Jesusfaced a lot of opposition throughout His ministry, especially from some of Hisearliest followers who eventually decided to walk away from Him. In doing so,they rejected His teaching which was based on truth and love, and then they fiercelyconfronted Him with their doubts about His character, as well as their own retrenchedbeliefs.

Christ’struth challenged His people, just as it still does for all who call themselvesChristians today. He never said that believing in Him or following His way wasgoing to be easy, but He did insist that what He was preaching and teaching wasthe God-given truth. People back then relied on many of their traditions andsacred texts to formulate their own ideas about what was important and true.When Jesus brought a new understanding of what those traditions and texts reallymeant, His ideas were initially treated as being novel and inventive, buteventually they were seen as being too radical and dangerous for regularreligious people.

We arestill faced with the same challenges, especially in our truth-forsaken societywhich relies more on what we feel rather than what is factual. A culture whichinsists that what people feel to be true as more important thanwhat is actually true, can be easily manipulated by charlatans and liars,conmen and fanatics. Such a society enslaves itself to the whims and wiles oftotalitarian leaders, as well as their henchmen and women, whose only purposeis to increase their power by spreading lies, causing chaos, creating division,and fomenting fear. This is why Jesus taught both His supporters and opponentsthat knowing the truth was essential to their freedom – lies took away theirliberty whereas the truth kept them free.

Pointto ponder: How does Christ’s truth constantly challenge me?

Prayer:Lord Jesus, You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life which we all should seekand emulate. Forgive us for being duped by leaders who lie. Help us to followand practice Your teaching which counters fear with faith and lies with love.In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

JohnStuart is a Scottish Presbyterian pastor now living in Knoxville, Tennessee.