Exploring Ultimate Truth

Scripture:
“You are a king then?” Pilate asked.
“You say that I’m a king,” Jesus replied. “I was born for this, and I have come into the world for this: to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice.”
“What is truth?” said Pilate.
John 18:37-38

Observation: As Pilate questions Jesus, his final question goes unanswered in the text. "What is truth?" is clearly both a philosophical and rhetorical question. However, it is relevant to Jesus as he has introduced the fact that his mission is to testify to the truth. He declares himself to be truth. Furthermore, it is this truth that aligns to kingship - Jesus has been born for this testimony of the truth, just like a king is born to rule as the child of the prior king. This testimony about the truth is a hereditary act.

In the case of Pilate, his task wasn't to determine truth, but rather what to do about Jesus. Truth of Jesus - as king, Messiah, prophet, rebel, or victim - didn't really matter. Rather, he was to determine what to do in light of the opinions of the Jews. Eventually he would find a loophole that allowed him to both find Jesus innocent and sentence him to death. That result wasn't about truth.

Application: Discussions about Jesus are rarely about the truth. They are more often about the emotions of how Jesus makes people feel. Some feel threatened, some joyful, some blessed, some judged. In every case, this has much more to do about the truth about one's self that about Jesus.

Jesus is the truth. In asking "what is truth?", Pilate was getting at the point of absolute truth ... wondering aloud if it really existed. He would likely say no, it does not, as he effectively dismissed the quest for truth as even being the obligation of himself as a judge with capital authority. However, Jesus claimed truth as his true mission. He exists to declare to the truth, and all who seek ultimate truth will listen to his words.

Prayer: Lord, may I seek your truth daily. I intend to walk in your word, embracing the idea that there is, in fact, an ultimate truth that is found only in you. I would strive to align my life to that truth, even when others dismiss its very existence or embrace concepts that provide alternatives to their lives and lifestyles. May I strive only to live in the truth. Amen.