What is Truth

 

Pilate went back into the Praetorium, summoned Jesus, and asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

“Are you saying this on your own,” Jesus asked, “or did others tell you about Me?”

“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed You over to me. What have You done?”

Jesus answered, “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 not of this realm.”

“Then You are a king!” Pilate said.

“You say that I am a king,” Jesus answered. “For this reason I was born and have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to My voice.”

“What is truth?” Pilate asked.

John 18:33-37

Truth is a subject that I ponder all the time now. Almost every subject brings me back to it. It seems to be the greatest concern of all. Some Christians I know and love are saying openly that it is not even possible to know the truth now. This makes me so terribly sad. 

I understand what they mean. The confusion sown on every single subject today is overwhelming. No matter what is said, its opposite is also immediately presented as truth. I know this is the work of the Father of Lies, but surely God would not leave us with no recourse. 

Jesus identifies himself as Truth. He also repeatedly refers to the Holy Spirit as the “Spirit of Truth,” and promises that the Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth. Did Jesus really mean it when he said “all truth?”

I believe he did, and I believe he told us what to look for and how.

In Matthew 7:15-23 Jesus says: 

"Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, by their fruit you will recognize them.

Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’”

Let’s take a look at what Jesus is and is not telling us in this passage, which is all about recognizing those who pretend to be representing God, but who are actually seeking to destroy His people with their lies. 

First, he tells us that we can recognize them by their fruit. In order to understand what that means in practical terms we have to first understand what is meant by "fruit."

Fruit is the literal outgrowth of the life process of the tree from which it grows. The type of fruit is dependent on the species of the tree (grapes aren’t coming from thornbushes or figs from thistles). Jesus is telling us, first of all, that the fruit of lies is inedible.

This leads us to the entire point of fruit. It is food. Throughout the Old Testament there are many promises connected with the blessing of fruit. One of the most beautiful is found in Isaiah 45:8:

“Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout;

I the LORD have created it.”

The fruit of salvation and righteousness  comes from the tree that God has created, which is Jesus. The fruit from his tree will always and only give the nourishment and life of the gospel. 

But, a bad tree, one that is not from God will give neither nourishment nor life. It will be like thorns and thistles. It will offer starvation and death.  It is fit only to be cut down and thrown into the fire. 

The next verses also give us important insight. They show us that fruit is completely different from works. Jesus tells us that, at the judgment, there will be people who have actually prophesied in Jesus' name, driven out demons and performed miracles, who will call him “Lord,” but to whom he will say that he never knew them! How stunning is that? That is quite the list of works! But despite those works, as impressive as they are, Jesus says he never knew them! Never! 

If the fruit is inedible, if it is not the nourishing, life-giving truth of who Jesus is, what he did and why he did it, if it is not rooted in righteousness and salvation, if it is not grounded in love, it is false and fit only to be burned. 

That, of course, applies to those who are pretending to belong to Jesus, but who, in reality, do not. 

What, then, about discerning truth from lies that are spoken in the world at large? 

The concept of fruit still applies, but in a little different sense. The fruit is the result of what is said. The words spoken, whether truth or lies, will bear fruit. In order to discern what is truth, it is necessary to carefully examine what is being said and to prayerfully ask God for his discernment to be given to you regarding the primary effect that those words will have on both yourself and others. 

Will what you are hearing or reading likely result in blessing or harm? To whom and how? Does it promote love or selfishness? Does it stand for mercy and justice, or does it serve revenge or greed? 

In situations where you can see the results of the words after the fact, what fruit did they actually bear? Did they move people to compassion or to bitterness. Were people inspired for good or for evil? 

The bottom line is, will your standing in support of the words that you are examining and questioning tend to point people to Jesus or drive them away? In the end, are the results of these words nourishment and life for both you and others, or are they the emptiness of thorns and thistles?

The key, is truly desiring to know the truth, sincerely asking and then earnestly listening. 

In John 14:13-17 Jesus promises us:

“Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you."