yours from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Jewish Sanhedrin—their Supreme Court, so to speak—has convicted Jesus of blasphemy, because He declares Himself to be the Son of God. However, being under the control of the Roman government, they lack authority to officially put anyone to death. They need Rome’s consent. But the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, isn’t going to put Jesus to death just because they say He’s a blasphemer. Pilate doesn’t care about that. The Sanhedrin needs something that Pilate will care about. So, they say that Jesus claims to be the king of Jews. That could get Rome’s attention.

As Pilate questions Jesus about this, he relaxes, realizing that Jesus isn’t the rebel He’s been made out to be. Jesus has said His kingdom isn’t of this world. In Pilate’s mind, Jesus may be crazy, but He’s no political revolutionary. He’s no Barabbas, who did try to overthrow the Roman government. Even so, Pilate is curious about the nature of Jesus’ rule and reign as a king “not of this world.” Surely, Pilate wonders what Jesus means by that phrase.

So, Jesus explains, and what a deep and valuable explanation He gives. He was born and has come for a very specific purpose. He speaks of His human and divine origin. He was born a king of the Virgin Mary—the Son of David, the title with which the Palm Sunday crowd honored Him. But of course, Jesus has not just been born in this world, but He has come into the world from His heavenly Father’s side. His existence didn’t begin when He was conceived in the womb of Mary. Jesus is the eternal Son of God. He is the Word, who is God and was with God in the beginning. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, having been born of Mary. So, Jesus was born into the world and Jesus has come into the world with the purpose to bear witness to the truth.

Jesus spells out the authority He has in His kingdom when He tells Pilate, “Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” This reminds me of the Lord’s encounter with the centurion earlier in His ministry, who said, “Just say the word and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me.” The centurion understood that Jesus’ authority was more than telling other men what to do—it was the authority over all of creation! So, with creation everyone who is of the truth gladly and willingly listens to Jesus’ voice.

The Lord said the same thing earlier in His ministry. Speaking of Himself in the third person, Jesus declared, “The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.” Jesus rules His kingdom by His Word of Truth. Those who are of the truth listen to Him. Those who refuse to listen to Him are not of the truth. They are caught in lies. It’s that simple.

We live in a world that has always been curious about truth. Every religion all around the world and every system of belief—including atheism—tries to claim something of truth. The foundation of Truth is either built upon God or it’s built on idolatry.

Prior to the world wars, a lot of people caught up in worldliness thought that modern scientific discoveries and advances would bring us to the point that we would understand truth—apart from God. Then, mankind would finally achieve world peace. Human progress became the idol of truth. During that time, World War I was considered “the war to end all wars.” As you know, it wasn’t. Just twenty years later an even more violent and widespread world war engulfed many nations.

Following the shock of World War II and the advent of the nuclear age, the unbelieving world doubled down and declared that there is no sure and certain absolute truth in the world. The problem for those who believe this is that you can’t say, “there is no absolute truth,” without doing so by making a claim of absolute truth. Nevertheless, many unbelievers declare that “truth is relative.”

Generation X and Millennials grew up in a world in which we were constantly told by secular unbelievers that there is no way to arrive at “the truth.” Those who believe this will say, “Whatever I believe is just as valid and true as whatever you believe.” Such a belief might work in matters of opinion, but it doesn’t actually work in matters of truth. Opposite things can’t both be true—whether opposing religious truth claims or opposing eyewitness accounts.

This way of thinking rejects Christ’s claim to be the Truth, because it rejects any claim of absolute truth. Those who believe it don’t listen to Jesus and are not of the truth.

Nowadays, much of the world no longer rejects absolute truth. Generations Z and Alpha are being raised in an unbelieving world that embraces absolute truth… but… but… in the worst way. Absolute truth is whatever a person subjectively feels it is. “What feels true to you is true for you, and what feels true to me is true for me.”

The unbelieving world thinks that truth is possessed by every person, but truth isn’t possessed by any one person. The world says each individual person decides what is absolute truth, but no one has the right to decide for everyone what is absolute truth. The world doesn’t care if this truth claim is contradictory or not.

Those of this mindset are not particularly offended by Christ’s claim to be the Truth, but they do hate Christ’s claim that everyone must believe He is the Truth.

Unfortunately, many churches that claim to be Christian have jumped headfirst into subjective absolute truth, openly denying that everyone must believe that Jesus is the Truth. This means many churches that claim to be Christian openly reject Jesus’ voice.

Pilate hears Jesus speak of the truth and tersely responds to Him by asking, “What is truth?” Some say Pilate was a philosophical skeptic of truth. Others suppose that as the judge in Jesus’ trial, he was trying to maintain neutrality. Still others suggest Pilate didn’t understand what Jesus was talking about, and so he didn’t take Jesus seriously, but wanted to end the conversation quickly. Any way you slice it, Pilate reveals that by losing interest in the truth of Jesus, he has rejected the Lord and isn’t of the truth at all.

Jesus is the Truth, which means the Father He reveals is the Truth, which means the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father and the Son is the Truth, which means the Word of our Triune God is the Truth. Jesus came to testify to the truth, and the truth centers in who He is and what He does to reconcile us to God and give us eternal life. He is the Son of God, sent on a mission to redeem the world from unbelief and rejection of its Lord. He is full of grace and truth.

As Jesus says: “God loved the world in this way—He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Furthermore, Jesus says to His Father: “This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

To be of the truth is to listen to Jesus who gives eternal life by reconciling us to His Father. This is the purest absolute truth. To believe this is to receive eternal life. To reject this is to receive eternal condemnation. There is no getting out of it. There is no other truth. There is no other salvation. There is salvation in one blessed and merciful name—the name Jesus.

Though it's solemn, tonight is not about feeling sorry for Jesus. We call it “Good Friday,” because it is a very good day. Jesus willingly died upon the cross for our sins, exactly as He came to do. It wasn’t unexpected. It wasn’t a surprise. It wasn’t a defeat for Him. It was God providing for Himself the Lamb for a burnt offering. It was the Good Shepherd laying down His life for the sheep. It was Jesus giving His life as a ransom for many. Did He suffer? Yes. Was it terrible? Yes. Was it something He desired to do? Yes. Because He loves you. That is the truth. “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” It was planned from before the foundations of the earth were laid. For His sacrifice, we offer sacrifices of thanks and praise to God.

Though it's somewhat somber, tonight isn’t a funeral for Jesus. While the service of darkness and the remembrance of His suffering recognizes the magnitude of what our Lord endured to save us, calling us to repentance and faith in Him, we trust in Him precisely because His death wasn’t His defeat. In His death He won. “It is finished,” we heard Him say. And we will fully, jubilantly celebrate that triumph in two days as we celebrate the resurrection victory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, the unbelieving world rejects the truth of Jesus. It always has and it always will. Yet, the Holy Spirit and the Word of God are the power of God for salvation. “Faith—belief in the truth of Christ—comes by hearing the Word of Christ.” Jesus says that both the Holy Spirit and Holy Scripture together testify to Him.

So, we need not become depressed by the many lies and opposition to the Truth that abounds around the world. We proclaim the Truth, planting the seed of God’s Word, trusting that the Lord will provide the growth when and where He sees fit. We also take comfort in hearing the voice of our Savior, our Good Shepherd, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and He takes away our sin.

In listening to the voice of Jesus—the Word made flesh—in Holy Scripture you receive eternal life, for you are in the Truth because you are in Christ and Christ is in you by His Holy Spirit. Amen.