Author: Brandon Steenbock

“You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth” (John 18:37a).

If I had asked you, “Why did Jesus come into the world?” what would you have answered? Maybe you would have said, “To redeem the world” or “to bring salvation” or “to die and rise again” or “to do the will of the Father.” All of these would have been correct. Maybe you’ve read this passage enough, though, that you would have said, “To testify to the truth.”

If you’re a follower of Jesus, then it stands to reason that you would want to know what is most important to him. If I told you, “This is the most important thing about Jesus. You need to know this. This was the reason he was born,” my hope is that your response would be, “Okay, tell me! I want to know!”

Well, this is it – the truth. And while that may seem a little vague and generalized, the implications are enormous. See, if testifying to the truth is the whole purpose and reason of Jesus’ life on earth, and if Jesus is, as he said, truly God, with all authority in heaven and on earth, then it means that there is nothing more important for us than to know the truth. And furthermore, if we are, as Paul writes, to be imitators of Jesus, then our lives also ought to testify to the truth.

So what is the truth to which Jesus testifies? Well, there’s the truth that we are all sinners. The truth that our sins separate us from God, and make us deserving of damnation. The truth that Jesus came to save sinners, and the truth that he is the only salvation for sinners. The truth that life as his follower is not easy, but that he has won the victory on our behalf. The truth that we are now his servants, remade in him to reflect him and to point to him.

And so much more. But you get the idea. We, as his followers, want to make truth – all truth, but especially the truth about who we are before God, who Jesus is, and what he has done for us – the core and the focus of our lives. Be imitators of Jesus, and let truth be the reason you were born.

Reflect

• Nothing was more important to Jesus than the truth, and nothing is more important to him than that his followers know the truth. Is knowing the truth the most important thing in my life? Does the way I prioritize my time reflect the importance of knowing the truth?
• The purpose of Jesus life was to testify to the truth, and we are to be imitators of him. Does my life testify to the truth? Do I allow falsehoods and half-truths to have a place in my life? How am I dealing with those?
• The greatest of all truths to which Jesus’ life testifies is that he is the Savior, and that through him we have freedom from sin, death, and the devil. How can I show the people in my life that this is true?

“I tell you the truth…” (Matthew 5:26; Matthew 6:2; Matthew 6:5; Matthew 6:16; Matthew 8:10; Matthew 10:15; Matthew 10:42; Matthew 11:11; Matthew 16:28; Matthew 18:3; Matthew 18:13; Matthew 18:18; Matthew 18:19; Matthew 19:23; Matthew 19:28; Matthew 21:21; Matthew 21:31; Matthew 23:36; Matthew 24:2; Matthew 24:34; Matthew 24:47; Matthew 25:12; Matthew 25:40; Matthew 25:45; Matthew 26:13; Matthew 26:21; Matthew 26:34; Mark 3:28; Mark 8:12; Mark 9:1; Mark 9:41; Mark 10:15; Mark 10:29; Mark 11:23; Mark 12:43; Mark 13:30; Mark 14:18; Mark 14:25; Mark 14:30; Luke 4:24; Luke 12:37; Luke 18:17; Luke 18:29; Luke 21:32; John 1:51; John 3:3; John 3:5; John 3:11; John 5:19; John 5:24; John 5:25; John 6:26; John 6:32; John 6:47; John 6:53; John 8:34; John 8:51; John 8:58; John 10:1; John 10:7; John 12:24; John 13:16; John 13:20; John 13:21; John 13:38; John 14:12; John 16:20; John 16:23; John 21:18)

That long list of references is the nearly seventy times that Jesus is quoted as having said, “I tell you the truth…” or, in the newest version of the NIV, “Very truly I tell you.” In Greek, the word is “Amen,” which is familiar to anyone who has prayed before (and even those who haven’t). The fact that Jesus said it so many times means that not only was he concerned with the truth, but he wanted to communicate that what he had to say was the truth.

Do you believe Jesus when he says he is telling the truth?

No doubt every Christian would say, “Of course I do!” But if we examine our attitudes and actions, we’d have to confess that we don’t always act like we do. There are many voices in the world telling us, “I tell you the truth…” and then telling us everything but. Yet, our sinful nature likes those false truths and follows their urgings.

This is why we need to pay attention to the truth from Jesus. See, Jesus didn’t just claim to be telling the truth – he backed it up. He backed it up with references to the Scriptures that clearly pointed to him. He backed it up with miracles that demonstrated he was from God. He backed it up with authoritative preaching and teaching that cut through every argument. He backed it up with the biggest miracle of all – predicting his own death and resurrection, and then seeing it through. That’s proof positive that when he said, “I tell you the truth…” he was, in fact, telling the truth.

And the most important truth he told us is that God so loved the world, that he sent his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

Reflect

• Do I believe Jesus when he says that he is telling me the truth? How do my attitudes and actions bear out what I believe?
• What are some “worldly truth statements” I’ve been tempted to believe, or to put into practice in my life recently? How have they affected my relationship with my Lord? With others?
• Jesus resurrection proves that everything he said is true. But some things Jesus said are challenging. What statements of Jesus am I having trouble understanding or accepting?
• Jesus told us that “God so loved the world.” I’m part of the world. How does this truth affect the things I’ve just reflected on? How is it going to affect my day?