John 18:33-40 (NIV) 33 Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
34 “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”
35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests 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 Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
38 “What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. 39 But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”
40 They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising.
As I read this passage the word that stands out to me is truth. Pilate asks “What is truth?” and then walks off to talk with the Jewish leaders. Jesus had just finished saying that the reason he came was to testify to truth and everyone on the side of truth listens to him. Did Pilate really want the truth? Did Pilate want to make his decision about Jesus based on truth or did he just want the path of least resistance?
The dictionary defines truth as a fact or a reality, the opposite of falsehood.
Pilate had been standing in the presence of truth. In John 14:6 Jesus says, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Everything Jesus says is true. Pilate was trying to find a peaceful way not to kill a man he could find no bases to kill. He was not true to himself, to the facts or to Jesus. He yielded to outside pressure. He was trying to protect himself.
It is easy for me to sit here and analyses Pilate’s words and action but what about my words and actions? Do my words and actions show I believe the truth about Jesus? Do I embrace it, all of it? I want to but sometimes I know I take the easy way or I procrastinate and don’t do what I should at the right time. I believe the truth that Jesus is God’s Son, that He died on the cross for my sins and that today He lives in heaven with His Father. Jesus is the only way to God the Father and eternal life in heaven. I love Him for all He has done for me.
Jesus alone is the truth. What Jesus says and does is true from every perspective. It is my mission to tell people the truth about Jesus and allow the Holy Spirit to use that truth in the person’s life.
Thank You Jesus for telling me the truth and for giving me the faith to believe it. Give me faith ears to hear your truths, to believe them and make them a part of my life. Forgive me for not always acting in a way that honors you and for compromising your truths. I am sorry. Give me the boldness to tell others the truth about you in a loving compassionate way. I Love You Jesus. You alone are worthy of all my worship, praise and adoration and obedience. Thank you for loving me.
In Jesus Precious and Holy name, Amen
Charleen