I want to share a reminder that on these fifth Sundays, we don't have AM discipleship right after worship. This means we get to spend all the time in the world we want to in fellowship together. I'm kidding, of course, but I wonder if you've noticed with me that there's a new daily question we have to ask ourselves that we didn't used to have to ask: "What is real?"

Over spring break, I watched my mother watching "reels" online, and my children, looking over her shoulder, told her, "DD, those videos are not real." My children actually discipled their grandparents on how to recognize AI-fabricated videos. We live in a day where you can fabricate whatever you want online—make a video say anything, clone voices, make someone say something they didn't. We have to ask ourselves, "What is real?"

This leads to a deeper question: "Who defines reality for me?" Many of you profess faith in Jesus, but sometimes our functional way of operating is very far from the heart of the gospel. For some, truth-telling in your work comes at great expense, even costing promotions. I was reading an interview with journalist Jake Tapper, who said we've come to a day where telling the truth actually costs you something. He has to ask himself, "What does this cost me?" The point isn't what you think about Jake Tapper, but that even a journalist committed to objective truth has to ask, "Is it true?"

The person who asked "What is real?" and "Who defines reality for me?" was the famous Pontius Pilate. When you hear "Pontius Pilate" in the Apostles' Creed, remember he was a Roman governor, a ruler, not an airline pilot. He was called by Tiberius to rule over Judea.

So, I ask you this morning: "Who defines reality for you? Your feed, the crowd, your family, your wife, your husband, your boss, or the living God?" And if it's the living God, oh friends, do you listen to His voice?

In John chapter 18, verses 33 through 40, Pilate entered his headquarters and asked Jesus, "Are you the king of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?" Pilate replied, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?"

Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world." Pilate then said to him, "So you are a king." Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice."

Pilate then famously said to him, "What is truth?" After saying this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, "I find no guilt in him." But he added, "You have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So, do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?" And they cried out again, "Not this man, but Barabbas!" John writes, "Now Barabbas was a robber."

This passage asks really big questions. Pilate was going back and forth between Jesus and the crowd, trying to appease Rome and manage the crowd. He wanted things to be tidy. I wonder what defines reality for you, because the crowd can be loud, but it cannot be Lord.

Jesus wanted to know Pilate's real motive. Was he genuinely curious, or was someone putting him up to it? Pilate wasn't genuinely curious like Nicodemus; he was trying to manage the crowd. Jesus' kingdom is not from this world. He is a king, but not with toy crowns. He's a king who would wear a crown of thorns for you.

Pilate knew the truth. He said three times, "I find no guilt in him." But he lacked the courage to stand by the truth when he knew it would cost him something. Truth is easy to stand by when it's convenient, but not when it's inconvenient. That is what it means to be a Christian.

Jesus came into the world to bear witness to the truth. He is truth embodied. He says, "Everyone who is from the truth listens to my voice." I wonder who you listen to. If we could broadcast your playlist, would you be embarrassed? What have you been outraged about? Who has settled your heart? What voice do you hear? What talking head on YouTube shapes your heart? Social media algorithms are trained to make us addicted.

Ryan Birge, a sociologist, says people often make moral decisions based first on their political party, then on their denominational beliefs, using the Bible to support their political opinions. Oh friends, may we always see Jesus as king. May we never worship at the idol of politics, but always worship the idol shaped in the form of a cross, where the Son of God hung for you.

May we listen to His voice first. This means taking out our AirPods, shutting things down, turning off our phones, and resting. We try to facilitate this at church by minimizing screens, so you can listen to the beauty of your Savior who loves you. He sings over you with love, rejoices over you with loud singing. You are a son, a daughter, given everything in Christ. Would you live into it?

Who defines reality for you? The crowd can be loud, but it cannot be Lord. Pilate asked, "What is truth?" but he said it to Jesus, not asked him, and left the room before he heard the answer. He knew the truth but tried to manage the outrage. He made up a tradition to release a prisoner, putting it back on the crowd. They chose Barabbas, the "son of the father," a false Messiah, over Jesus, the true Son of the Father. They wanted Jesus, who was inconvenient, to be put on the cross prepared for Barabbas.

What if the Lord Jesus Christ came to us and said, "I want you to know the truth. I'm going to live a life you could never live, be the perfect fulfillment of holiness. I'm going to take upon myself a crown of thorns and bleed in my physical, fully human body, and die on a cross that was prepared for a true insurrection, so that you, who have insurrection in your heart against me, might see me with outstretched arms saying, 'I love you. I came to win you back.'"

Would you listen to His voice? Would you watch on the cross as He suffers and bleeds for you? And would you stand in amazement at those three days when, after He dies, He rises again from the dead? He rose for you so that you might be able to plug into the only one who actually tells you the truth.

Who defines reality for you? Would you be so bold as to lay those other voices at the foot of the cross? Would you hear with crystal clear clarity that the Lord Jesus Christ gave His life for you to do the impossible in your life, to save you from sin, and even give you the courage to extend forgiveness? Husbands, to lead your family with tenderness and love. Wives, to be amazing helpmates. We need each other to listen to the truth.

The crowd can be loud, but it cannot be Lord. Teenagers, do you think of yourself more in terms of what your friends at school think of you, or what your Savior thinks of you? He sings over you with His love; He thinks you're more than terrific. He loves you because He loves you and gave His life for you.

Oh friends, may we listen to His voice. We need each other to do it. You are the ministers of this church, caring for each other in community groups, loving each other through this holy week and beyond. We want to listen to the truth well together and lead with humility, repentance, love, joy, and foremost, courage.