What is truth?

Our Gospel reading stops at a convenient, yet slightly strange place in the lectionary. Jesus has just told Pilate

John 18:37 (NRSV)

“You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”

But as I was reading the passage earlier in the week, it felt like the Spirit was pointing a spotlight and making klaxons sound at the next verse - so I’m going to take a liberty and extend the passage out. Because Pilate asks another question of Jesus. Can anyone remember what it is?

WHAT IS TRUTH?

I wish we could hear Pilate’s tone of voice when he asked the question. When I read it I often hear Pilate saying it like a sulky teenager. But was he mocking Jesus? Was he genuinely curious? Or was he deflecting, trying to keep the conversation from cutting too close to home? We don’t know. But what we DO know is that Pilate stood face to face with Jesus - with Truth itself and walked away.

Let’s place ourselves in the scene. Pilate is a man of power - a Roman governor tasked with keeping order in a volatile province. His opening question, if you’re reading through the gospel ofJohn is an odd one. “Are you the king of the Jews?” That wasn’t the accusation the Jewish leaders made of him when they handed him over. In fact they don’t make an accusation as such - they just say they wouldn’t hand him over if he weren’t a criminal. (Luke is clearer)

At any rate, when Pilate asks the question, Jesus does what we see him do so often, and asks a question back. “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?”. It seems that even Jesus found the question about whether he was king of the Jews an odd one.

Did Pilate really even think Jesus was a king? Tom Wright says that:

The idea is, of course, so laughable that he knows, within his own frame of reference, what the answer is. He sees before him a poor man from the wrong part of the country. He has a small band of followers and they’ve all run away. Of course he’s not the king.

I wonder though whether Pilate senses that this man, though seemingly powerless, carries an authority far beyond what Pilate has ever encountered.

So what is behind Pilate’s question? When you think of the word “king”, what comes to mind?

Is it a gold crown and

lavish robes?

Or maybe if you’re a fan of historical fiction you might think of rulers who come to power through cunning strategies or brute force?

Because this is what I think is going on here. Pilate is afraid that Jesus is going to stage an uprising. And Jesus sees Pilate for who he truly is - looking beyond the title and authority, and addresses the person behind the position.

It reminds me of another moment earlier in Jesus’ ministry, where he encountered the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus asks her for water, and she responds with a deflection - “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria? She wanted to keep the conversation on the surface - but Jesus wouldn’t let her stay there. He pushed deeper, revealing her story and offering her living water - an invitation to step into the truth of who he was and who she was meant to be. Now, in Pilate’s courtroom, we see the same pattern. Pilate might be a Roman governor, but he’s also a man caught in a web of fear, compromise, and insecurity. Jesus invites Pilate to step into the light of truth, to see himself clearly and recognise the King standing before him.

But Pilate resists. Instead of engaging with Jesus’ question, he dismisses it:

John 18:35 NRSV

Pilate replied, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?”

Pilate deflects Jesus’ question - like many of us, he finds it easier to deal with surface-level issues than to confront the truth about himself.

And yet, Jesus doesn’t back down. He continues to reveal who he is and what his kingdom is about.

Jesus replies: “My kingdom is not from this world.”

This doesn’t mean Jesus’ kingdom has nothing to do with this world. It means it doesn’t originate from the systems of this world—systems built on power, violence, and rebellion against God. Human kingdoms rise and fall through conquest, alliances, and control. But God’s kingdom is different. It’s a kingdom of love, grace, and truth.

And it’s a kingdom for this world. It’s here to heal, restore, and redeem. “For this I was born,” Jesus says, “and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”

This is the heart of Jesus’ kingship. He is not a king who rules by force or fear. He is a king who reveals the truth—the truth about God, the truth about us, and the truth about the world God is restoring.

Pilate responds: “What is truth?”

But he doesn’t stay for the answer. He walks away, leaving Truth itself standing in his courtroom.

We live in a world that often treats truth as slippery, relative, or inconvenient. How often do we walk about from truth?

But what if we don’t walk away? What does it mean for us if we embrace Jesus as King?

To declare that Jesus is King is to give him our ultimate allegiance. It means we bow to no other ruler, ideology, or value system.

This was a radical claim in the first century, where declaring “Jesus is Lord” meant rejecting the lordship of Caesar. Today, it means rejecting the false kings that vie for our loyalty:

The king of materialism, which promises happiness through possessions.

The king of success, which measures our worth by our achievements.

The king of the approval of others, which shapes our identity around what others think of us.

Our reading from Revelation reminds us that Jesus “loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father.”

Jesus’ kingship is marked by grace and justice - he extends grace to us, offering forgiveness and freedom - and he brings justice, lifting up the lowly and confronting systems of oppression.

If we belong to his kingdom, we are called to embody these same values. We are called to be people who live by grace and seek justice for the marginalised and oppressed.

Finally, Jesus’ kingdom is unshakable and eternal. Revelation 1:8 declares:

Revelation 1:8 NRSV

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

This has to give us hope. No matter how chaotic or unjust the world may seem, Jesus’ kingdom is breaking into the world here and now. His reign will outlast every earthly power, and his truth will stand forever.

The truth is this: Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. His kingdom is not from this world, but it is for this world.

Through Jesus, truth is revealed, and he invites us to follow him, to live as people of truth, grace, and justice, and to place our trust in his eternal reign.

Will you keeping pursuing the truth of Jesus?