Beautiful lies and ugly truths

The world is at a point where we can no longer assume that statements made by our leaders and those in high levels of society are true. It did not start recently. This article is primarily about two instances in the Bible when leaders and those in high levels of society told lies in connection with Jesus. If the lies had been successful, they could have changed the course of Christianity.

As a background, Satan told the first lie, through a serpent. The serpent initiated the conversation with Eve. It started beautifully with a casual, but calculated question with deadly consequences: “Did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden?”

Eve answered correctly that they may eat fruit from every tree except the one in the middle of the garden and they must not even touch it, or they would die. “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to Eve, “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:1-7 NIV). That was a lie because Satan knew that if they ate the fruit they would not be like God, but they would surely die.

Adam and Eve ate the fruit and God banished them from the Garden of Eden, among other punishments. They gave birth to Cain and Abel. After Cain killed his brother Abel, God asked him where his brother was. ““I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”” Of course, God knew what had happened and where Abel was, and so did Cain. Cain lied because the truth was ugly (see Genesis 4:9).

Since then, human beings have struggled with lies and truths and the struggle has impacted our relationship with God. The need to cover up truths with lies showed itself in the birth, life, and death of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The lies were told at the highest levels of society. The first lie was around the time Christ was born. When Christ was born in Bethlehem, the Magi or the three wise men saw his star in the east and went to Jerusalem expecting to confirm the good news and join in the celebration by worshipping him along with the people. However, that was not the case. Their inquiries caused panic among the people. The Bible says, “When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.” (Matthew 2:3). The birth of the long-expected Messiah, instead of bringing joy, hope, and peace to the world, initially disturbed or troubled the king and the people of Jerusalem!

King Herold inquired and found out from the chief priests and teachers of the law that Christ was to be born in Bethlehem. He sent the three wise men to Bethlehem to search and come back and report to him so that he, too, could go and worship him. How beautiful it would have been for the earthly king to have actually recognized and worshipped the heavenly King of kings, but it was a beautiful lie.

In fact, the ugly truth was that the king intended to kill Baby Jesus. After the three wise men found and worshipped Jesus, they were warned in a dream not to return to King Herod because he was seeking to kill Jesus. They returned to their country by another route. When Herod realized they had tricked him (they were not called “wise men” for nothing), he ordered the killing of all boys two years old and under in and around Bethlehem (see Matthew 2: 1-12).

Sometimes, the truth may not be obvious or self-evident to all people at the same time. It takes effort, knowledge, grace, and divine revelation. Speaking to some Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32 NIV). One truth Christ teaches is found in his statement: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6 NIV).

Jesus was and is the Christ, the Messiah that people were and are still expecting. Some are waiting for him as their Savior and Messiah, and others are waiting for his second coming as their King and Judge. Jesus conducted an opinion poll among his disciples. He asked his disciples who people said he was and they answered variously as John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.

Then when he asked them what they themselves thought he was, Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Upon hearing that, Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 16: 13-20 NIV).

It is interesting that Jesus asked those profound questions in the region of Caesarea Philippi, a city named by King Herod Philippi after himself and his emperor, Tiberius Caesar. The city was known for immoral activities and pagan worship with shrines dedicated to Baal and other gods. Note also what people thought about Jesus. They thought he was one of the great prophets who had come back to life. Placing Jesus in the same category as the great prophets may have been their highest form of compliment at that time.

Today, some people still want to place Jesus in the same category as the great prophets. Jesus was prophetic, but he was and is more than a prophet. Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, is not in the same class as anyone who has ever lived on this earth. Jesus is unique, and he is uniquely alive! As some people may say in Ghana, Jesus has “no size.” If the disciples were going to be witnesses for Jesus, it was important for them to know the truth about his identity and position.

And so when Jesus was brought before Pontius Pilate and Jesus said he came to the world to testify to the truth, Pilate asked rhetorically, “What is truth?” (John 18:37-38 NIV). Pilate did not expect an answer and Jesus did not offer any. The truth is that Jesus is the Son of God, the Christ, and the Messiah, the one and only savior of the world through whom we can get to the Father in heaven.

However, truth did not win before Pilate that day; Jesus was crucified. Another lie about Jesus - the second major lie - would be told three days later concerning his resurrection. On the third day after Jesus was crucified, an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled back the stone covering the entrance to the tomb, and sat on it. His appearance frightened the soldiers guarding the tomb, and they shook and became like dead men. The soldiers found out that the body was no longer there because Jesus had risen. Some women who also made the discovery were happy and on their way to tell the disciples, but the soldiers had a very sad situation on their hands because they had to explain to the authorities why the body was not there (see Matthew 28:1-15).

The soldiers reported to the chief priests, and the chief priests met with the elders to plan. The plan was that they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers to spread lies, misinformation, and fake news that the disciples came during the night and stole him away while they were asleep. That was bribery. It was also a conspiracy to bear false witness against the disciples, a violation of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:16).

The ugly truth staring in the faces of the chief priests, elders, and soldiers was that Jesus Christ had risen! Jesus Christ not only raised the dead, but he also rose from death. He was the one who previously said, to the disbelief of the chief priests and the Jewish leaders, “destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days” (John 2:19 NIV). They did not understand that Jesus was talking about his own death and resurrection, and that misunderstanding was used as evidence against him in Matthew 26:61. From the perspective of the chief priests and elders, those truths were ugly, but to the rest of the world, they are good news.

The two lies were significant because of what could have happened if the plots behind them had succeeded. Christianity is premised on the miraculous birth, life, death, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If King Herod’s lie had been successful and Baby Jesus had been killed; or if the lie told by the soldiers, chief priests, and elders that the disciples stole the body of Jesus had gained widespread acceptance outside the Jewish community and thereby disproved the resurrection, there would not have been Christianity as we know it. As the Apostle Paul puts it, “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.” (1 Corinthians 15:17-18 NIV).

That could have derailed God’s plan for reconciliation with mankind after man disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden. A modern version of the conversation that Satan had with Eve through the serpent could go something like this: “Did Jesus really mean it when he said he was the truth and the only way to the Father in heaven?”

“Surely, given that there are billions of diverse people in this world, there must be many other ways to worship God.” Statements like these may be pleasing to some people’s itching ears, especially those who seek diversity in many things, but they are not supported by Christ’s teachings. We need to watch and pray for God to open our ears, eyes, minds, and hearts to know the truth so that we can be set free to worship God the right way. It is our salvation and heaven we are talking about.

Salvation and the way to heaven are through Jesus Christ. The free gift of salvation through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is available to all who are willing to accept it by faith. The Apostle Paul makes it clear “that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved“ (Romans 10:9 NIV). That is the Gospel truth. And that, to some, maybe the ugly truth, but in reality, it is the most beautiful truth.

Prayer is the key. May God grant us the grace to seek Him daily through our prayers.

Dr. Daniel Gyebi, Attorney-at-Law, Texas, U.S.A., and Founder, PrayerHouse Ministry, Kumasi, Ghana.

PrayerHouse Ministry is dedicated to providing a quiet facility for Christians to pray individually by themselves without any intermediary priest, pastor or any other person. This is a free service. No money is demanded or accepted. One facility is located at Kyerekrom / Fumesua, near Building and Road Research Institute Offices, one mile off the Kumasi-Accra Road and next to a house called Grace Castle. If you are interested, please contact Agnes at 054-7498653. Another is located at Kantinkyiren, at the junction of Kantinkyiren and Konkori, off the Kumasi-Obuasi Road, branching left at Trede junction. Contact Kwadwo at 020-8768461 / 0246-989413.