| “Pilate saith unto him, What is truth?” (John 18:38).
Pilate was the Roman governor or procurator, with great authority over Judea for financial administration and supreme judicial power. His long period in office covered the ministries of both John the Baptist and Jesus Christ, a time of fomenting turbulence in the area.
“What is truth?”
Was Pilate merely feigning apathy? Was he secretly seeking the answer to something eternal he sensed in the man he questioned, the man some called the Messiah? Was it spoken as a judge, asking more about the mystery surrounding the case? Or was it spoken jeeringly, as a scoffer?
“What is truth?”
Regardless, Pilate asks the question, then immediately leaves without waiting for the answer. Because of his actions, the Roman governor’s name will forever be linked with infamy because of the part he played and the question he asked, though at the time it apparently was of small importance.
Pilate is a type of the worldly man, knowing the right and anxious to do it so far as it can be done without personal sacrifice of any kind, but yielding easily to pressure from those whose interest it is that he should act otherwise. He would gladly have acquitted Christ, and even made serious efforts in that direction, but gave way at once when his own position was threatened.
Like Pilate, many through the centuries have asked that question, then didn’t bother to wait for the answer.
The Savior had already provided the answer, as recorded in John 14:6—“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Matthew Henry, the great Bible commentator, wrote:
When we enquire for truth, we need learn no more than the truth as it is in Jesus… He is the beginning, the middle, and the end. In him we must set out, go on, and finish. As the truth, he is the guide of our way; as the life, he is the end of it. He is the true and living way (Heb. 10:20); there are truth and life in the way, as well as at the end of it. He is the true way to life, the only true way; other ways may seem right, but the end of them is the way of death.
Today, we live in an ends-justifies-the-means age. Relativity is based the shaky foundation of half-truths and deceit. It seems no one is really certain what truth is anymore. This is espoused with an attitude of "openness" and "tolerance." We are told that everyone has a right to his or her own opinion of what truth really is.
C. S. Lewis, in his book Mere Christianity, shines a powerful spotlight on the fallacy of moral relativism and a life of half-truths:
There is a difficulty about disagreeing with God. He is the source from which all our reasoning power comes. You could not be right and He wrong any more than a stream could rise higher than its own source… And arguing with God is like cutting off the branch you are sitting on.
We all put our faith and hope in what we believe. The ultimate question is this: Upon what or whom do we place our trust?
It is essential to understand that God alone is qualified or able to determine what is true. Proverbs 2:6 declares, "The Lord gives wisdom. From His mouth come knowledge and understanding." God alone should be the Source of true spiritual guidance. Only as God reveals Himself to us through His Word, that we can honestly and thoroughly comprehend what truth really is.
People who place their trust in Biblical truth rely on a faith that has lasted from the beginning of time. Biblically based truth helps move one into a solid foundation of wisdom and understanding as we “walk in truth” (3 John 4). This life offers the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit, whose purpose is to lead us into “all truth” (John 16:13).
Best of all, Biblical truth which is based on God's Word, has a profound impact on your life, for you cannot accept His truth and love very long before you begin sharing the Savior with others—loved ones and even strangers.
Jesus showed us what it means to be rightly related to the Father's truth. We must follow Him. Then, and now, Pilate’s question echoes through the centuries: “What is truth?”
The answer remains the same today as that fateful day when Pilate’ walked away from the Answer. Jesus Christ is truth. He is the way. He is life. And now, more than ever, we must seek the Savior as we follow Him.
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