“Jesus answered, ‘You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.’ Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews…” John 18:37-38
On the night Jesus was condemned, Jesus proclaimed to Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, “Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice,” and Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” No doubt Pilate had heard about Jesus and the miracles he had performed, just as Herod, the Tetrarch of Galilee, had.
The Roman rulers were worshippers of idols, and although they had heard of the true God, Yahweh, the God of the Jews, and although they heard of the miracles of Jesus and later of his disciples after his resurrection, it did not lead them to repentance and faith in the true God. They did not recognize or accept the truth, preferring their many gods, such as Jupiter, Juno, Mars, Neptune, Venus, etc., and their rituals.
While sitting on the judgment seat questioning Jesus, his wife had sent him a message to have nothing to do with Jesus because she had suffered greatly in a dream the previous night because of him. God, in his infinite mercy, had tried to reveal himself and warn him, but this did not move him; he still flogged Jesus and handed him to be crucified. Later, the Bible tells us that Pilate and Herod (who beheaded John the Baptist, God’s prophet), who had been enemies, became friends over the matter of Jesus’ crucifixion.
“And while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, ‘See that you have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him.’” Matthew 2:19
“Then Herod, with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate. That very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other.” Luke 23:11-12
These two wicked men, rather than recognizing truth when revealed to them, rejected and mocked their own creator to their condemnation. When Jesus said, “Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice,” he was not just referring to his message but himself. Jesus is the truth itself. He proclaimed boldly, “I AM the way, the TRUTH, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).
“He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.” John 1:10
And so when Pilate asked, “What is truth,” he revealed that he was not of the truth, and that is why he could not recognize who Jesus was or hear his voice. Jesus did not answer Pilate’s question because he knew Pilate would not and could not hear Him.
Jesus said that his sheep hear his voice. Even before they are born again, once his sheep hear his voice, they recognize it as the voice of truth and turn to Him for salvation. There are those whom the Father has given to Jesus, and they hear him and come to him—those who are not his never accept him (John 6:37).
“He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.” John 8:47
“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.” John 10:26-27
Truth is absolute, not subjective. There is only one truth and not many. Truth is a person, and it is Jesus Christ, our creator, the Son of God. Psalm 96:13 says that God shall judge the peoples of earth with HIS TRUTH. A wicked generation claims that there are many truths: “my truth, your truth.” But this is not what God says.
“…before the LORD. For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with HIS TRUTH.” Psalm 96:13
Our ‘truths‘ are not going to help us in the end because God is the final and righteous judge of all peoples. One day, we shall all stand before him to give an account for what we did with HIS truth, Jesus Christ, and that includes Pilate, who saw him face-to-face. God’s truth is His Son, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.
“For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” John 1:17
Jesus is the truth, and therefore, he makes us free indeed! Have you believed in him? In a world of increasing knowledge and so much subjectivity and relativity, God has revealed the ultimate and absolute truth to us. It is the ancient truth that was from the beginning; God does not change. Only God’s truth will make us free for all eternity. There is no other way to the Father. All other ‘truths’ are lies and vanity. Jesus is the king of all kings, the lord of all lords, the creator of the universe, the final judge, and the ultimate truth.
“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free… Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” John 8:31-32, 36
“Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained (Jesus Christ). He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” Acts 17:31
Save yourself from this wicked and perverse generation of many false truths and cling to Jesus!
“And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, ‘Be saved from this perverse (crooked, twisted) generation.’” Acts 2:40
Bible in a year today: Deuteronomy 19-20, John 19, Proverbs 28
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