What is truth?

It seems like we are regularly bombarded with conflicting truth claims. From advertising (who makes the best truck/dishwasher/phone) to politics (which candidate or issue should we support) to sports to religion and other everyday conversations, we constantly have opportunities to evaluate what we believe is true. If you have had the opportunity to sit on a jury, you were involved in a process of trying to evaluate the truth of the case.

Christmas is nearly here and is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. He was born a couple of thousand years ago for the purpose of bringing truth.

Speaking to Pilate in John 18:37, “Jesus answered, ‘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.’” Right after Jesus said that, Pilate asks Him the timeless, always relevant question, “What is truth?”

We do not have a record of Jesus answering Pilate at that time but one way to define truth is as being utterly reliable and enduring. Earlier in John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

That is the fabulous message of the Christmas season: Jesus Christ is truth. He brought truth to us. He is reliable and enduring and gives us the hope which makes it exciting to celebrate His birth every year on Dec. 25.