Truth is a significant theme in the Fourth Gospel where we not only find such phrases frequently on the lips of Jesus but also Pilate’s question, “What is truth?”  There have been innumerable, disheartening, instances of politicians in the UK, the USA and elsewhere claiming that their assertions are truthful and factually correct when their statements twisted facts and were untruthful, if only by omission and distortion – economical with the truth, indeed. Within this passage the reliance of the Jews on Abrahamic descent was true insofar as it reflected their confidence in being on the right side with God, but their conclusion from such reliance was negated by their failure to recognise and accept Jesus as coming from the Father.
        
It can be difficult, and for some people seemingly impossible, to accept that what they have been told to be true is in fact wrong. We find this among Christians who have grown up within fellowships dependent on narrow interpretations of either Scripture or the teachings of their Church. We once had an Elder who was dogmatic and decisive in expressing his views; another Elder challenged him, “Don’t you ever change your mind?” The response was instant, “Never” – a response that all too accurately reflected his attitude and revealed his personal tragedy.
        
And Jesus said, “the truth will make you free.” When we have the courage to face up to the truth, accepting where we have been wrong or in denial about ourselves or others, then we are offered freedom, but how are we to understand what that means?
        
The writer of our Gospel was steeped in both Jewish and Hellenistic (Greek) religious thought and was able to use such learning to develop and advance Christian understanding. For Jews the Law was truth and the study of the Law made people free – the greater and deeper the study, the greater the freedom. In the Hellenistic world the Stoics taught that people could obtain freedom by regulating their lives in accordance with the ultimate divine authority of the Logos. For Jews truth brought a total reliance on the Law and freedom from worldly concerns; for Stoics it meant deliverance from ignorance and error. Christians can benefit much from both approaches and here in the Gospel we find that ultimate freedom is deliverance from sin, born again to a new life with our Saviour, fully accepted of children of the Father without needing specific human ancestry.