Truth in Its Highest Form

I had a great mother-in-law. Pink was her favorite color. I enjoyed her friendship because she was a great listener and her advice was always sound.

We would have great conversations while out riding around or going shopping. She didn’t do it often, but whenever she said, “Now, listen,” I knew she had something important to share.

Jesus had a way of telling his disciples to listen up, too. I’m doing this study in my New International Version (NIV) study Bible, so Jesus gives a heads up by saying, “I tell you the truth . . . ”

If you happen to use a New Living Translation (NLT), the phrase will be, “But I say . . . ” Just remember, your study will be much easier if you have a red-letter Bible (Jesus’ words in red).

It seems to me when Jesus said, “I tell you the truth,” He taught the principles of God’s Kingdom. It had nothing to do with things they might have previously heard or been taught by men.

I’ll share a few examples from the two Gospels I've studied so far:  Matthew 6:16; Matthew 10:42 and Mark 3:28; Mark 12:43. 

In three years, Jesus shared a lot of information about God’s Eternal Kingdom. “I tell you the truth,” indicated that He was stressing the authority and certainty of His *message.

He understood that people choose what they will believe since we each have free will.

You don’t have to do a deep study . . . here’s the real challenge!

Read the Bible carefully daily. Why? For six specific reasons:

Every part of scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another - - -

showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes,

training us to live God’s way (2 Timothy 3:16, The Message Bible).

 

*Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, “Truth as Truth Telling” and “Other Uses of Truth,” p, 1631, Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, TN, 2003.