“Jesus replied, “Everyone knows what I teach. I have preached regularly in the synagogues and the Temple, where the people gather. I have not spoken in secret. Why are you asking me this question? Ask those who heard me. They know what I said.” Then one of the Temple guards standing nearby slapped Jesus across the face. “Is that the way to answer the high priest?” he demanded. Jesus replied, “If I said anything wrong, you must prove it. But if I’m speaking the truth, why are you beating me?” Then Annas bound Jesus and sent him to Caiaphas, the high priest.”
John 18:20-24 NLT
One thing that could never be claimed was that Jesus failed to tell the truth. In fact, in John 14:6 we read, “Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me“. How could the Son of God, who was perfect truth, ever be accused of saying anything that went against the very essence of His nature? Jesus said to Annas that if anyone believed to the contrary then he needed to come up with the evidence to prove it. And for good measure He asked why He was being ill-treated if He was telling the truth. It was very telling that Annas quickly gave up his line of questioning, because he knew that any substantive evidence against Jesus was lacking, and instead referred Him to his son-in-law, Caiaphas. In the presence of God’s Son, the Light quickly dispelled the darkness and brought discomfort to those who opposed God and His Son, Jesus.
The world around us does not recognise truth. In fact “truth” is invented to suit physical observations or a person’s feelings. In fact, people have become so skewed in their understanding that if they feel, for example, that they were born in the wrong body, then that must be true. Or if they were told by their parents, or a boss at work, teacher, or anyone else, that they were a waster, then that must be truth. In our schools, the theory of evolution is taught as fact and therefore must be true, but as we pilgrims know, it is a lie propagated by the devil himself. Physical processes such as “carbon dating” have been invented to “prove” the age of a something, and the results are taken as being true. I have had philosophical discussions with atheists about the origins of the universe, and they promote theories they consider “true” such as the “big bang” but fall silent when I ask where all the matter involved in the event came from. And I usually follow up with the question as to why there is anything around us at all. Why is there not just nothing? Secular and worldly truth is invented to fit beliefs, ideologies, and limited physical evidence, and we end up with a series of “truths” that become mutually confirming, propagating a lie.
But in God’s Kingdom, there is no room for lies or half-truths. No room for assumptions and conclusions that are based on anything but God and His Word. To a human being there is no human-derived proof available to confirm the reality of God, and anything to do with Him, because our physical senses are totally inadequate. For example, we cannot see, or taste or feel, the wind of the Spirit. Jesus said to Nicodemus, “The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit” (John 3:8). Jesus said, “If I said anything wrong, you must prove it“. And that was the problem for the Jewish authorities. Nothing that Jesus said could be disproved. His teaching was firmly founded on Scripture. He often quoted Biblical passages from the Old Testament to back His public messages. In Matthew 5:17-19, Jesus said, “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven“. The problem for the Jewish leaders was that they had turned God’s Law into a monster that controlled them and because of that they missed what God intended. Jesus said of them, “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things” (Matthew 23:23).
People may say to us pilgrims, “show us the evidence”, but then we can refer them to the biggest miracle of all, our salvation. The fact that the Creator of the Universe cared enough about you and me to put into place a plan that would lead to our spending eternity with Him, is severely overlooked by the cynical and unbelieving generation around us. In John 6:30, the people ” … answered, “Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do?” People are still asking the same question today but God is not in the business of displaying His power through the routine example of signs and wonders. But even with evidence of the wonders of God, people will still not believe in Him, because they prefer to stay in their sinful state. I have known Christians who have started their journey well, and have even experienced miracles happening in their own lives, but who have fallen away and lapsed back into their lives of sin. Jesus challenged people to believe in Him and experience eternal life. In may be a few earthly years before we pilgrims join Jesus in heaven and see the fruit of our belief in Him, but one day we surely will.
Dear Father God. it is only by having faith in You that will please You. We declare that faith before You today and declare that Jesus is Lord of all. Amen,
Being a Pilgrim 