“WHAT IS TRUTH?” – John 18:28-38

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on May 14, 2014 under PM Bible Study |

PM Home Bible Study Group; May 14, 2014

John 18:28-38

Theme: In His interrogation before Pilate, Jesus presented Himself as the only answer to the great question, “What is truth?”

(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)

This evening, we come to one of the most remarkable conversations in all of recorded human history—the conversation between our Lord Jesus Christ and the Roman governor Pontius Pilate. All four of the Gospels record the encounter; but only John’s Gospel tells us the details of the of the conversation between them.

Who was this man Pilate? As significant as he is in the record of sacred history, he is almost utterly insignificant in terms of secular history. He was not a particularly good politician and was mediocre as a civil leader. The first century historian Josephus tells us that the emperor Tiberius appointed him as procurator in 26 A.D. over Judea. He had authority over all non-Roman people in Judea, Samaria, and the area south of the Dead Sea up to Gaza. He was not much liked by the Jewish people; and it seems plain that the feeling was mutual. He tended to be sarcastic and insensitive when it came to the religious beliefs of the Jews; and he tried to exercise his authority over them by projecting an image of impatience and hardness. But he was, in practice, a very weak-willed leader who would buckle under public pressure. (His showy display of ‘washing his hands’ of the matter of Jesus’ execution would be an example of this.) He could be horribly brutal in one circumstance (see Luke 13:1), and then lacking in courage in another (see Matthew 27:15-26). He was eventually removed from his position because of his ineptitude; and—as tradition has it—committed suicide while in exile. He seems to be a man who stumbled haplessly into the center-stage of one of the greatest moments in human history.

John records the conversation between Pilate and Jesus as one of three parts of the telling of the story of Jesus’ trial. The first part tells of His interrogation before the high priest Annas (John 18:12-27); and the third part would be the verdict given to Him as Pilate stood Him before His own people (John 19:1-16). But here—falling between them—is this remarkable encounter that reveals so very much to us about man’s search for truth and meaning. The key question in it all is that of Pilate—”What is truth?”; and the answer—for all the ages—is found in the Person he unwittingly asked.

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Note what we learn from this encounter of . . .

I. THE HYPOCRISY OF RITUALISM (v. 28).

A. Between this encounter and the last was something that is not recorded for us by John. Matthew 26:59-68 tells us;

Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at last two false witnesses came forward and said, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.’” And the high priest arose and said to Him, “Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?” But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!” Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy! What do you think?” They answered and said, “He is deserving of death.” Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, saying, “Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who struck You?” (Matthew 26:59-68).

Historians and legal experts alike often comment that this is one of the most unjust trials in all of recorded history. And yet, it is an important event for us to know about when considering Jesus’ examination before Pilate. The Jewish leaders had only one thing they could charge against Him; and that was that He plainly said that He was the Christ, the Son of God. Though they knew that such a charge would be received as meaningless by the imperial government, they nevertheless sought to bring Him before the Roman procurator. “Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning” (v. 28a).

B. Ordinarily, Pilate would have his Praetorium—that is, his official residence and place of court—in Caesarea. But when he was away from Caesarea, anyplace that he needed to reside—by necessity—became his Praetorium. He—like a lot of civil leaders of his day—preferred to have his public hearings early in the morning. He wanted to get them out of the way as soon as possible so they didn’t encumber the rest of his day. And so, in compliance, the Jewish leaders brought Jesus as near as they felt they could to him for public examination early in the morning. But note what John tells us; “But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover” (v. 28b). It was probably a personal insult to Pilate that they didn’t want to come near him lest they be ‘defiled’. But notice their picayune concerns over purity and defilement! They didn’t want to approach the place of the Gentile court lest they be found impure according to the law of Moses, and unable to observe the Passover celebration; and yet, they were crafting lies and deceit in order to commit the murder of the Passover Lamb Himself, in violation of the law of Moses.

C. This shows us how ineffective religious ritualism and mere ceremonialism is in leading people to “truth”. Religious rituals so often becomes nothing more than the tools of those who wish to use them to disguise or to advance their own ungodly agenda. As Jesus Himself once observed,

“Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:
‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men’” (Matthew 15:7-9).

Jesus warned His followers against the danger of religious ritiualists; telling them, “Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch” (v. 14). Religious ritualism is no way to find truth.

II. THE CONFUSION OF CULTURE (vv. 29-32).

A. This story also shows us that culture is ineffective in leading us to truth. Cultures, it seemed, clashed over what to do with Jesus. John tells us that, after the Jews approached Pilate’s place of public hearing—and perhaps with a cynical groan—”Pilate then went out to them and said, ‘What accusation do you bring against this Man?’” (v. 29). Now; remember that their only accusation against Him was that He had—from their perspective—committed blasphemy by saying that He was the Christ, the Son of God. But they knew that such an accusation would be received by Pilate with indifference. Their only hope, they thought, was if the governor would simply take their word for it. “They answered and said to him, ‘If He were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him up to you’” (v. 30). From the standpoint of their law, Jesus had proven Himself to be an evildoer. From the standpoint of the law that Pilate was charged to enforce, no such thing had been proven.

B. Pilate displayed something of the kind of leader he was when we read, “Then Pilate said to them, ‘You take Him and judge Him according to your law’” (v. 31a). Since they would not be forthright about their charge, he would not be forthright about giving them the justice they demanded. He had them over a barrel in a sense; because the Romans had denied the occupied people the right to execute their own criminals. As one historian of Ancient Rome noted, “the capital power was the most jealously guarded of all the attributes of government” (cited in F.F. Bruce, The Gospel of John, p. 351). “Therefore the Jews said to him, ‘It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death’” (v. 31b).

C. What confusion there was between cultures! One tried to dominate the rights of the other; and neither could be open or understanding of the other’s view. People so often think that combining all cultures would lead to truth; but the problem is that all cultures are occupied by people with individually conflicting interests and agendas. But note that—almost without anyone realizing it—God’s sovereign rule was being advanced in spite of the conflicts; and even through them. We’re told that the Jews had to seek the death of Jesus by the hand of the Romans “. . . that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, signifying by what death He would die” (v. 32). The Jews could not crucify—only the Romans could do that. And Jesus indicated that that was how He would die. He said, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up . . .” (John 3:14); and He told the Jews, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things” (John 8:28). At His triumphal entry into Jerusalem to die, He said, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself”; and John explained, “This He said, signifying by what death He would die” (John 12:32-33). Cultures do not lead to truth. They simply rise and fall and clash in the providence of God, and end up fulfilling the will of Him who is eternal truth!

III. THE IGNORANCE OF HUMANISM (vv. 33-35a).

A. Humanism is the belief that man is in the place of God and is the measure of all things. But as we read on, we see that human exaltation falls woefully short of its ideals and cannot lead to truth. Because Pilate had to leave the Praetorium in order to meet with the Jewish leaders—leaders who would not defile themselves by coming to him—we’re told that he then took Jesus with Himself to the place of interrogation. “Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, ‘Are You the King of the Jews?’” (v. 33). It’s hard not to hear a sarcastic and condescending tone in the question. Pilate already knew that the Jews had an earthly king. He was Herod—the tetrarch of Galilee. Herod had only as much power as Rome allowed him; but he was—as far as Rome was concerned—the king of the Jews.

B. It’s important to note that in all of the synoptic Gospels, Jesus answered Pilate’s question in the clear affirmative—”It is as you say” (Matthew 27:11; Mark 15:2; Luke 23:3); and in all those other Gospel accounts, that was all the information that Pilate received from the Lord Jesus. But in John’s account, we’re told that Jesus interrogated Pilate: “Jesus answered him, ‘Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?’” (v. 34). Jesus was not asking Pilate if he had made a serious inquiry into the matter. He was challenging Pilate with respect to where he received his information. Was it from man? Or was it from the revealed word of Scripture? That explains what John tells us next: “Pilate answered, ‘Am I a Jew?’” (v. 35a). Why should Pilate care what the Scriptures of the Jews might say? He was a man of the Roman Empire. His final authority came from the emperor—a human source.

C. And yet, what a fool Pilate proved to be in this! The Roman authority—the power of Humanism of that day—has come and gone. Kids have to read about it in school—and find it insufferably boring when they do. But the very Scriptures that had been entrusted to the Jewish people still live on; with every word proven true. And, as Jesus said, “these are they which testify of Me” (John 5:39).

IV. THE LIMITED VIEW OF POLITICS (vv. 35b-37a).

A. Even the political world—to the minds of some it seems, the only thing in the world that really matters—proves itself to be far to narrow and earthly-focused to lead us to truth. Pilate—the politician—shows its limitations when he tells Jesus, “Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here” (vv. 35b-36).

B. Pilate looked at things from the only standpoint that politics can give—the earthly; the strictly horizontal; the ‘under-the-sun’ perspective. Politics will rarely if ever entertain the idea that there is a God who rules over the affairs of men; and that there is a spiritual, eternal kingdom that supersedes the temporal kingdoms of earth. Jesus was King alright—but over a kingdom that Pilate had no clue existed or that he could bear any influence over. It was invisible to him. Pilate looked around to see where King Jesus’ ‘subjects’ were; but he could see none. Was there no one to rise up and protect this King? “Pilate therefore said to Him, ‘Are You a king then?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say rightly that I am a king’ (v. 37a). Most likely, these words gave Pilate the context for forcing the Jews into declaring that they had no king but Caesar (John 19:15).

C. But the reality was that there truly was an eternal kingdom that held authority over the kingdoms of men. It even held authority over Pilate. Later, Jesus would tell Pilate, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above” (John 19:11). On another occasion, God humbled the most powerful political ruler of the day with these words:

“This decision is by the decree of the watchers,

And the sentence by the word of the holy ones,

In order that the living may know

That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men,

Gives it to whomever He will,

And sets over it the lowest of men” (Daniel 4:17).

Some time later, the apostle Paul would say this about the God who rules over the affairs of men:

“And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring’” (Acts 17:26-28).

V. THE EMBODIMENT OF TRUTH (vv. 37b-38).

A. Ritualism, Culture, Humanism, Politics—all these most powerful efforts of humankind are shown to be failures when it comes to arriving at the ultimate truth that saves the human soul. But now, He who is truth incarnate speaks. Jesus was most likely speaking of His trial, crucifixion and resurrection when He told Pilate, “For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world,”—and explained why He came to these things when He said, “that I should bear witness to the truth” (v. 37b). Jesus is the Witness-bearer of absolute truth from God to this world. We’re told in John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth”; and in verse 18, “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” Ultimate truth cannot be known except by He who is truth incarnate—Jesus Christ. He Himself declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

B. Jesus went on to assert, “Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice” (v. 37c). We only know truth to the degree that we know, and hear, and submit to Jesus Christ. That truly is the test of all men. Jesus once challenged the Jewish leaders, “Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God” (John 8:46-47). He later told them, “But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand” (John 10:26-29). The ultimate test of a man is not found by any of those other temporal things; but in the final analysis only by what he does with Jesus Christ.

C. How sad, then, to read, “Pilate said to Him, ‘What is truth?’” (v. 38a). He asked this question while—standing there before him—was the truth itself! Pilate testified of the character of Jesus when we next read, “And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, ‘I find no fault in Him at all’” (v. 38b). But truly, the fault was to be found in Pilate.

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Is there value in those other things? Can something good be gained from religious rituals, or culture, or human wisdom, or politics? Of course it can. But what cannot be found in them is ultimate, absolute, unchanging, saving truth from God. That can only be revealed to us; and the perfect revelation of it is through Jesus Christ—as He is witnessed to us in the Scriptures.

Praise God that, if we know Jesus Christ by faith, we never need to ask the hopeless and cynical question, “What is truth?”