On the Day Truth Died

I am fascinated with the historical figure Pontius Pilate. We know that he was a real person–coins bearing his mark, sources outside the Bible, and even the “Pilate stone,” excavated at Caesarea Maritima in 1961. I have seen the stone which bears an inscription credited to the famous Roman governor. He was the fifth governor of Judea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is, of course, the governor of record when Jesus was crucified. The Bible accounts portray Pilate as reluctant to execute Jesus which has caused some to believe that he and his wife eventually became Christians.

Pilate is well-known for the exchange in John’s gospel in which he was questioning Jesus:  

For this purpose I have been born, and for this I have come into the world: to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice.” 38 Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?”  (John 18:37b-38)

Besides the fact that I am an historical geek, I was reading a text in Mark this morning which caught my attention.  That led me to a search of all the biblical passages that mention Pilate (Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, John 18), especially as they relate to both the concept (objective) and the person (Jesus) of truth. Jesus told Pilate that “everyone who was “of truth” listens to His voice. Pilate would not have know that Jesus had told His disciples, just a day earlier, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.” (John 14:6).  So Pilate still asked, ‘What is truth?’” and Jesus did not respond. 

It is no secret that we live in a world in which truth is ignored, manipulated, and marginalized. Some have called us a post-truth society because our idea of truth has abandoned objectivity and has sold out to emotion. Something is “true” if I want it to be true and if you don’t agree with me, you are my enemy. We deny truth in everything from gender and sexuality to politics to environment, to family. We even manipulate Bible passages to say what we want them to say, what fits into our narrative.  

The manipulation of truth is about power. What does not reinforce my position of power is deemed untrue. If you do not embrace my narrative, you are a threat.

So I was intrigued–and convicted–by the simplicity of the statements about truth that emerged from the events surrounding the conversation between Pilate and Jesus on the day truth was crucified. These are my rambling observations:

Truth doesn’t always defend itself. It simply exists as objective truth (Mark 15:4). We rarely have the courage to let our life testify that we listen to the voice of truth. 

The truth is offensive and intimidating to those who aren’t listening to it (John 18:37-38; Matthew 27:19). Pilate was disturbed and his wife even more so. The Spirit convicts of truth whether or not we are obedient to it. 

Culture tends to be driven by emotion and is largely mob isn’t interested in truth (John 18:38-39).The crowd was not interested in truth, even from the Roman governor. They were swept along by the emotional frenzy of the moment and had lost the ability to see Jesus as a person.  

People feel a need to suppress truth if it does not fit their narrative (Matthew 27:20). But the chief priests persuaded. Their narrative had to win the day, and the death of Jesus was the only way to preserve their status quo.

Our natural instinct is to shift attention when we are confronted with the truth (Luke 23:4-7). Send Him to Herod since He is from Galilee. Deflect. Pass difficult questions off to someone else in order to retain status in a relationship.

Oh, Father. Let me be a man who listens to the voice of truth, even when it is inconvenient, offensive, doesn’t help me with power or status, or convicts me to change a habit, a viewpoint, or a relationship.