John 18:37-38a 37Therefore, Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born and for this I have come into the world, in order that I might bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” 38Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”
Pilate may have been ironic, sarcastic, or mocking with his question that affirms Jesus as king. Pilate could not think beyond what his eyes saw in the world. Here was the King of kings standing before him, someone with ultimately higher authority than Caesar, but his appearance was of a plain Galilean, probably simply dressed, calm, and able to answer in deep ways Pilate could not understand. He had every chance now to dig deeper into the identity and mission of Jesus, but there was a roadblock in his mind and heart.
Jesus answered with further information about himself, providing Pilate further opportunity to go to some rudimentary level of understanding and even faith. No one is beyond the mercy of Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 1:15). Jesus repeated his assertion of kingship, affirming Pilate’s question. Pilate himself had said the truth. He may not have understood Jesus’ next statement in verse 37, as his rhetorical question in verse 38 suggests.
Jesus explains the Incarnation simply before the governor of Judea. The glorious Son of God came to earth to live among people to reveal the truth. One of the key themes of John’s Gospel is truth. Pilate’s question is the one every reader must ask and answer after reading this book: What is truth? What did Jesus come to reveal? He is the king of truth and is Truth. Truth is God’s will for humanity expressed as love.
The truth is that Jesus, the Son, reveals the love of the Father through perfect faith and obedience, ultimately shown by going to the cross. The bond of perfect love between Father and Son is to be experienced and lived out by humans through the same pattern of faith and the obedience of love. Jesus illustrated this love in everything he did: miracles, compassion, mercy, forgiveness, and acceptance. Those with faith begin to understand this sequence. Listening to Jesus’ voice is another way of saying believing in Jesus. Jesus clearly laid all this out in his last dialogue with his disciples in chapters 13-17.
In verse 38, Pilate reveals his conclusion through a rhetorical question. John may have included it here for the benefit of the reader, who would voice the question that needs answered. Pilate may have interpreted Jesus as more of a philosopher than a threat to the peace of the land. Instead of someone pleading for his life, here was a deep thinker claiming to have a kingdom not of this world. Perhaps Jesus was crazy but certainly not a political problem. This whole thing seemed to him to be a Jewish argument, with Jesus setup as a scapegoat by the Sanhedrin. Pilate was missing the whole point and also missed out on an opportunity for God to do something in his life.
For older posts, click here.
