Estimated reading time: 10 minutes
The voice we need to hear
Imagine that a message arrives from someone you trust. It says something you have suspected for a long time. You read it, feel the satisfaction of being proved right, and are about to pass it on. But a friend points you to the original source. A sentence has been cut short. The missing words change its meaning.
Before deciding whether to share it, there is a question worth asking: what makes this message trustworthy? The fact that it agrees with you cannot settle that. You need to hear what was actually said. The same question matters when a message promises happiness, tells you what your body is for or asks you to treat another person in a particular way.
As we begin Guard Your Heart, we need more than a way to sort convincing messages from misleading ones. We need someone whose word deserves our trust. John brings us to Jesus, standing before a governor who has the power to release Him or condemn Him. Listen to the authority with which Jesus speaks, and to the response He asks of those who hear Him.
Open John 18:33–38. Read the whole exchange, including Pilate's statement at the end of verse 38. Notice what he asks, what Jesus says about His kingdom and purpose, and whom Jesus describes as listening to Him. Keep the passage open as you read.
A king in the governor's room
Jesus has been arrested and brought to the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. The people who bring Him seek His death. Pilate goes outside to speak with them and then returns to question Jesus (John 18:28–33). This is a trial. The question about truth will arise within a conversation about kingship, accusation and power.
Pilate asks whether Jesus is the king of the Jews. Jesus asks where the question has come from, and Pilate points to the people who handed Him over (verses 33–35). There is something worth pausing over here: the governor is questioning Jesus, but Jesus will not be reduced to the accusations surrounding Him. We need to hear His own account of who He is.
Jesus answers by speaking about His kingdom. Its source is not this world. If it were, His servants would fight to prevent His being handed over (verse 36). He is not saying that His reign has nothing to do with our lives. His authority as king does not come from defeating Pilate or taking power by force.
Pilate returns to the question: is Jesus a king? Jesus explains that He was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. A witness tells what is true. Here the prisoner before the governor speaks with an authority that reaches beyond the courtroom. He describes the response of those who belong to the truth: “Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice” (verse 37).
Notice how Jesus brings the conversation back to why He has come and whether people will listen to Him. As you read, there is more to consider than how you might defend the truth in an argument. Will you listen to Jesus yourself?
Pilate asks, “What is truth?” He then goes outside and says that he finds no grounds for charging Jesus (verse 38). John records no reply from Jesus between the question and the departure. He does not tell us whether Pilate sounds scornful, weary or genuinely puzzled. We can leave those questions open and attend to what John does tell us: Jesus is innocent, and He has come to make the truth known. His words also ask something of you and me. Will we trust Him?
God's truth does not depend on our agreement
This passage is where Guard Your Heart begins because the later lessons will ask us to make judgements. What are bodies for? What does love require? Which promises should we trust? What makes a choice right? If preference has the final word, an unwelcome answer can always be dismissed. Jesus gives us a different starting point: listen to Him.
John 18 does not contain a complete explanation of everything Christians mean by truth. Jesus' prayer in the preceding chapter helps us understand the authority of God's word. He asks His Father to sanctify His disciples—to set them apart for God through the truth—and says, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17). Psalm 119:160 likewise affirms the truth of God's whole word and the enduring righteousness of His judgements. Together, these passages support our central truth:
Think about what that means in an ordinary situation. A true statement agrees with what is actually the case. If a bridge has fallen, wishing it were still there will not carry a traveller across the river. The warning is true whether the traveller likes it or not. Agreeing with the warning does not make it true; it helps the traveller act on what is already true.
When we say that truth is what God says, we are affirming the trustworthiness of the God who speaks. We are not claiming that the Bible lists every true fact about weather, medicine or the price of bread. We can learn about God's world through observation, careful research and other people. We should ask how those claims were checked and what the evidence actually shows. Scripture teaches us who God is, who we are and how He calls us to live. That teaching guides how we use what we learn about the world.
Nor does truth for everyone mean identical preferences. One person enjoys cold weather; another dislikes it. Both can describe their preferences truthfully. Two people may experience the same event differently, and listening carefully matters. But if one says the bridge is standing and the other says it has fallen, at the same place and time, agreeing to disagree will not settle its condition. We need to find out.
The distinction matters when someone says, “That is your truth.” They may be asking you to respect their experience, or simply saying that you enjoy different things. They may instead mean that a belief becomes true because someone chooses it. Ask what they mean before answering. Respect for a person includes the effort to understand them accurately.
Questions about right and wrong require more than a report of what people enjoy. An action does not become good simply because many people approve of it, someone enjoys it or a person in authority allows it. Throughout this series we will return to God's character and His good purposes for the people He has made. Today's first step is to listen to what He says, willing to change a belief or choice that He shows to be wrong.
Listening to the King
Jesus' words ask for a response that reaches into ordinary life. Listening to Him involves receiving what He says and letting it guide what we believe and do. You may enjoy a message, admire its speaker or feel pressure to agree with your friends. Those things matter to us, but they cannot give a claim authority over the King who speaks truthfully.
Consider the difference this makes when a conversation turns to bodies and relationships. If enjoyment is the highest good, another person's wishes and wellbeing can become obstacles to getting what we want. If Jesus is King, our desires must answer to Him. We need to learn what He says about people and how we should treat them. The lessons ahead will develop those reasons from Scripture. We begin by recognising whose voice should guide us.
That can lift a burden from someone who feels responsible for having every answer. You are not being asked to invent a dependable foundation for life. You are being invited to receive one. Admitting that you have misunderstood Jesus does not weaken His authority; it gives you a place to begin listening again. The same humility makes room to hear another person's question without needing to win.
Perhaps your question comes earlier: can you trust the Bible at all? You need not conceal that concern in order to read John. He tells us why he recorded Jesus' signs: so that we might believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and have life in His name (John 20:30–31). His Gospel asks you to consider a person and what He has done. Give that invitation patient attention, bringing the questions you actually have.
Listening to this King also changes the way we warn others. If we exaggerate a danger because we hope to protect someone, we have made their agreement more important than truthfulness. We can refuse a degrading message while admitting that a particular statistic has not been checked. The Lord whose word deserves trust gives us reason to take care with our own.
The King goes towards the cross
The trial will continue into the crucifixion. The innocent King is not merely an example of someone who speaks honestly under pressure. Earlier in this Gospel, Jesus describes Himself as the good shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep (John 10:11). John 20 tells of His resurrection. The King who speaks the truth also gives His life to save sinners. As you face what is wrong in your own life, His death and resurrection give you reason to come to Him for mercy.
We have done more than make innocent mistakes. We have resisted God and chosen what He calls wrong. We need forgiveness and a changed heart. Jesus gave His life for sinners and rose again. Those who turn from sin and trust Him receive life through Him; they do not purchase it with better answers, cleaner browsing or a successful week of self-control.
Whether you are beginning with little experience of these dangers or seeking help with a struggle you have kept hidden, you do not have to earn God's acceptance by knowing the right words. Come to Christ for the forgiveness you need. And if someone has deceived, coerced or abused you, their wrongdoing is not your fault. They remain responsible for what they have done, even if they try to blame you.
Before thinking about anyone else's response, pause over your own. Where do you need to hear Jesus: in what you believe about yourself, in a relationship, or in a choice you keep making? Consider what trusting His word would mean there. If you see sin, bring it to Him honestly. The King whose truth exposes it is the Saviour who gives sinners reason to come for mercy.
Return to the message imagined at the beginning. You wanted it to be true, and that made it easier to pass on. Now there is another question beside the wish to be right: am I willing to be taught? Bring that willingness to Jesus. Where His words expose sin, seek His mercy and trustworthy adult help where you need it. Where they correct an opinion, receive the correction. His authority is a reason to listen, and His saving work is a reason to come.
Read in context: John 18:28–40; John 17:14–19; Psalm 119:153–160; John 10:11–18; John 20:24–31. The opening message and bridge are illustrations, not reported events.
Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.