Pilate The Philosopher

John 18:28-40

28 Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover. 29 So Pilate went outside to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” 30 They answered him, “If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you.” 31 Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.” 32 This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die.
33 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 world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” 38 Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”
After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him. 39 But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” 40 They cried out again, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.

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Note the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders: they refuse to enter a Gentile residence so as not to render themselves ceremonially unclean as they prepare for the Passover, while at the same time they are conspiring to have an innocent man put to death.

Jesus tells Pilate that his kingship is not from this world. (What we the readers know is that it is from heaven.)

Jesus has often spoken about truth.

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” [John 8:31-32]

47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.” [John 8:47]

26 but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. [John 10:26-27]

When Pilate asks his cynical question “What is truth?” he shows that he is not part of Jesus and therefore does not hear his voice.

Thought for the Day
In John 18:37, Jesus gives one of the clearest statements in all of the Bible as to why he came: “For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth.”

The Holy Spirit Helps Us See The Truth

John 16:4b-15

4b “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

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Forty days after the resurrection, Jesus ascended to be with the Father. This ascension is recounted in the Apostles’ Creed. (I’ve bolded the relevant portion, below.)

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord:
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;
he descended to the dead.
The third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father
Almighty;
from there he shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic* church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

*universal, of or belonging to the whole

The ascension is a good thing, because before He ascended, Jesus could be bodily present only in one place at one time, but the Spirit whom He has sent can be with all the church at all times.

One of the things the Spirit now does is show the sinfulness of the world.

8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged [John 16:8–11].

This is one of the ways that the Spirit helps God’s people walk in truth, by showing them the errors of the world.

QUESTION OF THE DAY
Where do you need the Holy Spirit to guide you into truth (v.13) today?

P.S. The Gospel of John is filled with deep trinitarian language. For example: the Spirit glorifies the Son (16:14), who glorifies the Father (17:4), who glorifies the Son (8:54).

You Are Of Your Father The Devil

John 8:39-47

39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

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Way back at the beginning of the Bible, the Lord speaks to the serpent after it tempted the man and woman to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil:

15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel” [Genesis 3:15].

Note that the Lord says there will be two kinds of people:

• People who are offspring of the woman;

• People who are “offspring” of the serpent, because of their rebellion against God.

The very next story in Genesis is the story of Cain and Abel, whereby Cain acts like an animal and gives over to sin and anger and murders his brother.

Here, Jesus is pulling from the same idea—that His opponents are actually working for the devil and against the purposes of God.

44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies [John 8:44].

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Every time we engage in falsehood, we are doing the work of the devil. There is a lot at stake in being a person who tells the truth.

What Does "The Truth Will Set You Free" Actually Mean?

John 8:31-38

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. 38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

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“The truth will set you free” is a popular and well-known statement, but what does it actually mean?

Jesus is not speaking in vague generalities about the concept of truth, but is making specific reference to the truth about Himself. Let’s look at His statement in context, drawing from yesterday’s reading:

28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.

29 And he who sent me is with me . He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” 30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him. 31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” [John 8:28–32].

So, what is the truth that will set a person free?

That Jesus is the Son sent from the Father, and those who hold fast to that knowledge will thereby be identified as Jesus’s disciples and they will be set free as a result.

From what are those people set free? Jesus tells us:

34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed [John 8:34–36].

People who know the truth about Jesus are set free from slavery to sin.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
The very fact that modern people have taken the phrase “the truth will set you free” and stripped it of any reference to Jesus merely proves the point that He is making—what matters is holding on to the truth about Jesus, which is the only truth that has power to truly save.

What John Means By "The Jews"

John 7:10-13

10 But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. 11 The Jews were looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?” 12 And there was much muttering about him among the people. While some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, he is leading the people astray.” 13 Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.

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What John means when he uses the term “the Jews” depends on the context. Sometimes it just literally means “Jewish people.” But other times, as here, it means “the Jewish religious establishment.” These are the power brokers that are particularly opposed to Jesus’s message of repentance. Note how much influence they have over the people, in that people choose to censor themselves rather than face the consequences of upsetting the religious leaders.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Speaking the truth is an important part of faithfulness to Jesus. There is no call for needless provocation, but at the same time Christians need to be more committed to speaking the truth than afraid of the powers that be.