What is truth?  This is an age old question.  We assume that there is a truth.  We assume we can know the truth. We know that 1+1=2.  1+1 =/ orange.  The world in which we live is moving farther away from these assumptions.  Red light means stop. Green light means go. But what about yellow? For some it means slam on the brakes.  For others it means push to the pedal to the metal.  Still others contend it all depends on your situation, how many cars there are around, is there a cop nearby,  can I get away with running a red light or beating the car next to me?

We live in world that, intentional or not, denies an objective truth and treats everything like a yellow light.  It all depends on the circumstance, on the person, in the context.  You can’t know anything for certain.  Something only has meaning when experienced in the context of community.  Small groups where people go around and say, “What does this mean to you?” And there’s a different answer from every person.  When there is an infinite possibility of meanings then there really is no meaning at all.

Today in our Gospel reading, we hear part of Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer for His disciples.  Part of that prayer includes these very important words, “Sanctify them in the truth, Your word is truth.”  Here in Jesus’ words there is no assumption, but a prayer from God the Son to God the Father that His disciples would be made and kept holy according to the truth of God’s Word.  In a world and a culture that is moving away from Christianity and the Christian worldview, Jesus’ prayer for us will become more apparent.  There will be a bigger difference between being one of Jesus’ disciples living in the world but not of the world. 

Less than a day after this prayer, when Jesus is on trial, Pontius Pilate asks this question of Him, “What is truth?”  Jesus response with “The Truth” — not with a true statement, subject to evaluation, but with the truth. Actually, with a story about Himself, “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.”  Jesus does not say that He came to fill our heads with true statements –oh, He does some of that throughout the Gospels, but He tells us true things so that we can understand something about the truth.

You see, truth is not simply a collection of true statements, like scientific facts and multiplication tables. The truth is that upon which everything rests, “in whom we live and move and have our being.” This is where some previous generations also got mixed up.  Truth is not something you figure out by yourself.  It’s not something that if you just try hard enough, spend enough time and energy and brain power, you will discover.  Truth is knowable because Truth has been communicated through the Word of God-the Word written, the Word declared, the Word incarnate.

Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, hung on a cross, died in our place, rose from the dead, and is coming again to restore us, body and soul, to God. That is the truth. You cannot measure it, you cannot test it, you are only baptized into it.

Do not be surprised when the truth stares the world in the face and it is not understood.  The Bible makes is clear, it’s not because they can’t see the truth, it’s because they hate God.  It’s because they are separated from God because of their sin.

But you and I, who have been baptized into Christ and live by faith, we see it, because we are of the truth. And this changes everything. You see, it is a true statement to say that you and I do not live up to the standards of God’s law. We can measure ourselves, evaluate ourselves, but we will fall short. It is a true statement to say that every one of us has, at one time or another, put our trust and confidence in something other than God our Father‑whether that is our wealth, or our reputation, or our power. It is a true statement to say that we have faltered in our worship, that we have failed to love one another, that we have not cared for others as we ought. Those are all true statements.  They can all be observed and measured. And it is a true statement to say that as a result, we are all worthy of death and separation from God.

But that is not the truth. The truth is that because Jesus died on the cross for you and rose from the dead that you are holy, sanctified by the Word. The truth is that because of Jesus Christ you are forgiven. The truth is that because of the work of the Son of God you are righteous in God’s sight, you are His dearly loved child. Jesus Christ has come into the world to make known the Father to a people who were lost, separated from their God, by sin and a rejection of the truth. The truth is that the Father answers the prayer of His Son that we might be one in unity for Christ’s sake.

The unity of the Disciples, in particular, and of all the followers of Jesus rests solely upon God’s Word and the Sacraments. The unity experienced by those in our reading from Acts described of being of “one accord” is the same unity that is shared by us, who together confess our sins, receive Christ’s Holy Absolution and His gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation. That is the truth that Jesus pray for, but also by His work and the sending of His Spirit, calls you by the Gospel, enlightened you with his gifts, sanctified and kept you in the true faith.

What is truth? It is Jesus Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sins, raised on the third day, ascended into heaven to sit at the hand of God the Father Almighty. Because he is the way, and the truth, and the life.

Parts of this sermon are based off of “What is Truth? Good Friday Reflections on John 18:33-38” by Dr. Jeff Kloha, April 18, 2014. http://concordiatheology.org/2014/04/what-is-truth-good-friday-reflections-on-john-1833-38