Lets turn in our Bibles to John 18:28 (page 1072 of pew Bibles), if you would please. Lets go ahead, while theyre finding that, and find the picture of Behold the Man from our intro, which I forgot to let run. You think after the third time, I could get it right. Its a beautiful picture by Antonio Cesari in the 1800s. He was a wonderful artist who in this particular piece shows Pilate with Jesus. Thats the scene were going to begin with today. Then the Jews lead Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness, the Jews did not enter the palace. They wanted to be able to eat the Passover. So Pilate came out to them and asked, What charges do you bring against this man? Understand, now, Pilate is being woken up in the middle of the night. Its early in the morning. Hes a little disoriented. Hes probably a little cranky. A few of us wake up chipper in the middle of the night after a disturbance. Governor, there are some Jews here, and theyre upset. They want to speak to you. Pilate looks at the clock and says, Tell them to go away. Its an urgent matter, sir. They need your attention at once. What, now? Pilate probably said as he threw off the covers and put on his robe. He went out to meet the Jews with his hair disheveled, his face unshaved, his teeth unbrushed. So Pilate came out to them and said, What are the charges that youre bringing against this man? Lets cut to the chase. Lets get this over with, so I can go back to bed. What are the charges? If He were not a criminal, they replied, we would not have handed Him over to you. Well, that straightens things out, doesnt it? Theres a nice non-specific answer. Pilate said, Take Him yourselves, and judge Him by your own law. Let me go back to bed. We have no right to execute anyone, the Jews objected. Im sure that word execute got his attention. The Jews, by law, could not execute, but the Romans could. Execution: what could this man have done that could be worthy of execution. So Pilate goes back inside, and he summons Jesus (in Verse 33). He asked him, Are you the King of the Jews? Who are you? Are you a political figure? Thats what hes saying. Are you somebody whos a threat to Chiapas? Are you a threat to me? This is not a spiritual question. Hes not saying, Are you the Messiah? Hes saying, Are you the King? What is your authority? Is that your own idea? Jesus asked, or did others talk to you about me? Am I a Jew? Do I care? Im still tired. Im still cranky. He was rather short with his reply. Its Your people who handed You over to me. What is it Youve done? Cut to the chase here. I want to know what was so important that I had to be woken up in the middle of the night that I had to address You. What did You do? They want to kill You. What did You do? Jesus answer will not clarify anything. He says, My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, My servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews, but now My kingdom is from another place. It would have been fine if youd have just said, My kingdom is from another planet, but he says, My kingdom is not of this world. Right away, your radar goes up if somebody says that to you. If youre having a conversation, and you introduce yourself, you say, Hi, Im from Janesville, Wisconsin. They say, Hi, Im from a different world. Right away, youre thinking, Ugh oh. Houston, we have a problem. Somebodys not dealing with a full deck. I wonder if that thought crossed his mind, What does Jesus mean Hes not from this world? What other world is there? Youre not of this world? Pilate might have thought for a moment, Is this man crazy? But then he had to rationalize that a crazy man is not going to stir the Jews up into such an uproar that they want to execute Him. If He were crazy, the Jews would not be taking him seriously. The Jews would either ignore Him or laugh at Him. They certainly would not be waking the governor up in the middle of the night saying, Kill Him! No, this mans not crazy. Something else is going on here. He speaking of a world that He is from that is different from this world. How many think Pilates curiosity would be pretty aroused at this point? Yeah. Hed never met a man like this, never met a man who talked like this before. There have been discoveries and revelations that have changed our perception of reality. They havent changed reality, mind you. These things always were, but the discoveries brought them into our line of sight, so we found out of their existence. One I can think of is the telescope. As Galileo was looking into the Heavens, he saw planets, orbits and stars that the man had never yet seen. His discovery changed our world. Did it change reality? No. It changed our perception of reality. Those planets were always there. Those orbits were always there. Those stars and moons were always there. Galaxies were always there, but wed never seen them before. Through that discovery, a revelation of a reality that we did not know existed came into our minds. Is it Leeunwenhoek? Its been a long time since Ive been in freshman biology. He was the father of the microscope. Looking through that microscope, seeing a world that we didnt know existed…these little bacteria, ameba, and all these little things that we cant see with our naked eye that you can see under that microscope. We found out what causes some illnesses and diseases and how to cure them. It changed our world. Did it change reality? No, but it changed our perception of reality. Those things were always there. Theyre still there. Every once in a while Ill see a special on TV where theyll go into a hotel and use some special camera to show you all the germs. Theyre on your pillow case, all these bugs and everything. It changed our perception of reality. They were always there, but we didnt know about them. Jesus comes and says, Im telling you about a world which you do not know of, but its real. Its the kingdom of God. Its called Heaven, and thats where Im from. Ive come into your world. Ive come into this world that I have made to explain to you the ultimate truth. So Pilate is baffled. He says, You are a king, then? You are right in saying I am a king. Now, listen. What Jesus is going to say here is very important. He says, In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this, I came into the world. Now, stop right there and look up at me. For those of you who have already seen Del Tackett, you cant play. If you have not, just answer to yourself when we ask the question, Why did Jesus come in the world? What do you think he would say? If I asked you, as a Christian, why did Jesus come, what would your response be? Many of you would say, Well He came to die for my sins. I would say, Correct answer. Some would say, He came to conquer death and rose again from the grave. I would say, Correct answer. Some of you would say, Well, He came to show us what God is like. He came to reveal God to us. I would say, That is a correct answer. But the foundational answer, the foundation which all those important truths rest is this one foundation right here. Jesus says, For this I was born, and for this I came into the world to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of the truth listens to Me. This foundation, this important foundation which is called the truth, is what everything else rests on. The revelations that He gave us of Heaven, the revelations that He gave us of the Father, rest on the foundation of truth. What He came to do upon the cross, what He came to do through His death, burial, and resurrection, to conquer sin-to conquer the grave, those all rest on the foundation of truth that Jesus came to bring us. Thats the reason He came, to reveal truth. Talk to us about ultimate realities that have existed, that exist, we didnt know about them. He came to make them known. Pilate then asked the question that mankind has always asked from generation to generation. He says, What is truth? But the sad thing is that he has the right question, and hes asking it to the right person. This is incarnate truth standing in front of him, but he chooses not to wait for the reply. Instead, it says, And then he went away. He didnt hear the answer. I hope and pray this morning that those of you who have come to the series on the truth project, who are asking the right questions and asking them of the right person, will stay and hear the answer because Jesus did answer this question. But before we get to His answer, I want us to listen to some other answers. Youre going to recognize these people. Youre probably not going to recognize their faces or know their names, but youre going to recognize their answers to the question of what is truth because youve heard them before. Well roll the video, and then well talk about them. Jesus says, I have come to bring truth. Were familiar with that word, truth, in the Greek. We have a band by that name that comes to sing almost every year. Its three Southern girls from Tennessee. They are...what? Who? Alathea, truth. The word means objective reality, something that is true whether I believe it or no, something that is true for all people at all times. Jesus is saying, There is a thing known as objective truth. There is a reality that is real whether I accept it or whether I know about it. The universe, the cosmos that were seeing through the telescope were real. Whether we knew about them or not, they were there. What exists in the form of something only seen under a microscope is real, whether we see it or not or know about it. It was always there. The same thing is true with the world under the sea, the things that are under the sea that we now know about-the things previous generations did not. They didnt simply come into being because we saw them; they were always there. Thats objective reality. This whole concept that you can define your own reality, or your truth is your truth, if you want to believe it sincerely enough, then its true. It boggles my mind sometimes how logically-reasoning people present that as an argument, Well, youve got your truth, and Ive got my truth. I was walking to my car recently. It was late at night, and I was kind of tired. I went and got some gas, went in to pay for it, get something to drink, and I came out. I opened up my car door, and there was a guy there on his cell phone. I opened up the door, and he looked at me and said, Hey! He felt threatened, and he was angry. My first thought was, What are you doing in my car?!? But my second though, which came very close to my first thought, was, I must have the wrong car. How does that commercial go on TV for Southwest Airlines, Wish you could be someplace else? Thats what I felt like. I looked up, and I saw my car at the pump. Sometimes you go in the gas station and get gas. Other times you just go in there to get something to drink, a cup of coffee or whatever you like. So, it wasnt unusual for me to park there. I went up and said, Im sorry. I have a Lincoln, same kind, same color, and same year as you. Im parked back here. He did a little shoulder check, realized I wasnt some sort of a nut trying to rob him, and he said, Oh, okay. Thats okay. No problem. Ill let you go, I said and walked back to my car. If Im going to buy into this philosophy, I might say something different to him. I might say, You know, you think this is your car, but let me tell you about my truth. My truth is that every Lincoln this year and this color belongs to me. Thats my truth. He would have a problem with my truth. If I tried to get in his car, hed probably call the authorities, and they would come out. Theyd say, Whats going on here? Hed say, Officers, this is my car, and this nut thinks its his. I would say, Yes it is, officer. Thats my car. All Lincolns from that year with that color are my car. He would produce his proof of insurance with the VIN on it, his registration and title, his license, and everything else in his name, and the officer would turn to me and say, I dont need to see what youve got. I know whose car this is. Get on your way. Theres objective reality. Now people might have different perceptions of reality that arent true, and once they find out the truth, it changes their perception. You know our brothers and sisters in Christ from the first century were called atheists because they didnt believe in Roman gods. When they were to be executed, the emperor would say, Bring the atheists forward, and the Christian would come forward. We were called cannibals because we had communion, and we would say, Well, we eat the flesh of Christ and drink His blood. People would understand that as cannibalism. There was a love-feast. Christians called communion love feasts. Did you know that? Agape feast. Folks thought that meant something entirely different. We were a strange lot walking around calling each other brother and sister. We didnt go to the Roman holidays because they worshipped Pagan gods, and we wanted no part in it. We were odd. People judged the Christians. Was that reality? Not at all. It was their perception. It was a subjective reality. But Christ says there is objective reality. There is truth, and thats what I have come to bring. Jesus did answer the question that Pilot posed. Because Pilot then asked the question, What is truth? Jesus would answer that question, if youd just flip back to John 14, back up a page. Theyre inquiring of Jesus where Hes going because He says He is going to prepare a place. Thomas said to Him, Lord, we dont know where Youre going, so how could we know the way? Jesus answer is radical. Jesus answer is out there. Its as far out there as what He said to Pilate when he said, Im from another world. Unless, its true… He says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. Who comes to the Father except through Him? Answer that question for me. No one. That sounds pretty exclusive, doesnt it? That sounds pretty narrow, doesnt it? What did Jesus say? He said, Narrow is the path that leads to life, and few find it, but broad is the road that leads to destruction. Truth by the very definition is exclusive and narrow. Notice, Jesus doesnt say, I am a truth. He says, I am the truth. He uses the definite article. I can say to you, Hand me a book. Hand me any book. Maybe Im trying to prop something up, but if I say to you, Hand me the book, Im talking about a specific book. Jesus says, I am the truth. Have you noticed how, when you read the Epistles or any of the books, as Paul, John, Peter, or Luke-as they talk about the Gospel-how do they refer to it? Do they call it a truth? Weve come to bear witness to a truth. We need to bear a truth? No. They say, We need to defend the truth. Were called to share the truth. Ive come to proclaim to you the truth. Jesus says, and this is very important, I am the truth. He doesnt say, I have the truth. I am the truth. I am reality, or, I am the source of reality. I am He from Whom reality emanates. Now, Im not going to ask you to turn to these passages, but Im going to read them to you in succession. I just want you to listen. If youre taking notes, you can write it down and look at it later, but listen to what the Word of God says about the person of Jesus Christ: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made, and without Him, nothing was made that has been made. In the Book of Colossians 1:16, it says this, For by Him, all things were created, things in Heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. In the Book of Hebrews, the first chapter, it says this: In the past, God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe. The son is the exact radiance of Gods glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. Who were all those passages speaking of? The Lord, Jesus Christ. Jesus is saying in this passage, I am the source of reality. I created reality, the universe you see around you, the physical laws, and the creation: those came from Me. I am truth. So if you and I are going to fully grasp the truth, we must grasp that truth through Jesus Christ. We must go through the source. What the world would tell you, and many in the world would tell you, is that you know there are many different ways to God. There are many different truths. You have a part of the truth; I have a part of the truth. Thats what the Unitarian universalis minister said in the clip, I have a part of the truth. You have a part of the truth. Put those truths together, and we have the whole truth. Im going to share an illustration with you which Ive heard that people have given to support this worldview. Then, when Im done, Ill ask you if youve heard this before. The story goes like this: Blind men come to an elephant, and theyre trying to figure out what the elephant is. The first blind man comes, and he feels the side of the elephant. He says, The elephant is a wall. Thats what it is. Its hard and solid. Its immovable. The elephant is a wall. The second blind man comes to the same elephant. He gets a hold of the tusks, and he says, No, no, no, no, no. An elephant is not like a wall. An elephant is sharp. Its like a spear. The elephant is like a weapon. Its like a moving weapon. Its a spear. The third blind man comes, and he grabs the ear. He says, No, no, no. I dont know what you two are talking about. As I feel the elephant, the elephant is more like a fan. Its light and it moves. Its like a fan. In fact, I can feel its air as it moves in front of me right now. The fourth comes up and says, No, youre all wrong. He starts to feel the legs of the elephant, and he says, The elephant is like a tree. Its round and its solid. Its virtually immovable. Yet, another comes, and he says, Youre all wrong. I felt the elephant as he hangs from its trunk, and the elephant is like a snake. It moves and its round like a snake, like a big python. Yet, another comes and says, Youre all wrong, as he grabs on to the tail. He says, The elephant is very much like a rope, a sturdy, well-made rope. So the story is told that each of them had a part of the truth, but not all of the truth, but if you put all of their truths together, you will find out what an elephant is like. This religion has a part of the truth; this religion has a part; this has a part: we put them all together, and they form a whole better understanding of truth, even though they seem to contradict each other. How many have heard that philosophy, that illustration? I asked myself the question from whence did that come. Where did that story originate? It turns out that illustration was written in the 1800s. It was written by a man by the name of John Godfrey Sachs. It was a poem. It was actually not a story, but a poem. It was called the Men of Indostan. It was about this wise king who brings these blind men to the elephant, and they each give their feedback on the elephant. If youre doing a search like this as a pastor and come across something like this, its gold. He was actually trying to prove a theological point. I thought, Well, thats interesting. This elephant story is, in fact, about theology. Is what they say that story means what the author of the poem meant? Lets listen to the end of this poem, after he finishes with the sixth blind man: So oft in theologic wars, the disputants, I ween, rail on in utter ignorance of what each other mean, and prate about an elephant not one of them has seen! Hes not saying theyre all right because they have a bit of the truth. Hes saying theyre discoursing on that which they know very little about. Contrast that to Jesus, who is the source of truth. When He says, I am the truth. When He says, Not only was I there from the beginning, I am in the beginning. The universe emanated from Me. When He says, I am the truth, Hes not saying, Ive got a part of the truth. Ive got a little bit of the truth, and you can take my part of the truth and add it to your other parts of the truth. Its going to form a whole truth. He says, I am the truth. Is it exclusive? Yes. Is it narrow? Yes. Did I say it? No. He did. So you have a choice: I am repeating to you His words, You have a choice whether to accept the truth as Christ has revealed it to us or find another truth, find another reality. I choose to follow the One who died and rose again. I choose to follow the One who spoke as no man has ever spoken, did what no man has ever done, and who changed the course of the world. If we really believe what He says, that no man comes to the Father but through Me, and our church does, it will change your world. Were going to hear Del Tackett talk about that right now. Lets listen as he gives us a short teaching from our media from this week. Father, we thank you for truth this morning. What a dark, aimless, and pointless world this would be without Your truth. To know that creation has meaning, that mankind has purpose, it means all the world. To know that You, the God of the universe, cared enough of Your creation to enter it, to reveal to us, reality-objective reality, means all the world to us. And, Father, that truth is not something thats convenient. That truth is something thats very unsettling. That truth transformed like an irritant, like a grain of sand in a clam that turns into a pearl. That begins to work in our spirit. We say, Weve got to do something. Ive got to take this information, and I have to share it. I have to make known Your truth. Father, our church exists to make Your truth known, to make You known to all the world. As believers, take what we are learning, transform us, renew our minds, that we-in turn-can transform our world. We thank you, Father, that Jesus is the way; that Hes made a way for us to be free from the penalty of sin; that He is the truth; that Hes made a way for us to be removed from ignorance; that He is the life; that Hes found a way for us to conquer the grave through His resurrection. We thank you for these things, in Jesus name, Amen.