"Therefore Pilate said to Him, 'So You
are a king?' Jesus answered, 'You say correctly that
I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world,
to testify 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 and said to them, 'I find no guilt in Him'" (John
18:37-38)
As a young man I spent 14-years in the California Court System
as a Court Clerk, first in the Municipal Court and then in Superior Court. There
was typically a judge, a bailiff and a Court Reporter in a courtroom setting,
and I was the other one – the one who swore you in, marked the exhibits and kept
an abbreviated record of proceedings before the Court. I sat in on literally
hundreds of civil and criminal hearings and trials and heard a LOT of testimony.
Some of what I heard was the truth; sometimes we heard outright lies, but most
of it was somewhere in between. Just like conversations out in the real world,
most people mix something they call “white lies”
into their words, hoping to seem to be more than they really are.
God isn’t like that. He simply tells the truth, no matter
what. When Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth and the
life. No one comes to the Father except though Me” (John 14:6), His words
were and are - true. Many of the textbooks read by seminary students were
written by what are called “Higher Biblical Critics”
– authors who have dedicated their lives to disproving the miracles of Jesus,
the words of the prophets and the Bible itself. They are like opposing attorneys
who attack witnesses presented by the other side. When you carefully read their
works, it isn’t like they really have something to say; it’s more like they have
an agenda. They make their living from the Bible, but don’t believe what it
says.
After many years of listening to testimony in Court and
hearing the opposing attorneys break down the story of a witness in a search for
the truth, all of us began to grow in our ability to tell the truth from a lie.
The one in the courtroom who was usually best able to sort through all the
testimony and exhibits and come up with the truth, was the judge. I had the
added advantage of often being in chambers with the judge, listening as he or
she sifted through the materials, trying to find the best decision for a
particular case.
Part of Pontius Pilate’s duties as the Roman Governor of the
Province of Judea was to judge criminal matters, especially cases involving
capital punishment. He often decided whether or not someone charged with a crime
would live or die. At the moment of our Scripture for today, Jesus of Nazareth
appeared before him as the defendant in what was considered a criminal matter.
Jesus would live or die depending on Pilate’s decision about Him.
Pilate was a hard man, toughened by years of public service in
an Empire that prided itself on the rule of Law, but had no qualms about
prematurely ending people’s lives. The Governor must have shaken his head at the
calm demeanor of Jesus, who was so different from other defendants he had heard.
They would scream, cry and beg, almost always insisting on their innocence in
relation to the crimes involved. "Someone else did it!"
They would say. After carefully listening to Jesus Christ, he surprised himself
by speaking words of acquittal: “I find no guilt in Him,”
he said. That should have been it, but there were other forces involved.
To be Governor of Judea, a place located within the area of
what is now called, Israel, was not an easy job. When he took the assignment, it
was made clear to Pilate that one of his chief duties in Judea would be to keep
the peace, to quell any riots and subdue the people. It was not easy for any
Roman Governor in the provinces, but most were considered somewhat easier than
Judea because of what the Roman Empire offered the “Pax
Romana.” We would call it the “Roman Peace.”
The little countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea,
experienced one war after another throughout human history. A city-state would
repel one band of armed invaders only to find that another group was soon
battering at the gates. Yes, Rome was an oppressive dictatorship, but if
invaders came to attack you, an effective Roman Legion would defend your
interests and theirs.
The “Roman Peace” was thought by
many national groups to be worth the price of being ruled by outsiders, but the
Jews wanted Rome to leave, no matter what the cost. If Jesus had pledged to
defeat the Roman Empire, the men of Judea might have followed Him; but He did
not. When He was asked about paying taxes to the hated Romans, He replied, “Render
to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s… and to God the things that are God’s”
(Matthew 22:21). The people of Judea were impressed by His words, but not by His
intentions. Pilate saw that the Jews would rebel if Jesus was released.
While listening to testimony in various civil and criminal
trials, I noticed that people often go too far in defending themselves. Truth is
often secondary to image as Pilate knew from interviewing many defendants. Jesus
was surprisingly different. He merely stated the truth, offering no real defense
at all. Truth is one of the characteristics of God. When Jesus said, “I
am the way, and the truth and the life…” (John 14:6), He stated that He
is God.
Many say that “a good God would never
allow harm to come to good people,” but in Scripture God simply reveals
the truth about Himself without defense, like Jesus when He spoke to Pilate.
Here are some samples of God’s statements about Himself:
“I form light and create darkness, I make
well-being and create calamity…” (Isaiah 45:7). “…I
have also created the ravager to destroy” (Isaiah 54:16). “The
Lord said to him, ‘Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute or deaf or
seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?” (Exodus 4:11). “…
You will know that I am the Lord who strikes”
(Ezekiel 7:9). “You, O God, have tested us; you have tried
us as silver is tried. You brought us into the net; You laid a crushing burden
on our backs; You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through
water; yet You have brought us out to a place of abundance” (Psalm
66:10-12). James pointed out that God’s prophet, Elijah, “…
prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it
did not rain on the earth” (James 5:17).
“What you see is what you get,” as
it is in the old saying, for Almighty God hides nothing about Himself. Inspired
by God, Scripture simply presents God as He is: Holy, full of love, higher in
purpose than we can conceive and honest beyond our ability to even understand.
Jesus said in our Scripture for today - ”Everyone
who is of the truth hears My voice.” Do you hear Him? Have you trusted in
Him? Are you of the truth? A key question is asked of us all: “What
do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Corinthians 4:7). God has given
us bodies, minds, and hearts that can receive Him. We tend to focus on what we
do not have and take for granted what we do have. It's time to see that there is
great purpose in what we do not have.
In 2 Corinthians 1:3-11, we find that we have troubles and
losses in life so that we may learn to comfort others, bring others to Christ,
and learn to rely on God who raises the dead. God does not merely intend for us
to suffer. He has in mind that we will find the joy of the Lord through trusting
in His Son. Let’s place our faith in Jesus Christ, for He truly is our King.
Lord, I confess to You that I have focused on my troubles
instead of being thankful for what I do have. Dear Jesus, You are the King of
Glory, and I place my trust in You. Receive me now, forgive me, and fill me with
Your Holy Spirit. Thank You. In Jesus Name. Amen.
