What Is Truth?


John 18:28-40
28Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor’s headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor’s headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover. 29So Pilate went outside to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” 30They answered him, “If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you.” 31Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.” 32This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die. 33So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 34Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” 35Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” 36Jesus 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.” 37Then Pilate 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.” 38Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him. 39But 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?” 40They cried out again, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.

One of the most enigmatic conversations that Jesus has during His life on earth was with Pilate before His death. I have long wondered about Pilate, his motives, and his final understandings. And there’s a place in my heart that pities him as well. He’s handed a problem that is not his own and forced to take actions that don’t seem to set well with him. In the course of their conversation, he asks Jesus “What is truth?” That seems to be the pivot point of this situation for him. In the end he knows he has to set truth aside in order to keep the peace. I believe that Pilate knows he has not been lied to by Jesus. And he is rightfully suspect of the Pharisees. He’s trapped between the truth and a riot. That a tough place to be and he knows it.

And so now we too focus on “what is the truth” and how often we set truth aside because it is more convenient and expedient for us. Today we are in the middle of the Planned Parenthood scandal. Finally a practice that is 42 years old has come under fire. The truth is ugly. Human body parts are being sold and we don’t like it. For years we were willing to set the truth aside as a society and look away from murder. Now that is a more difficult stance. I try not to be political in these posts because this is supposed to be a spiritually uplifting read. But somehow the truth pushed me to share a picture that is horrifying. What is truth? Abortion is murder and we are guilty.

Or how about the truth of a God designed marriage? You can say that marriage between two people of the same sex (or polygamy, or pedophilia) is okay in God’s eyes but that’s not what He says. What is truth? One man-one woman; this is marriage as God defines it. When we sanction anything else, we are setting truth aside.

Finally, how about the truth that there is only one way to the Father? Christians are exclusive because that’s how God designed the universe. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by Me.” There’s the truth as God defines it. You can set that aside and declare that all paths lead to God, but they don’t. There is no truth there. Jesus is the one who stands before Pilate and claims that His Kingdom is not of this world. That is the truth. He was no threat to the Romans and thus not worthy of the death sentence. But He came here to redeem the world and through His blood we are redeemed and forgiven of our sins. There’s the truth.

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