What is Truth?
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Bulletin
1.Are you the King of the Jews?
The accusers of Jesus are looking forward to celebrating the Passover. Therefore, they will not enter Pilate’s Roman Headquarters, where Pilate conducts the business of Caesar’s empire. In their understanding this is pagan territory. They are scrupulous about avoiding impurity while at the same time pressing for the execution of Jesus.
Since they can’t go in, where Jesus is, Pilate goes out to them asking about the charge they are bringing against their own. Then Pilate goes in.
Jesus is questioned by Pilate about the nature of his kingship. Pilate wants to know if Jesus is any threat to him or to Rome. “Are you the King of the Jews?” Rather than answer Pilate, Jesus becomes the interrogator, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?”
Are you asking me sincerely or are you reacting to the sentiment of the people? Did you already make up your mind? Are you asking because you want to know or, are you just gauging the political temperature; what are my poll numbers, what do I need to do to stay in power and keep the obedience of the people? Jesus asks Pilate, “Do you ask this on your own?” Are you even able to consider something on your own and if so, let’s start to explore; who are you apart from the pressure and illusion of power, who do you really worship, have you really lived a life worth living, who are you, apart from me?
Instead of going there, Pilate replies, “I am not a Jew am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?” Without knowing it, Pilate has confirmed an earlier word from John, “He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him,” (John 1:11).
2. Kingdoms at odds with each other
Jesus must wonder, “What have I done?” Well, I’m ushering in the Kingdom of God that doesn’t come from this world but is for this world. This kingdom of this world will become the kingdom of God.
His authority as king originates not from this world but from God, and his kingdom has to do with the reign of love, not political expediency aimed at preserving power and gaining prestige.
“ Indeed, we live as human beings, but we do not wage war according to human standards; for the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but they have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ.” II Corinthians 10:3-5.
Another version says, “We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity.”
Maybe Jesus is saying to Pilate, I am trying to reveal to you what I am not, so you can receive more of what I am, it will be sobering, but liberating. Can you see the difference in our kingdoms?
He knows that we tend to attach ourselves to political powers and get entwined in the narrative they promote. To say that the kingdom of God is not from the world is to practice the spiritual discipline of detachment. To step aside and realize we use different tactics and materials. We are not waging war by human standards, instead we are destroying strongholds, every barrier erected against the truth of God, fitting every thought and motive into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Until we see the difference in these kingdoms, we are prone to get lost Pilate’s lies.
Pilate uses power and authority for selfish ends with no concern for the building of community, and certainly not a community guided by love and truth. Pilate hoards power and lords it over people even to the point of destroying them, on a cross or otherwise.
Jesus empowers others and uses his authority to wash the feet of those he leads. He spends his life on them, every last ounce of it; he gives his life to bring life.
Pilate’s rule brings terror, even in the midst of calm;
Jesus’ rule brings peace, even in the midst of terror (John 14:27; 16:33; 20:19-26).
Pilate’s followers imitate him by using violence to conquer and divide people by race, ethnicity, and nations.
Jesus’ followers put away the sword in order to invite and unify people, as Jesus does when he says “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (12:32).
Pilate’s authority originates from the will of Caesar and is always tenuous.
Jesus’ authority originates from doing the will of God, and is eternal. (Jamie Clark-Soles)
Maybe Jesus wants to ask Pilate, is there room in your life for my life? Can my kingdom hold authority over yours? You are none of these things. They are lies you have taken in? A false construct that leads to destruction and deception.
3. What is truth?
The conversation continues and Jesus speaks about his role, “Because I am a King, I was born and entered the world so that I could witness to the truth. Everyone who cares for truth, who has any feeling for the truth, recognizes my voice.” (18:37 msg).
How do we listen for this voice, over the loud world?
Rather than let everyone’s voice in the world tell us who we are and what we are to do, how can we listen to One who listened to God.
Parker Palmer, Quaker author, educator, and activist, in his book Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation, tells of realizing in his early thirties that the life he was living was not the same as the life that wanted to live in him. At moments he would catch a glimpse of his true life, a life hidden like a river beneath the ice. He began to wake up to questions about his vocation.
Says Palmer, “Seeking a path more purposeful than accumulating wealth, holding power, winning at competition, or securing a career, I had started to understand that it is indeed possible to live a life other than one’s own. Fearful that I was doing just that . . . I ran across the old Quaker saying, ‘Let your life speak.'”
He says that gradually he came to understand that for him that meant, “Before you tell your life what you intend to do with it, listen for what it intends to do with you. Before you tell your life what truths and values you have decided to live up to, let your life tell you what truths you embody, what values you represent.”
Before you tell your life what you intend to do with it, listen for what God intends to do with you. Before you tell your life what truths and values you have decided to live up to, let God tell you what truths you embody, what values you represent.
Jesus says that the ones who are for truth, who have a feeling for truth, recognize my voice. It’s that comment that leads Pilate to ask, “What is truth?” Was he being sarcastic or was he searching for answers nobody else had given him? Jesus has earlier said, “I am the way the truth and the life.” What Pilate cannot fathom is that truth is standing right in front of him. Though he finds no crime in Jesus he will not stand by that judgment and release him. Instead, he fumbles his way through this travesty of justice and suppression of truth. Finally turning Jesus over for crucifixion.
What is truth? Is it possible that Pilate asks this with a lump in his throat. What is truth, where is truth? What had happened that made truth so pliable, expedient, easily manipulated and subservient to one’s quest?
Is truth not dictated by the one who tells the story? Does not the one telling the story shape the narrative? And what happens if someone along the way interrupts that story, that narrative, and challenges it’s accuracy? What happens if one stands in the path of injustice and calls it for what it really is? What happens if one starts to dismantle the stronghold of falsehood and political manipulation?
What are the lies you are thinking of that have gone on too long? What are the narratives that need to be challenged and dismantled?
So what has become of truth? We listen to the Russian media accusing Ukraine of staging the civilian atrocities they are responsible for. We hear misinformation about the motive for their assault on Ukraine. In our own nation we hear leaders talk about the election being stolen, mass shootings not really happening, a Supreme Court Nominee not being credible.
What has happened to truth and how is it so easily discarded? Truth has become a complicated word in these days when news is labeled “fake,” where “alternative facts” serve as the basis for a sort of virtual, choose-your-own reality. Though this reality isn’t as recent as we might think.
Truth has always been evaluated from various perspectives, depending on whether one is the teller or the listener, the winner or the loser, the dominant party or the other. When the teller has an agenda, especially if the teller holds power, lies often are told to distort and avoid the truth. Eventually, those lies, when not contradicted, permeate our culture, our way of thinking.
Maybe this is why Jesus prayed on the night of his betrayal, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17)
Latasha Morrison in her book Be the Bridge writes, “If we avoid hard truths to preserve personal comfort or to fashion a façade of peace, our division will only widen… When we refuse to acknowledge and face the truths of our past, we cannot experience healing, racial reconciliation.”
Truth frees us to grow. Frees us to see. Frees us to be aware. Frees us from the bondage of hatred and fear. Frees us to have courage for the difficult conversations.
Why do we sometimes try to suppress truth? What motivation might be at work when we avoid engaging with truth?
So if Jesus is the truth, he is with us. And the power of that truth allows us to not only walk in truth, but to share our truth. Do you have someone in your life whom you can share your truth? Someone with whom you don’t have to hide or pretend.
Do you have someone with who you can check your truth out? Brene Brown encourages us to say to one another at the point of tension, confusion, or misunderstanding, “This is the story I am telling myself.” When I have tried this with Jess, I usually find out my story is so far off. I have jumped on a crazy train of interpretation and need a steady voice to bring me back to reality.
The next question must follow, are you one with whom another can share their truth? Can we put aside our bias, our prejudice, our fear, and listen to the truth another is brave enough to share?
Willful avoidance, bias and prejudice keeps us from awareness that leads to full acknowledgment and lament. Maybe that’s why we won’t make space for the truth another has to tell.
Sometimes we have a hard time accepting truth because we’ve grown so used to a lie. Who will we be if we give up what we keep telling ourselves about ourselves? Who will we be if I release another from my expectations? Who will I be if I no longer see myself as a victim and claim myself victorious in the love of Jesus? Are we experiencing any payoff from the lie, or even from our suffering? Are we holding on to something self-defeating? Often the beginning of healing means surrendering our false securities to God with a prayer that God will fill the function they had in our lives. The decision to trust God in this way often opens wide the door to further healing… Honestly recognizing our anger, our lust, our doubts, and so on opens us to our brokenness, where God works. We can grow in our willingness to surrender plans, habits of behavior and thought or an insistence that things happen in a certain way. We can be willing to risk scary or difficult actions, such as asking someone for forgiveness. (Many of these questions are from Tilda Norberg & Robert Weber in their book Stretch out your Hand)
Jesus invites us to listen to his truth, follow in his way and experience life that really is life. The truth will set us all free.
John 18:28-38
Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate’s headquarters. It was early in the morning. They themselves did not enter the headquarters, so as to avoid ritual defilement and to be able to eat the Passover. So Pilate went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” They answered, “If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law.” The Jews replied, “We are not permitted to put anyone to death.” (This was to fulfill what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death he was to die.)
Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?” Pilate replied, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate asked him, “What is truth?”
After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, “I find no case against him.”