Berea Update for June 12, 2026

Happy Friday, Berea!  I trust that you've had a good week, and even if it's been a week full of trials, take heart, because we have many promises from God that assure us that even those trials are a precious gift that help us grow closer to Him, if we choose to submit. Bear with me this morning, as I share what the Lord has laid on my heart for you all.  It may appear to be "rambly," but I promise, I have a point! 

In John 18, Jesus is being interrogated by Pilate.  It's clear to me that Pilate is a conflicted man.  He is facing the pressure from the Jewish leaders to do something with Jesus, yet, as Jesus is interviewed, Pilate cannot find anything that He's done wrong in the eyes of the Roman law.  Something about Jesus is naturally intriguing to Pilate (and his wife). That leads me to believe that Pilate really did believe this "man" to be something more than the usual criminals who passed before him.  And it is in this curiosity, that he seeks to figure him out.  He asks him, "Are you the King of the Jews?"  Jesus quickly replies, "Are you asking this because you've arrived at this conclusion, or are you just saying that because the others are?"  Pilate doesn't really answer the question.  He simply says he's not a Jew, and blames the leaders for the accusation and seeks to know what Jesus did to arrive before him.

In response, Jesus doesn't explicitly state that He's the King, but does say that He has a kingdom, albeit not an earthly one.  Jesus explains exactly why He came though, in verse 37: "For this purpose, I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world--to bear witness to the truth."  Pilate's response is one for our age as well, an almost sarcastic: "What is truth?" 

I don't know about you, but I get a sense that people who are not believers are starting to grow more weary with their own sense of truth.  This week, as I was listening to a podcast on current events, I heard that for the first time in over a decade, support for any form of marriage that we wouldn't define as "biblical" (ie. homosexual unions) actually decreased.  That means that in a small way, people are waking up to the fact that marriage is supposed to be done in a certain way, for very distinct purposes.  There is a "truth" about it that is "out there" somewhere, and some are at least wising up that the "marriage" the world is offering isn't it.  Do I believe that this is the beginning of a great revival in our country?  Not necessarily, but I do think it's an indication that the Spirit of the True and Living God is active.

It's maddening to me that over time, we've allowed the loud voices, who initially were in the very small minority, to get our attention and tell us that the duck we were looking at was actually a quite rare California Condor.  If it walks like a duck, possesses all the attributes of a duck, and acts like a duck...it's a duck.  And yet, those loud voices actually start to convince others that it just might be that Condor.  And so that minority over time becomes larger and larger. And rather than push back, many believers have been comfortable with just saying, "Well, at least they're calling it a bird."

When we're talking about "truth," close isn't good enough.  And by allowing "truth" to be "close enough" we've actually encouraged a generation of people to become like Pilate--"What is truth?"

Jesus' response to Pilate should be instructive to us today.  For those calling that duck a Condor, we should reply, "Are you saying that because you've arrived at that conclusion yourself, or because others are telling you that?"  My guess is that most are just traveling with the "masses" rather than doing any thought themselves.  It is my opinion that the American educational system's greatest sin of recent years is now glaringly obvious--we've taught kids what to think, rather than how to think.  And in short order, if we're not careful, we'll have computers thinking for us, and of course, they're going to be "right." (sarcasm)  So then, in allowing the educational system to teach students what to think, the tool and content they use becomes critical as it serves as the basis for "truth."  And sadly absent from most classrooms (and the world at large) is John 18:37: "I have come into the world--to bear witness to the truth.  Everyone who is of the truth, listens to my voice."  Instead, most are listening to Google, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Taylor Swift, and the media outlet of their choice.

I was reading Lectures to My Students by Charles Spurgeon this week.  Spurgeon was deemed to be the "Prince of Preachers" and this book is a collection of lectures he delivered to future pastors at his teaching college.  Evidently, Charles Spurgeon also had a time traveling machine, because what he delivered in those lectures between 1875 and 1894, was seeming to be from 2026.  His main thesis in one of his lectures was that the loudest and "most sure" voices will gain the masses.  He argued that there is a confidence and surety that comes with speaking what you believe authentically and boldly, and that those who are uninformed will follow.  He then challenged pastors (and those in their congregrations) to be boisterous and confident, not in themselves, but in TRUTH.  And what is this truth that Spurgeon said to proclaim?  The Gospel.  Jesus.  God's Holy Word.

Don't allow the world to call the Bible what it is not.  That's the lie as old as the Garden: "Did God really say?..." Instead, be confident not in yourselves, but in the very Word of our Creator and Sustainer.  Jesus Himself said that truth is in Himself--He bears witness to it, and it comes from His voice. 

John 1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.  In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it...The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.  He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.  But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God...And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." 

Currently, we're working through Mark in a series intentionally called "Who Do You Say That I Am?"  This question, asked by Jesus Himself, is one that we all have to answer--we can't dodge it, we can't take someone else's thoughts as our own.  Each are held to account individually, personally, and eternally.  And the answer that each gives to that question reveals their stance on truth.

Scripture leaves us hanging a bit on Pilate's eternal destiny.  Unless he came to realize that truth isn't a subjective thing to be found, but rather a person that he looked in the eye, then sadly Pilate is currently suffering eternal torment.  And he's being joined by countless others asking the question he asked: "What is truth?"

So, now here's the point.  The world is lost. They are grasping at straws. Their attempt fails.  They grasp at more. Rather than allowing them to be "close," why don't we be stretcher bearers, pick them up, and carry them to Truth?  The tide may be shifting ever so slightly, so walk boldly, not in yourself, but rather in the Savior, the Great Physician of the soul. (shameless plug for this week's sermon)

Berea, you know the Truth (and should always be growing in your knowledge of it) --speak loudly, and boldly, so that the masses might follow.  And if you believe it to be true, then let God's Word shape EVERYTHING that you do.

You are loved!  Keep pressing on!

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