What is Truth?

 

NLT John 18:38

“What is truth?” Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, “He is not guilty of any crime."

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 Why is this passage ponderable?

Some of the world’s most famous philosophers have attempted to answer this perplexing question, yet it remains the most crucial of all questions. It is the question that we must ask ourselves if we want to make sense of anything in the wider universe, in our world or in our own lives. This is the single most important question that we can ask, and it lies at the core of several issues in modern society.

 The text is connected with the strangest scene ever witnessed in a court of justice since the world began. Much has been said and written concerning Pilate's conduct on this occasion. He has been represented as weak, unjust, and vacillating. The condemnation of ages rests upon his memory. With all this, we must concur. We cannot, however, less than perceive that he was anxious on the whole to do what was right; he would have been only too glad to set the prisoner free; in delivering Him to be crucified, he gave way to popular clamor against his own express convictions. Let us bear in mind that Christ submitted to be tried before Pilate of His own accord; it was His own voluntary act; there was no power in the universe that could have compelled Him to undergo such humiliation as this. Let us remember also what is even more important, that Christ is on His trial still; not as a culprit before Pilate, but as one who seeks admission to every human heart. Now, it has occurred to me, that the conduct of Pilate at this trial may serve to illustrate the conduct of many to whom the gospel is now preached.

I. THE QUESTION OF CHRIST. "Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of Me?" Setting aside the immediate reference of this question, let us turn to ourselves; by so doing we may learn two important lessons.

1. The danger of relying upon others in matters affecting the soul's welfare. The voice of the gospel to every one who inquires after the way of salvation is this: "Sayest thou this thing of thyself?" And this implies the possibility of our making religion the subject of our investigations, without being thoroughly awakened to its unspeakable importance in connection with ourselves. Bat, there is another and larger class of men who belong to neither of these classes — men who approach religion neither as men of the world nor as philosophers — men who conform to religious forms and observances simply because they are fashionable.

2. The necessity of acting upon our own convictions in these matters. Tills is suggested by the very tone of the question, "Sayest thou this thing of thyself?" We cannot serve God acceptably unless we obey the promptings of our own hearts, the dictates of our own consciences, the persuasions of our own minds. Though good works are beautiful in themselves, still, that which gives them their real value is the willingness, the heartiness, the thoroughness with which they are performed. We cannot help wondering in our serious moments that religion, which is confessedly of the highest importance to man, whether as a sojourner in this world or as a citizen of the world to come, should be made so little of in our daily life. All this shows how necessary it is that the question of our Savior should be brought home to every one of us — "Sayest thou this thing of thyself?" As far as we are personally concerned, it matters not so much what others may think, or say, or do; our chief business is to search our own hearts. I believe that much of our inconsistency — that glaring discrepancy between profession and practice — may be traced to the lack of honest self-examination.

II. THE ANSWER OF PILATE. "Am I a Jew?"

1. An unwarrantable assertion of superiority. "Am I a Jew?" These words sound very like an expression of scorn. To be thought a Jew would have been, in Pilate's estimation, little less than an insult. He was a Roman, a member of the race which then ruled the world, and therefore resented the very idea of being numbered among a despised and conquered people. You cannot have failed to observe the air of self-assurance with which some people nowadays speak of religion. They seem to take for granted, that to be religious is to be weak, ignorant, and superstitious. They consider their own godlessness to be an unmistakable proof of wisdom. From the vaunted pedestal upon which they stand, they look down upon those who endeavor to serve God, as the misguided victims of priestcraft and fanaticism. Their irreligiousness is their pride, their infidelity is their boast, their forgetfulness of God is their glory; to be influenced for a moment by purely religious motives they would regard as a disgrace. They are not "Jews" — not they! They are not religious — not they! but they are something better — they are philosophers, they are adepts in science, they are well-informed and accomplished men of the world! But how hollow such pretensions are, after all! The universal testimony of the best, the wisest, and most experienced of mankind is this: that religion alone is true wisdom; that they who fear God and keep His commandments occupy the most satisfactory position, both as regards time and eternity.

2. An unwarrantable assumption of indifference. "Am I a Jew?" Pilate seemed to argue, that since he was not a Jew, whether Christ was a king or not, was one which did not affect him. In claiming to be the Messiah, Christ made Himself King, not only of the Jews, but of the whole world. We frequently meet men who talk of religion as something which concerns everybody but themselves. They forsooth lead a kind of independent existence; being attached to no religious community — being interested in no religious faith. To every human being it is of infinite consequence whether the Christian religion be true or not. For if it be true, what hope can that man have who refuses to embrace it? And if it be false, what hope is there left for the restoration of our fallen race?

3. An unwarrantable renunciation of responsibility. "Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered Thee unto me," In these words, and indeed all through the trial, Pilate endeavors to cast upon others the whole of the responsibility connected with the condemnation of Christ.