Jesus and the Truth

"Somebody told me there was no such thing as truth. I said, "If that's the case then why should I believe you?"

Lecrae in his song "Gravity"

From famed intellectuals to the common man on the street, the concept that truth cannot be known seemingly gains ground in our current age of exponentially increasing subjectivity.  Truth remains fixed, but men conveniently choose to ignore it.  If truth cannot be known, this reality could not be known either.  The absolute statement "Truth cannot be known" contradicts and immediately collapses upon itself.  It begs the question:  "How can you know this assertion is true?"  Many in the world are convinced truth cannot be known, but Jesus held the exact opposite view.

The life of Jesus revealed in the Bible shows His belief in the existence of God and upheld His Law as absolutely true without question.  His authority and absolute claims transcended the scribes and Pharisees, parrots of rabbis they preferred.  He could not be described as a deep thinker or philosopher delving into metaphysics, nor was He trained by masters to be an orator.  Jesus Christ emerged in the Jewish religious scene and overturned it without having sat under a single teacher or rabbi.  He did not develop His speaking and teaching by degrees:  He was perceptive, polished, and utterly perfect from the beginning of His public ministry.  Jesus was also much more than talk.  He performed countless miracles and signs to confirm the truth of His words.  From the beginning of the world and since no such thing has every happened - that an unknown, untrained, undeveloped, and untaught man could rise as the mightiest, wisest, most influential man in a matter of months on the most religious monotheistic world stage.  How was this possible?

Jesus believed truth could be known, for He said in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."  Consider this objective statement.  There is a God and Jesus is the only way, truth, and life.  He is the only way to God and eternal life.  Many times in the Gospels Jesus claimed to be one with the Father (simple translation:  "I am God").  This is confirmed by the accusation of the chief priests who accused Jesus of blasphemy before Pontius Pilate in John 19:7, "The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God."  These men who claimed to stand up for truth refused to believe it though He stood before them arrayed in royal robes and a crown of thorns.  Even after Jesus was crucified as He prophesied, after He rose again the third day, after He was seen by over 500 people at one time, and ascended to heaven in public view, they refused to believe Him.  They are easily numbered among those spoken of by Paul in Romans 1:22 who professing to be wise became fools because they rejected the truth.

The wisdom of God appears to intellectual doubters, proud agnostics, or staunch atheists to be foolishness.  1 Corinthians 1:20-24 says, "Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? ²¹ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. ²² For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; ²³ but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, ²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God."  Truth can be known and is ascertained by factual evidence.  God gave men minds able to consider, but only those who humble themselves in faith can know Him.  In light of the evidence provided by the words and life of Jesus Christ, denying the existence of truth leaves men in the dark.  A man sitting in the dark claiming light does not exist could see the light if he willing to open his eyes and behold the Light of the World Jesus Christ - the way, truth, and life.