The King's Truth

John 18:35-37 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?” 36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.” 37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

READ John 18:28-19:16 for the entire account of Jesus’ trial. What is at the center of the charges, Jesus’ few responses, and the crowd’s reaction?
    It is truth. Pilate wants to know, “What is truth?” He’s not the only one. The whole world wants to know it. Or do we?
    People do seem to seek after truth. An overwhelming number of religions in the world claim to be the place where truth is found. Many people also try to find truth in themselves. “Know yourself.” is a common directive.
    Pilate, it seems, had to stand back and think about Jesus’ words. Jesus said that when people wanted to know the truth he was the One to seek.
    But Pilate only considered it for a short time. Then he washed his hands of Jesus, and Jesus was gone.
    What kept Pilate from taking Jesus inside his house and inviting him to a meal, so he could more carefully ask Jesus, “What do you mean, ‘Whoever listens to the truth belongs to you?’” It seems Pilate was on the edge of a true desire to talk with and to learn from Jesus, but he backed down.
    Perhaps Pilate understood that if he took time with Jesus to learn the truth, his life would dramatically change. He might be confronted with his past sins – some very evil sins – among the Jews. Perhaps Pilate thought he would lose his power as a Roman governor.
    Have you been close to getting to know Jesus better but then stepped back? Were you afraid of what would change in your life? This is a common response to the Bible. Truth often makes us uncomfortable. When we ask, “What is truth?” we must be prepared to listen to Jesus’ answers. If we send him away, unwilling to know the answer, Jesus’ death means nothing for us.
 
Resurrection Truth: Listen closely to your Lord. He died, so you can hear him.