you shall know the truth: confronting confusion

Truth. It is such a simple and powerful word. Truth can transform us. Since the dawn of time, humanity has always struggled with the truth. The average phone today has more computing power than the machines that guided the first capsule to land on the moon, but the phone cannot give us wisdom. Despite our ability to access more information in a few minutes than our ancestors could have imagined, we wonder if we can find the truth. Despite the explosion of news outlets, blogs, and other sources of information, we find ourselves suspicious and uncertain. Why is the truth so hard? The title of our new sermon series is You Shall Know the Truth and it is found in the words of Jesus recorded in the Gospel of John 8:32: “And you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” Jesus spoke these words roughly 2,000 years ago and so much has changed since that moment, how can these words help us? Despite the things that may have changed in the last 2,000 years, the human condition remains constant. We still have similar misery as well as joy. We still have sorrow as well as laughter. We still have confusion over what is true and how it will set us free! We may be much more technologically advanced than the people of Jesus’s time, but in some ways, very little has really changed. In our first sermon Confronting Confusion, we turn to the passage that contains our title for the series John 8:27-37. These words are still true and they help us find a clarity that is transformative for our lives. As you read this passage we pray you will experience the power of Jesus’s truth so it will release you from the chains of despair into the freedom of his joyful presence.  John 8:27-37. 

John 8:27-37: They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. ²⁸ So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. ²⁹ The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” ³⁰ Even as he spoke, many believed in him. ³¹ To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. ³² Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” ³³ They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” ³⁴ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. ³⁵ Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. ³⁷ I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. (NIV)