The Gospel of John - Outline Part 44 - What is Truth?

TITLE

John 18:28-40 – What Is Truth?

EXPLANATION

Having found Jesus guilty of blasphemy, but unable to execute Him according to Roman law, the Jews took Him to Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea.  It is noteworthy to realize that Jesus had specifically engineered this entire sequence of events so as to ultimately be placed in the hands of the Romans.  He knew that their method of execution, crucifixion, was what was prescribed in the Scriptures as the kind of death the Messiah needed to endure; that of being “lifted up.”

Jesus and Pilate then had a short conversation.  Jesus revealed to him that He was in fact a king, but that His kingdom was not of this world.  His was a spiritual kingdom.  And, He had been born for the purpose of bearing witness to the truth of that kingdom.  Furthermore, everyone who was receptive to truth would listen to His voice.  In response, Pilate utters a rhetorical and sardonic question: “What is truth?”

Pilate then returned to the Jews, having found no guilt worthy of execution in Jesus.  But, in accordance with Scripture, the Jews refused to accept Jesus’s acquittal.  Instead, they asked for a known insurrectionist named Barabbas, probably a member of the Jewish zealots, to be released.

APPLICATION

Pilate’s hopeless question is stunning in its despondency.  He apparently did not think much of the concept of absolute truth.  Even if there was such a thing, it seems that Pilate did not think anyone could actually know what it was.  Therefore, it was an irrelevant concept for him.

How things have remained unchanged in the human heart after thousands of years!  The denial of a standard of truth as a philosophical concept is still alive and well in the 21^st century culture of this world.  People are of the impression today that they can invent whatever truth suits them.  Furthermore, as long as one version of truth does not infringe upon another, even if they flatly contradict each other, then many people are perfectly happy to live with this logical fallacy.

I think the point for Christians is not to be discouraged by this.  Sometimes we tend to look bleakly at the world, supposing that the wickedness of mankind has reached its zenith with our generation.  However, the biblical record clearly illustrates that this is simply not the case.  Men like Pilate were questioning truth long before the modern age.  Cultures like the Romans were just as bloodthirsty and savage as the worst sorts of criminals today.  As Solomon said, “There is nothing new under the sun.”  Rather than being depressed by this, we should take heart.  God has seen all of man’s debauchery before.  He was quite capable of dealing with it then, and He remains able to take care of things now.