What Is God’s Truth? - Luke 23

Pastor Dan Walker, PhD, MDiv

Introduction: Finding Direction in the Storms of Life

Today, our message is entitled “What is God’s Truth?” Imagine yourself sailing on a large ship in the middle of the ocean. Suddenly a violent storm erupts with the rain pouring down, the wind howling, and the waves crashing. The storm is threatening to capsize the ship at any moment, and you need to navigate the ship to a safe harbor as soon as possible.

To get to that safe harbor, you need a compass of some kind, manual or electronic. The compass will point to magnetic north, no matter how hard the storm blows. The compass does not change direction because of the storm; it remains constant, steady, and true. In a similar way, our life often mirrors that chaotic sea.

We find ourselves in the middle of the storms of life, unsure of what direction to go. We live in a world where truth is often distorted, and navigating through it can be challenging. What is God’s truth? Just as that compass guides the sailor in the midst of the storm, God’s truth is our compass.

It remains steadfast and unchanging, no matter how stormy our circumstances may get. God’s truth is the standard against which we measure everything. In every situation in which we find ourselves, we need to find the compass of what is God’s truth. That compass will guide us as a beacon of light in our darkest hours.

How do we find the answer to what is God’s truth in every situation? It begins with a person, Jesus Christ.

John 14:6a (ESV) Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

A relationship with Jesus is the only way to know God’s truth. We understand God’s truth through the Holy Spirit and through God’s Word.

John 17:17 (ESV) Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

As we study God’s Word, the Holy Spirit teaches us what God’s truth is for every situation in our lives. All truth in our world is God’s truth. What isn’t God’s truth is the lies of our enemy Satan. We must learn to discern what is God’s truth.

Standing for the Truth

Luke 23:1–2 (ESV) Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.”

The crowd in Jerusalem now begins to bring false accusations against Jesus. Jesus and the crowd were standing before Pilate, who was the Roman governor in Jerusalem. These false accusations were intended to persuade the governor of Jesus’ crimes. These supposed crimes were basically charges of insurrection and rebellion against the authorities.

Jesus had never misled the nation, and He had not forbidden paying taxes to Caesar. He had not declared Himself a king in competition with Caesar. Why did the crowd of Jewish leaders and their followers accuse Jesus? As we’ll see, they wanted Jesus put to death by capital punishment.

Only the Romans could carry out this judgement, so the officials had to be convinced of Jesus’ guilt.

Luke 23:3–4 (ESV) And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.”

Pilate questioned Jesus about being the King of the Jews. Jesus did not directly answer him because, while Jesus was the King of the Jews and the King of everyone, He was not a political king as He was being accused of. He was a spiritual King.

After the accusations and the response of Jesus, Pilate found Jesus not guilty of the charges.

Luke 23:5 (ESV) But they were urgent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.”

The crowd then accused Jesus of creating riots among the people. They accused Him of teaching throughout Israel, which was true, but not a crime. Their accusation was that Jesus was creating riots through His teaching. The crowd was not standing for the truth.

When the Truth Is Under Attack

Today in our world, there are many false accusations being made against God, Christians, God’s Word, and Christian churches. The teaching of Jesus and God’s Word are being labeled as out of date, irrelevant, false, harmful, and misinformation. These false accusations are made directly by people, on social media, and through the media.

There are attempts to cancel people, causing them to lose influence or even their jobs. The accusations against Jesus were intended to silence Him, ultimately by death. The accusations against God’s truth in our day are likewise intended to silence believers.

What should we do in the culture of today? First of all, we must be discerning and stand for God’s truth rather than going along with the lies of the crowd. Secondly, we must not allow the false accusations of the crowd to silence our spreading of God’s truth. We must boldly stand for the truth in our day and time.

Using Influence Wisely

Luke 23:8–9 (ESV) When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him. So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer.

Pilate then took Jesus to see Herod, who was the Roman tetrarch over all of Galilee. Herod wanted to see Jesus do a miracle for him, so he questioned Jesus. Herod was the ruler who had John the Baptist beheaded. He deserved no answer from Jesus, and Jesus did not respond to his questions.

Luke 23:10–11 (ESV) The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. And Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, arraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate.

The Jewish leaders were right there before Herod, continuing to accuse Jesus. Now Herod and his soldiers began to mock Jesus by dressing Him in kingly clothes. However, Herod made no determination of guilt or any crime being committed.

So Jesus was sent back to Pilate, who had immediate jurisdiction.

Luke 23:13–14 (ESV) Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. And after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him.”

Upon returning to Pilate, Pilate told the Jewish leaders that he found Jesus innocent of all the charges made against Him. Pilate had brought Jesus to Herod to garner support for his determination of innocence, and Herod had agreed.

Luke 23:15–16 (ESV) Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him. I will therefore punish and release him.”

Now Pilate begins to change his language to appease the crowd. Even though Jesus was not guilty of anything, Pilate states that Jesus does not deserve the death penalty. So, to please the crowd, Pilate offers to punish Jesus by flogging Him, even though Jesus was innocent of all charges.

Both Pilate and Herod knew the truth: Jesus was innocent. Yet they misused their influence to cater to the crowd’s lies rather than the truth. Pilate and Herod did not use their influence wisely.

Influencing Others With God’s Truth

What can we learn from this part of the story? Every believer is designed by God to be a leader, to be an influencer. Let’s say this together, “I am an influencer.”

Who do you have influence over? You have influence over your family, your relatives, your friends, your workmates, and your friends. Whoever you communicate with, you have some influence over.

In today’s world, we communicate in many different ways. We exert influence in our words, our phone calls, our text messages, and our social media posts, among other things. As a believer, you know God’s truth.

It’s not enough to just keep God’s truth to yourself. To be a witness for Jesus, we must learn to communicate God’s truth to others. We are to influence those in our circle of influence with the truth. We must not cater to the lies of the crowd in our culture, but use our influence wisely.

Making the Right Choices

Luke 23:18–19 (ESV) But they all cried out together, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas”—a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and for murder.

Pilate had just offered to punish Jesus, but that was not enough for the crowd. They wanted Jesus, the innocent One, killed and the murderer Barabbas released.

Luke 23:20–22 (ESV) Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus, but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” A third time he said to them, “Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no guilt deserving death. I will therefore punish and release him.”

Pilate again reiterates that Jesus is innocent. Yet the crowd continues to shout for Jesus’ crucifixion. They want nothing less than Jesus to be killed.

Luke 23:23–25 (ESV) But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed. So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus over to their will.

Pilate finally gave in to the crowd’s murderous cries. He knew that Jesus was innocent, and the crowd knew that Jesus was innocent. But it didn’t matter to either one of them.

They wanted Jesus dead. The crowd did not want to follow Jesus, and Pilate did not want the crowd to riot. So Pilate was swayed by the insistence of the crowd and made a wrong choice.

Choosing Truth Over Pressure

As we ponder this murderous crowd, we must recognize ourselves in that crowd. Before we were believers, we didn’t want to follow Jesus. We were sinners, and we didn’t want to hear His voice about our sin. We were in that crowd of sinners, so to speak, calling for Jesus to be silenced.

The crowd was swayed by emotion and peer pressure into making a wrong choice. God wants us, and He wants you, to learn how to consistently make right choices.

Right choices are not based on emotion, and they are not based on what the crowd promotes. They are based on the truth of God’s Word. Right choices come from hearing God speak and give wisdom in prayer. Right choices come from listening to the counsel of godly people. All those sources serve to give you God’s truth so that you can make the right choice.

Conclusion: Following the Compass of God’s Truth

This morning, we’ve taken a different approach to the crucifixion of Jesus. We’ve seen the conflict between God’s truth shown in Jesus and the false accusations and lies of the crowd. God calls us to follow the compass of God’s truth in our own lives.

We are called to stand for that truth in the face of the crowd’s pressure. We are called to be influencers of those around us with God’s truth. We are called to make all our choices in life based on God’s truth.

This is the path for blessing and for building God’s kingdom.

📘 Continue the Journey

Reflect deeper and apply this week’s message with the Message Study Guide — perfect for personal devotions, family discussion, or your Life Group.

Looking for community?
Join a Life Group and grow in your faith with others walking the same path.