John 18
Read John Chapter 18 :: Here
Devotional ::
“So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” 35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” 37 Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the wor ld—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” 38 Pilate said to him, “What is truth?””
Jn 18:33–38 ESV
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Questions. We all have them. Some are better than others. Supposedly there are no stupid ones. Some of us might beg to differ. Questions help us gain new information. They can also illuminate intentions and motivations, angles, lines of thought. A simply asked question can be a rather powerful moment for both the seeker and giver of the answer. Some questions are so weighty, that they are being asked generation after generation. It’s as though the desire to find the answers to some specific questions was written into our very DNA...
This exchange between Jesus and Pontius Pilate is a pretty famous one. The characters were certainly noteworthy, but it’s the ending question that has echoed through time that I want to draw your attention to.
This showdown between a Roman political official doing the dirty work for the Jewish Sanhedrin and the king of the Jews himself, Jesus Christ, ends with Pilate asking Jesus a very simple, three word question, “what is truth?”.
Like I’ve already mentioned, a question reveals a great deal about the questioner. If I told you that someone asked me why the sky was blue, you might assume I was being asked that question by a child. Why is that? Maybe it’s because we assume all men and women of age know the answer. Do you?
Or maybe it’s because we know that when we hit a certain age we start to care a little more than we should about what we might look like not knowing the answer to something. Because we can always look it up on Google later right? So instead, we pretend to know and we tell Siri to add a reminder to look it up on wikipedia when we get home. It’s funny how pride can keep someone who doesn’t know something from ever learning anything!
Perhaps some of us have just lost the curiosity to know and explore unlike the elementary aged versions of us. No wonder Jesus tells us that we’ve got to come to him like children. It takes humility, and childlike wonder and curiosity to not only ask the question, but to be open to the answer - what is truth?
Whether Pilate was asking in sincerity or in jest, one thing is true - he was actually asking the right questions to the right individual. Jesus is THE way, THE truth, and THE life. He’s not just one of many truths as some would claim.
And like a young child spinning a classroom globe and realizing just how big the world really is, Jesus is THE endless truth who is meant to be explored. He can handle your curiosity. He’s not afraid of your questioning. So what will you ask Him today?
Reflect ::
We don’t see Pilate stick around for an answer to his question, but we do see him approach the crowds and tell everyone that he found no fault in Jesus. Why do you think this was his ruling?
We know why the religious leaders wanted Jesus out of the picture, but we see the crowds ask for the release of Barabas. Why do you think they were swayed so quickly after the reputation and first hand testimony of Jesus’ good works?
Ever found yourself choosing “Barabas” over Jesus in any area of your life?
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Prayer ::
Jesus, you are the way, the truth, and the life. I may not understand everything, but I know that you understand all. I choose to trust you. Open my eyes to see where I’ve chosen my own truth over yours.
Now, in your own words, spend a couple of minutes asking the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of your heart. Ask him to show you what imposter “truths” need to be replaced with the authentic.
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Action ::
Trust Jesus today. All the way. Be a child and ask him big questions.