What Truth IS

Pontius Pilate’s mind wandered from the conversation. “How did I end up here?” He hated Jerusalem as much as he hated dealing with Jews and their idiotic laws and customs. He longed for his palace in Caesarea where at least the sea breezes broke though the heat and overcame the stench of Judea. He remembered the day Sejanus, chief administrator of the Roman empire and close to Tiberius the emperor had summoned him.

“I have good news and bad news,” Sejanus had begun. “The good news is that you have been promoted and appointed as a Territorial Prefect.” He then concluded, “The bad news is that the emperor is sending you to Judea.”

“At least I am finally promoted,” Pilate thought. “I will make my mark quickly and return to Rome where I belong very soon.” But it had been nearly 10 years now and he could see no end in sight. And today yet another uprising among these strange people had forced him to their capital once again to deal with matters that were none of his concern nor of Tiberius nor of Rome. The voice of the carpenter that had started the whole thing returned his attention to the matter at hand.

"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."[1] By now, Pilate had heard enough from this Jesus and his accusers who were all talking in circles with no valid point to any of it. He shook his head and took a deep breath muttering half to himself, “What is truth?”[2] Without waiting for an answer, Pilate left the innocent man alone and reluctantly returned to face his enraged and frenetic accusers…again.

Throughout this interrogation by the Prefect, Jesus patiently explained exactly who He was and what was the nature of His mission among mankind. The final poignant statement He made contained the crux of the Gospel. Jesus lived and taught the truth.[3] He came to give light to those who listened to understand the truth.[4] He promised all who will obey His words of truth will receive eternal life.[5] Pilate heard with his physical ears the Word of Truth from the legitimate physical mouth of the human embodiment of truth.[6] Sadly, his dismissive response is indicative not only of his own hardened and skeptical heart, but also that of this current generation, ambivalent to anything absolute that stands contrary to its passions and desires.

Neither Pilate nor the millions of people of his ilk believe there is an answer to this crucial question. Therefore, they flippantly reject any premise that relies on a positive response to it. “What is truth,” they ask cynically being dubious of its existence at all. Without an answer, they stumble away into the darkness they prefer, because if truth really exists and they are forced to face it head on, it will demand more than they want to give up. Knowing the truth demands the sacrifice of willful, self-styled living and an admission that Something greater than their almighty selves calls for their allegiance. If anyone of this evil and adulterous generation would wait for an answer, they would discover it is remarkably simple.

Truth is Reality
When the boys with the baseball and bat swear they did not break the window, they are not living in reality. Lies are not real. Ever. But there is a reality here and that is that the window was broken accidentally in the process of their game. Truth, absolute by nature, is the same thing as what we call reality, and it affects us all whether we are aware of it or not and whether we prefer it or not. This is not my truth or your truth; it is just truth.

Gravity is truth because gravity is real and it affects every human being on the planet. It is unnecessary to acknowledge it or understand its every aspect for it to have bearing on our lives. Toddlers and preschoolers who have never been told the story of Isaac Newton’s apple do not fly off the face of the earth! Likewise, the sun rises and the rain falls on everyone regardless of their moral condition or mental capabilities.[7]

There are at least two questions debated and dissected ad nauseum throughout the centuries with no satisfactory conclusions that are absolute truths which are relevant to everyone at one time or another.

1. Bad things happen to good people. (Just ask Job about that one.)
2. Wicked people prosper unfairly. (This one comes up in Jeremiah 12:1)

Nature, chemistry, and mathematics also prove the point. For instance, to say with certainty that 1 + 1= 2, and then to assert there is no absolute truth is preposterous.

Exploring reality defies our need to control our lives and determine our destinies without any divine assistance. This is the root of nefarious scientific experimentation done not to honestly put a hypothesis to the test, but to deceitfully extract results that are both convenient to our preconceived notions and are profitable. Data from polls and surveys are regularly manipulated to reflect personal and political bias. Journalism is no longer only for the purpose of reporting facts; it is now primarily designed to influence our feelings and instruct us on whom to place the blame.

The Opposite of Truth is a Lie
Truth cannot operate in the theater of opinion. Reality is absolute. To declare otherwise is to assert that there is no reality when we know that there is! If the question “what is truth” has no answer, then all we are left with are lies we can justify and deceptions with which we can coexist. These notions applied to human thought and behavior remove all limitations as to what can be acceptable.

“For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.”

This passage from Romans 1:24-32 is not the only place to find a list like this in Scripture, but it is a good start. The reality or truth is that sin is a lie. It is brutal, and its consequences to all who either practice or even approve of it is death.[8] Conversely, the reality or truth of God’s graciousness to us who choose to believe and practice His commands in life is the unmerited gift of eternal life in Heaven with Him.[9]

God does not dole out truth in preference of one over another; it is available without partiality to anyone.[10] It works just like gravity, with the extraordinary exception of personal choice. We can scoff at the idea of absolute truth. Thank God we are also free to gratefully surrender to the reality of “The Way, and the Truth, and the Life.”[11]

[1] John 18:36 [2] John 18:37 [3] John 8:32 [4] John 3:19-20 [5] John 10:27-28 [6] John 14:6 [7] Matthew 5:45 [8] Romans 6:23 [9] John 3:16; Romans 3:24, 6:23 [10] Romans 2:11 [11] John 14:6