The Truth…
Pilate went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “Or did others talk to you about me?” “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “It was your own people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?” Jesus replied, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.” “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” “What is truth?” Pilate asked John 18:33-38
‘Pilate went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”’ Until now no formal charge has been mentioned. From Pilate’s question, “Are you the king of the Jews?” it can be assumed that the Jewish leaders had brought the charge of treason against Jesus. They would have represented Jesus as a rival to Caesar. This was not the issue that had enraged them and united the Sanhedrin. The charge there had been blasphemy. But blasphemy was ordinarily not sufficient grounds for the death penalty so they refashioned the charge in political terms. Jesus, they alleged, had claimed to be ‘King of the Jews,’ meaning He was a political revolutionary inciting rebellion against Rome.
Jesus’ response was to ask, “Is that your own idea or did others talk to you about me?” Notice that just as Jesus had not been intimidated by the arresting party (18:4-9), or by Annas the high priest (18:20-23), He was in no way intimidated by Pilate. Jesus is questioning Pilate about the source of his information because He wants to understand the kind of kingship the governor has in mind.
Pilate’s first reaction shows his contempt for the Jewish people, ‘“Am I a Jew … It was your own people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?” Pilate wants to know if from Rome’s point of view, there is any criminal activity involved.
“My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.” Jesus openly claimed to be a king with a kingdom but that His kingdom was not like any earthly kingdom. It was because His kingdom was “from another place” (literally ‘not from here’) that Jesus rejected any attempt by Peter to thwart His arrest (18:10,11). The NIV translation “My kingdom is not of this world” suggests to many readers that Jesus’ kingdom is entirely spiritual and heavenly and has nothing to do with the present world. This is contrary to Jesus’ prayer that His “kingdom come … on earth as in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). His kingdom does not come from this earth but will one day be fully established on earth, albeit a renewed earth.
Pilate seems both relieved and provoked, “You are a king, then!” Having explained that His kingdom wasn’t “of this world”, Jesus now explains what it was. It was a kingdom defined by His mission “to testify to the truth.” His kingdom is a kingdom of truth. Truth here has a meaning close to ‘reality.’ In a world of unreality and illusion, Jesus offers relationship with “the one true God” (17:3), a relationship that sets people free (8:32). In a very real sense, Jesus is offering this to Pilate. The prisoner is offering His judge true freedom.
For a moment Pilate seems to be pondering Jesus’ claim, especially when Jesus adds “Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” Pilate wanted Jesus to claim to be a worldly king; instead He claims to embody truth, the way things really are, and not the way of politics and power that defined Pilate’s life. But Pilate then makes the decision that seals his own destiny, ‘“What is truth?” Pilate asked. With this he went out …’
What is truth? God’s answer to man’s illusory world is His own Son. Truth was standing right in front of Pilate, in a human being. Many today claim to be searching for truth but we can honestly say we’ve found it. His name is Jesus. He is reality. He came into the world, the world He Himself created, but the world rejected Him (1:12). He is the Light. The Light challenged the darkness before creation and now tragically challenges the darkness within the creation. This same Light is bringing into being a new creation and we are part of that new creation.
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