The Psalmist just reminded us about telling the truth as part of a liturgy to enter God’s tent or temple. Truth is part of being in God’s presence. Today we continue our sermon series on the Six Great Ends of the Church, tasked with the “Preservation of the Truth.” Preserving the truth of the gospel, of Jesus Christ and of God, this is our mission. We have already looked at the Proclamation of the gospel for the Salvation of Humankind, Maintenance of Divine Worship, and the Shelter, Nurture and Spiritual Fellowship of the Children of God. As we look at truth we hear of the legal struggles after the arrest of Jesus. Listen now to God’s word as it comes to us from John’s gospel. READ John.
There it is, Pilate asked the question, What is Truth? Of course he was searching for the truth about Jesus and his guilt or innocence. He had been given the task of declaring him guilty and putting him to death. Today we seem to be asking the same question, “What is truth?” What is the truth about so many black men being killed? What is the truth about a veteran sniper ambushing Dallas police officers? What is the truth about who we are as a nation when fear and prejudice overpower compassion and reason?
President Obama gave a eulogy at the Memorial Service for the fallen officers; addressing these questions and reminding us of a passage in 1 John, “let us love, not with words or speech, but with actions and in truth” (1 John 3:18). Truth is a major theme in John’s Gospel. “Truth becomes flesh in the first chapter; the truth sets us free in chapter 8; Jesus declares himself to be the way, the truth, and the life in chapter 14” (Proclaiming the Great Ends of the Church, pg. 103). In our passage today Jesus confesses that his major purpose on earth is to testify to the truth.
Yet as I prepared this sermon with all the civil unrest and polarization of our nation, I noticed a few things. Parallels if you will with our own struggles. First I noticed the violence that surrounded Jesus’ arrest. Peter cut off the slave’s ear defending Jesus. Then Jesus told him to put it the sword away ending a potentially volatile situation. Then I saw for the first time the term, “Jewish police” (18:12) along with the soldiers and high priests arresting Jesus. So the Jewish police would be like the local police and the Roman soldiers would be like the National Guard. All of this force to arrest one unarmed man. But once confronted with this moment, Jesus went peacefully, valuing the lives of all above his own freedom.
Prejudice – or the pre-judging of the religious leaders blinded them from seeing Jesus as the Messiah. Because of prejudice, Jesus was arrested for challenging the power structure of the Pharisees and the High Priests. We could say that Jesus was arrested for claiming to be God, or for forgiving sins or showing the power of healing. But the final confrontation had as much to do about power and turf as it did about religious righteousness.
I also noticed that two sets of laws governed this time – the Jewish law that did not allow the death penalty and Roman law which did. When confronting Jesus, Pilate separates or segregates himself racially, declaring two sets of law “I am not a Jew, am I?” I say racially because Pilate goes on to say your own nation handed you over to me.
The last two observations are about self-segregation and honesty. Today we heard how the chief priests did not enter into Pilates’ headquarters or office. They segregated themselves to avoid becoming ritually unclean. To enter a Roman official’s office would deny them the Passover meal without going through purification. This means that when Pilate and Jesus went inside the religious leaders did not follow. So it was here in this private moment, this one on one time with Jesus that the discussion of truth arose. A time of honesty when Jesus shares about his kingdom, his kingdom not from this world, and why he was born and came into the world- to testify to truth. Our greatest encounter with truth comes when we are alone with Jesus – praying to our Lord
Looking at the truth, Rev. Chris Currie puts it this way, “Standing before the authority of the Roman Empire, before the religious powers, before a world that prefers more comfortable truths or at least more malleable ones, a peasant rabbi from Nazareth declares himself to be the central truth of this world and God’s truth about us. Perhaps this truth offends because it is so public, so deeply incarnational, so earthly, so close to us. As Martin Luther put it, the truth did not become a book or a concept or an idea, but a baby crying and spitting up in Mary’s arms. Jesus Christ is Truth. Who he is and what he does become the way truth is defined. In him, truth becomes a human life that is lived out and publicly confessed in the presence of sinners, in the presence of governing authorities and in the presence of the watching world” (Proclaiming, pg. 103).
The world is watching. When we as Christians ask, “What is Truth?” we answer that with the truth of Christ.
The truth of Christ sees the humanity of all people not their skin color.
The truth of Christ seeks justice for all not protecting the status quo of power.
The truth of Christ loves us beyond our fears.
The truth of Christ guarantees eternal life. In Christ we find comfort and solace for our sadness, our deep and haunting grief at the passing of our dear beloved Marian. The truth is that Marian is now with God sharing her unique gifts with all the children in heaven. So even as we miss her every day, we find strength in Christ who died so that we might live the truth.
This cross-shaped truth reveals God:
A God whose very life on earth is the barometer of all truth,
A God whose cross defines real truthfulness,
A God who speaks the truth from beyond the grave,
A God whose life enables us to tell the truth with love.
So let us preserve the truth of Christ. And if you say how can I preserve what is so big and so consuming, hear this story about Karl Barth one of the greatest theologians of the 20th century. While visiting the U.S. giving lectures at a seminary, one of the students asked him, “What is the most profound truth that has been revealed to your in your many years of biblical scholarship. Dr. Barth thought for a moment and then leaned over the lectern and said, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the bible tells me so.”
Let us preserve the truth of Christ’s love. Amen.
