Can You Handle the Truth?
By Blesson Selvanesan
The Word: John 10:22-30 (ESV)
22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me,[a] is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
It was Hanukkah season, everyone was in a festive mood and all the religious people were busy preparing for various religious rituals. The temple was buzzing with activity. Jesus walked in to the temple. People in the temple were puzzled by Jesus’ earlier conversations. They followed Jesus and asked Him to tell the truth. But, Jesus was always telling them the truth but some could not understand the truth and others could not digest the truth. This time they confronted him straight forward asking him to tell plainly who He was. As always, He told them again. This time he also told them ‘…My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish…’ Jesus told them plainly that they are unable to understand the truth because they are not His sheep. And then to told them… “I and the Father are one”, meaning… I am God. He told them the TRUTH directly. However, that is not they wanted to hear, so they try to kill Him…for what? Telling the truth.
Application: Truth is exclusive and does not make compromises. Truth is absolute. The question is are you open minded enough to embrace the truth even if is not convenient for you? This is where the religious Jews faltered. They all knew that Messiah will come. They all knew where he will come from. They also knew what He will do. There were plenty of prophesies about Jesus Christ and all the educated elites knew well about those prophesies. The problem was Jesus just did not fit into their preconceived idea of Messiah. They just did not know how to handle the truth when Truth was presented to them. In fact Truth was offensive to them and they raged against Jesus and tried to kill him.
Today’s politically correct society is also very similar to those people. They are not prepared to handle the truth. They feel easily offended by the exclusivity of the truth. To many, truth claims made by Jesus is very offensive and difficult to palette. Jesus claimed He is the only WAY and He is the TRUTH and LIFE. Jesus claimed that He is God. When we try to communicate these truth, people feel offended and accuse us as being narrow minded. But the problem is accusers are not open minded enough to consider the truth when it’s not convenient for them. When people reject your message don’t be disappointed, they tried to kill Jesus too. Tell the truth with grace and love just like Jesus did, let the work you do bear witness and will ultimately convince people. Continue to tell the truth even in adversity just like Jesus.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, Help me to accept and handle the truth. I understand that your plans are always higher than mine. Help me to know Christ and know the Truth. Give me faith and wisdom to understand the Truth and follow you. Open my mind to understand the truth. In Jesus Name. Amen.