THE WITNESS OF TRUTH
Scripture: John 18:57-38
37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. 38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.
At Christmas Is Christ Happy Over Us?
“Mommy,” asked Jane, “what makes everybody so happy at Christmas?” “Well, because it is the Lord Jesus’ birthday … and because we love Him … and because we are happy about His coming to this world.” Jane thought a minute and then said, “Then is the Lord happy about you?” “Oh, little girl, what a question you have asked!” Is the Lord Jesus happy about us on His birthday? Is he really happy because He sees within our hearts a deep, true love for Him? Does He see a satisfying love and not just a seasonal affection stirred up by the festivities of Christmas? What He wants more than anything else on His birthday is the love of our hearts.
Background: Leaving the Jewish leaders standing outside, Pilate entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus. Luke 23:2 provides the background to his question, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Realizing that they had to come up with a charge that would impress a Roman judge, the Jewish leaders “began to accuse [Jesus], saying, ‘We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.’ ” The charges, of course, were completely false; Jesus had actually said the opposite: “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s” (Matt. 22:21). Their goal was to portray Him as an insurrectionist, bent on overthrowing Roman rule and establishing His own.
Pilate’s first question was perfunctory, almost a leading question in order to investigate the nature of the Jewish complaint. Jesus’ answer was disarming and brought about a transparent reply from Pilate regarding the political tensions that had led Jesus to his feet. Speaking in terms Pilate would understand, Jesus admitted being a King but a King of far more than an earthly, temporal realm. Many individuals throughout Christian history have misinterpreted the kingdom of God in earthly terms.
As was His custom, Jesus then turned the discussion toward His mission. He informed Pilate that His kingly role was identified with testifying “to the truth. Everyone on the side of the truth listens to me” (18:37). Pilate’s response has become legendary: “What is truth?” (18:29). Was it a serious question? sarcastic? We simply do not know. What is clear is that upon voicing the question, Pilate went out to the Jews and dismissed their charges against Jesus and offered to release Him in celebration of the Passover. The Jews, however, demanded Barabbas, a man who was both an insurrectionist and a murderer (Luke 23:19).
Jesus’ description of His kingdom had left Pilate somewhat confused. If His kingdom was not an earthly one, then was Jesus really a king at all? Seeking to clarify the issue, Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus’ answer was clear and unambiguous: “You say correctly that I am a king.” The Lord boldly “testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate” (1 Tim. 6:13). Unlike earthly kings, however, Jesus was not crowned a king by any human agency. For this I have been born, He declared, and for this I have come into the world. Jesus had not only been born like all other human beings, but also had come into the world from another realm—heaven (cf. 3:13, 31; 6:33; 8:23; 17:5). Taken together, the two phrases are an unmistakable reference to the preexistence and incarnation of the Son of God.
Jesus’ mission was not political but spiritual. It was to testify to the truth by “proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom” (Matt. 4:23). Christ proclaimed the truth about God, men, sin, judgment, holiness, love, eternal life, in short, “everything pertaining to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3). What people do with the message of truth Jesus proclaimed determines their eternal destiny; as He went on to declare, “Everyone who is of the truth hears (the Greek word includes the concept of obedience; cf. Luke 9:35) My voice.” Jesus is “the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through [Him]” (14:6). In 10:27 He added, “My sheep hear My voice and I know them, and they follow Me.” Only those who continue in His Word are truly His disciples; only those who are truly His disciples will know and be set free by the truth (8:31–32).
Jesus’ words were an implied invitation to Pilate to hear and obey the truth about Him. But they were lost on the governor, who abruptly ended his interrogation of Christ with the cynical, pessimistic remark, “What is truth?” Like skeptics of all ages, including contemporary postmodernists, Pilate despaired of finding universal truth. This is the tragedy of fallen man’s rejection of God. Without God, there cannot be any absolutes; without absolutes, there can be no objective, universal, normative truths. Truth becomes subjective, relative, pragmatic; objectivity gives way to subjectivity; timeless universal principles become mere personal or cultural preferences. All fallen mankind has accomplished by forsaking God, “the fountain of living waters,” is “to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water” (Jer. 2:13). Pilate’s flippant retort proved that he was not one of those given by the Father to the Son, who hear and obey Christ’s voice.