Today I want to talk with you about the truth. We all need truth, we all long for truth, yet in our culture we often will evade the truth for fear of offending someone, for fear of embarrassing them or making them unhappy. When telling them the truth in love would be the optimum choice.

I had a particular experience some years ago that would have saved me a lot of heartache, a lot of pain, and much embarrassment had someone just told me the truth.

After church on a Sunday afternoon, Maxi and I went out to lunch with another couple from the church- we met at the Old Jerry’s restaurant in Hazard. If you have ever been there – the layout was such that when you came in -the restrooms were on the immediate left or you could go right directly into the dining room.

On this particular Sunday I had a cold, so I stopped in the restroom and blew my nose and washed my hands and returned to the dining room. Max and our friends were already seated in the back of the restaurant.

As I walked in I saw so many people that I knew, that were already seated and eating. I went from table to table shaking hands with everyone, talking and sharing. I felt like a successful politician that knew everybody in the room.

However, I noticed that no one would look me in the eye, they would just kind of shake my hand and look away. After working about 8 tables I made it on back to where Maxi was sitting and she said oh gross Tim you have something on your nose.

Had someone at the first table told me that I had a problem, it would have saved me a lot of embarrassment. Had someone told me the truth I could have addressed the problem.

There is an ole saying “the truth hurts, but lies kill.

In our text today we are going to see our Savior sharing truth that is quite offensive, it appears that he does it in a brash and rude manner- yet he is determined to get the Pharisees and Lawyers to listen and provides a full frontal assault on their hypocrisy, providing them truth that cuts them to their very hearts.

These were people that had an appearance of keeping the law, on the outside they looked like, dressed liked and acted like they were holy and righteous people. Yet our Savior saw through their hypocrisy. And our Lord was willing to confront them with the truth.