John 18:19-40

Truth

Let’s finish with Peter and his denials. Again John gives us a little fact that none of the other writers provide. We saw yesterday that Peter’s first denial seemed to be an almost casual offhanded affair. The third denial was more like a perfect storm. Not only had Peter already denied Jesus twice, not only was he squarely in the middle of an essentially hostile situation, but the third denial was prompted by a challenge. The challenge came from a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off just a few hours earlier. Rash actions often come back to bite us.

When Jesus is brought before Pilate His accusers have nothing better to say when asked for a charge against Him except, “If he were not a criminal we would not have handed him over to you.” This didn’t go down too well with the Roman Governor and so apparently they settled on saying that Jesus was claiming to be a king.

Pilate asks Jesus if He is a king. Jesus asks Pilate if that was something he came to on his own. Pilate admits that it was the Jewish leaders who had told him this. Jesus seems to admit being a king without actually saying so because He knows that He and Pilate are not speaking the same language. “My kingdom is not of this world. You don’t have to be concerned about a rebellion against Caesar.” The devil had already offered Him that kind of kingdom and Jesus had refused.

“So, you are a king?” Pilate asks. Jesus tries to express it in words that would make sense to Pilate. “I am a king, but not a worldly king. My purpose in being here is to testify to the truth.” You can hear the incredulity in Pilate’s voice as he asks, “What is truth?” He then wheels and walks out.

I thought that the notion of there being no such thing as truth was a fairly recent invention. I was wrong. Apparently it is as old as the tempter in Eden. Whether or not absolute truth exist can be debated. What is beyond debate is this: without truth life can have no meaning.