He came to reveal the truth

“The reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” John 18:37

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At the beginning of John’s Gospel we read that Jesus came from the Father “full of grace and truth” (1:14,17). Now, on the morning of his death, Jesus tells Pilate that he came to testify to “the truth”.

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Truth is a key word in John, used 25 times, plus 23 occurrences of the related adjectives true and real (e.g. Jesus is “the true bread” and “the true vine”). Truth in the Bible is not just the opposite of falsehood – it’s also a moral quality of faithfulness and reliability. So truth is a characteristic of God and this is what Jesus came to reveal. He himself is “the truth” (John 14:6).

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Our post-modern culture likes to think that there is no absolute truth – in the name of freedom, truth can be flexible and adaptable. Which means that what Jesus says is not popular. Like Pilate, we can ask the question, “What is truth?” (18:38), and fail to see that it is standing before us. Truth seekers will listen to Jesus, and his promise is that by holding to his teaching, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32). This, he says, is true discipleship.