The Exclusivity of Truth
by Rev. Kirby Williams
Learning the importance of knowing, applying and proclaiming the exclusivity of God's truth.
Text: John 18:33-38, Matt. 27:11
Date: 03/29/2024, the Good Friday service.
Series: "Good Friday" Part 15
Occasion: Good Friday
Description:
One of the great challenges people living in a fallen society like ours face is recognizing and implementing "truth". When so many people have so many definitions of what is "true", how do we determine what the truth actually is? Such is the encounter we will study in this Good Friday message between Jesus, who is the absolute truth of God, and Pilate, a man who has no idea what truth is. But we will find our answer in Jesus' words and in the truth He came to proclaim and leave behind. Ultimately we will establish that absolute truth can only be found in the Word of God and those who believe in that Word are the only ones who truly understand the exclusivity of truth. Ultimately, we will realize the necessity and indeed the responsibility of the church, as the protectors of the truth, to proclaim the exclusivity of truth even in the midst of a culture that denies it.
View:
Options:
I. Introduction, John 1:9,14,14:6, 8:44-45.
II. Exposition of the text, John 18:34-38, Matt. 27:11.
A. Context
B. Jesus' first interview with Pilate.
1. Pilate's question, John 18:33, Matt. 27:11.
a. Harmonizing the Gospels, John 18:29-33, Matt. 27:11, Mark 15:2, Luke 23:2-3.
b. Establishing the timeline.
2. Jesus' answer to expose the truth, Matt. 27:11, Mark 15:2, Luke 23:3.
3. The discussion of truth, John 18:34-38a.
a. Jesus' counter-question, vs. 34.
i. Turning the tables, John 18:21,23.
ii. The reason for the "turnaround".
iii. Changing the course of the conversation, John 2:24-25.
b. Pilate becomes intrigued, vs. 35.
i. An aggravated response.
ii. A more direct question.
1) Probing the accusation.
2) A growing curiosity.
c. Pilate's confrontation with Truth, vs. 36.
i. A radical encounter with the Word, John 1:1,14,14:6.
ii. The nature of Christ's Kingdom.
iii. A logical conclusion.
d. The Word of Truth, vs. 37.
i. Pilate presses the issue, vs. 37a.
ii. The King of the Kingdom, vs. 37b.
1) Jesus' affirmative answer.
2) Paradoxical origins.
a) Born to be a King.
b) A pre-existent King, John 1:1,14, 17:5.
c) Putting the two together, Gal. 4:4-5.
3) Bearing witness to the truth.
a) Witness to the Truth of God, John 14:6.
b) The Word of Truth, John 1:14, 17:8,14,17, 15:26,27, Acts 1:8.
c) The Truth of the Gospel.
4) His sheep hear His voice.
a) Some hear His voice, some do not.
b) Those of the truth hear His voice, John 10:26-27.
e. Pilate's fatalistic view of truth, vs. 38a, John 8:44.
III. Application
IV. Conclusion
