John 18:38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all
Sometimes people can’t find what is staring them right in the face. For instance, I will be face to face with my open refrigerator, and I will ask my wife something like, “Where did you hide the jalapenos?” She will say, “They are in the fridge.” I’ll say, “I know. I’m looking in the fridge.” She will say, “They are on the fourth shelf.” That is basically eye level. I’ll say, “I’m looking at the fourth shelf. Where on the fourth shelf?” She’ll say, “Right in the middle.” I’ll say, “I’m looking there right now.” She will reach around me, grab the jar that is right in front of my face, and say, “Here.” Sometimes, I can totally miss it. Sometimes we are looking for something that may be staring us in the face and we just miss it.
In John 18 Jesus is on trial before Pilate, or so it is thought. The truth is, one day Pilate will stand before Jesus. Jesus is the judge of Pilate. Pilate was not Jesus’ judge. Much could be said about that, but at one point Pilate asked the question, “What is truth?” Now, he asking an obvious question being an agnostic. Was he trying to pick a fight? I don’t know the attitude with which Pilate asked that question, but it is the question to ask. What is truth?
The answer is that truth is not a thing. Truth is a person. Pilate was asking Truth, looking in His eyes and asking, “What is truth?” In John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Truth is a person and that is important to remember. Sometimes we are looking for facts. We need those. We look for authority and certainly we need that. We need the author of the authority, the one who is the author and finisher of our faith. Truth is a person.
Truth is a person who is king. Jesus is king. In verse 33, Pilate asked Him, “Art thou the King of the Jews?” That is a theme throughout much of this chapter, stating and contesting that Jesus is king. Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” Your relationship to Jesus is to be in submission, not to be a master of the truth or master debater, but a servant of the Lord Jesus.
Sometimes we want to be correct so that we can be in control. We want to have all the facts so we can win every argument and discussion. A better way is to be quietly confident and have authority because we are standing on the authority because we are under the authority of the Lord Jesus. Truth is a person who is king. So, I don’t need to just win fights. I need to be submissive to the one who is the author of truth.
Truth is a person who is to be followed. The Lord Jesus is to be followed. When the high priests and so on asked Jesus of His disciples and His doctrine. Jesus replied, “In secret have I said nothing. Why are you asking me? Ask them which heard Me. If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil, but I haven’t.”
While Jesus was speaking, Peter stood warming himself at the fire of the enemy. He denied with an oath that he even knew the Jesus. Later, God restored him, but Jesus said to Pilate, “You are asking me questions. Ask my disciples. They know. Ask them which heard me. They know what I said.” Could they ask them? Peter followed Jesus from afar, then denied that he even knew Jesus. Quite frankly, that is more than many of Jesus’ disciples had done. Are you following? Are you simply trying to be the one in charge because you have the facts? Or are you following the person that is truth?
Years ago I was listening to a news program where the anchor asked the guest a question, and the guest had the temerity to invoke God. The news anchor was somewhat incensed and replied, “Do you think you have a corner on God?” That is a good question for debate. It is an awful question in another regard. It is good for debate because how do you answer that question? Do you say, “Yes, I have a corner on God”? That is arrogance that immediately discounts you. If you say, “No, I don’t have a corner on God,” then you have no authority or answer, so why are you invoking God?
It is a horrible question because it is the wrong question. The question is not, “Do you have a corner on God?” The question should be, “Does God have a corner on you?” Obviously, the news anchor was in no way submissive to God and wouldn’t have been if God appeared in visible form. The question is not if you are always right, in charge, correct, or in control. The question is, “Is Jesus king?” Then ask, “Are you following Him?” Truth is a person. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Him.