Veritas: Truth

“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.’ ‘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.’ ‘What is truth?’ Pilate asked.”
John 18:36-38

It had already been quite a week. Jesus knowing full well what was about to take place had wept over Jerusalem, a city in full party mode for the feast of the Passover. The crowds had given him a royal welcome. Later, upset about what was going on in the temple, he cleaned house – so to speak and ruffled more than a few feathers in the process. Sharing a final meal with his friends, he had washed their feet, broke the bread and shared the cup, identified his betrayer and told Peter he would deny even knowing Jesus in a day’s time. Jesus tried to prepare them as they walked back to the Mount of Olives – but they still did not understand what the next few hours would bring. The human side of Jesus was doing battle with the divine side, he prayed in agony for His Father to remove the cup, but submitted himself to the Father’s will. He was arrested on trumped up charges and abused by the religious leaders before they turned him over to the Roman authorities – this is where this week’s passage picks up.

The position of governor held by Pilate was both a position of strength in which power was brutally abused and a position of weakness in which one wrong move could mean your head. Pilate’s brief conversation with Jesus ended with a rhetorical question “What is truth,” followed by his official proclamation of Jesus’ innocence. If Pilate had been a different sort of leader, he may have been able to impose his will upon the mob at his gate to release the innocent man Jesus. But he wasn't, in fact, he was just the sort of leader the divine plan required – the sort of leader who would give into the mob to keep the peace and save his own head – good thing for us.

Imagine, with as bad as we think things are on this planet now, how much worse it would be if Jesus, an innocent man – the incarnation of God, who came to speak truth, hadn't been sent to the cross by Pilate. Sin may have won and our world may have been plunged into a darkness none of us would be able to comprehend.

As we contemplate the events of Jesus’ last week may we always remember two things: God’s divine plan will always be successful and Jesus said “I am the way and the truth and the life.” Because of His obedience there is still light in our world – so share it with those around you.

A Prayer
Father – We often find ourselves asking the same question as Pilate – what is truth? Help always to remember that Jesus is the answer to that question because He is truth. Thank that He bring life and light into our world and our lives. Help us to share ourselves and His light with the world around us. In the name of Jesus, Amen.