Jesus did not say ‘I am the truth’, nor did he baptize with water… Water does not make you free; it is not the truth that sets free, because it is not information that brings you out of deception.

The business of baptism needs lies. It does not need to declare anyone innocent, but to declare everyone guilty of sin. It needs to make people believe that water cleans something more than the body.

But think: water does not remove ignorance. It can remove dirt or thirst, but it does not remove the ignorance that the manipulator needs in order to control you, obtain your money, and demand your obedience.

If Rome captured the message it once persecuted, why should we believe that it later respected it? Why assume that it transmitted it faithfully, honoring the truth and not its own interests of power?

Neither knowing a person nor getting wet with water removes the ignorance that causes the righteous to stumble into sin. False prophets lead people to commit sins through deception. The truth destroys those deceptions.

Jesus could not have said that he is the truth.
First, because truth is information; it is a message. A man is not a message. A man is a creature who can transmit a message. If that message is true, then it is that message —not the man— that sets free.

Second, if Jesus had literally claimed that he is the truth, it would not be coherent but absurd. And God does not choose someone incoherent to be His servant. Freedom consists in not bowing the knee to anyone to render honor.

But the Roman Empire did not want free men. It wanted men on their knees: before its statues, before its representatives, before its system.

Even within the Bible —although it contains additions from the Empire— there are passages that show the logic of this:

In the Gospel of John 8:32:
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

This is coherent: knowing the truth sets free.
It does not say, “You will know a person and be free because that person is the truth.”

If freedom depended only on knowing an individual, then it would be enough to see him, without hearing anything, without understanding anything. That is absurd. Freedom comes from understanding the true message.

However, in the Gospel of John 14:6 it says:
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me.”

That statement contradicts the previous principle. It does not point to understanding the truth, but to dependence on a figure. That fits more with a system of control than with a message of liberation.

So, what really sets people free from deception?

In Proverbs 11:9 it clearly says:
“The hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor, but through knowledge the righteous will be delivered.”

Wisdom sets free, not idolatry.

The righteous —not the gullible— are those who can recognize the coherence of truth. That is why in the Book of Daniel 12:1 it speaks of the liberation of a specific people: those who stand on the side of truth.

And later, in the Book of Daniel 12:10:
“The wicked shall not understand, but the wise shall understand.”

The difference is not ritual; it is understanding.

Also, in the Gospel of John 17:17:
“Sanctify them in your truth; your word is truth.”

Truth is the word, the message. Not a person.
A man is not the word of God. He is, at most, a messenger.

This is made clear in the Book of Isaiah 6:8:
“Whom shall I send?”
And someone answers: “Here I am, send me.”

The one who is sent is not the message. He is the bearer of the message.

Contradictory minds do not understand.
Coherent minds do.

Slander produces contradiction. And those who live by contradiction —the unjust— cannot recognize the truth. They do not love it, because they cannot tolerate it.

That is why, as the Book of Daniel 12:10 says, the wicked do not understand.
Only those with understanding comprehend.