A SKEPTIC’S INQUIRY

JOHN 18:37–38

“For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth” … Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?”

(John 18:37, 38).

After listening to Jesus describe His kingdom as spiritual in nature, Pilate asked, “You are a king then?” Here is a simple minded man. All he wanted was a straight answer. He did not understand the spiritual nature of Jesus’ kingdom, and thus he could not understand how this Man before him could be a king. But he couldn’t just drop the matter, for he needed to make a judgment.

Jesus answered forthrightly: “I am a king, as you say.” But again, He emphasizes that His kingship is not earthly. It is a spiritual, eternal kingship that is based on “the truth.” This is the heart of the matter. Jesus came as a witness to the truth, to the truth regarding man and his relationship with God, to the truth concerning God’s promise and covenant, to the truth regarding Himself as the Lamb of God, who came to take away the sins of the world. His teaching revealed this truth, and the miracles He performed confirmed that truth. And yet, His own people refused to believe Him, and pagans such as Pilate refused to believe that man could even know the truth.

Pilate was a skeptic. Like so many of the Romans at that time, he had abandoned any substantial belief in a god. He was superstitious but irreligious. He did not believe man could really know the truth. How ironic that he remained so skeptical with the “Truth” standing right before his eyes. But this shows how blind men are; even when the truth is clearly presented to them, they refuse to believe. It also proves that men can only know the truth of redemption in Christ when God has enabled them to see. Only God can rescue sinners from the “father of lies.” Only those who are renewed by His power will receive the truth and submit to the power and influence of it in their lives.

Sadly, Pilate’s response is one that we hear so often. We speak of Christ, we bear witness to the truth, we proclaim His Word, and still people scoff, “What is truth?” We live in a day of rampant skepticism, and the result is chaos. People reject truth under the guise of intellectual inability, and then they try to construct truth according to their own desires. In doing this, they worship an idol and refuse to honor the King of kings, the Lord of truth.

CORAM DEO

Isaiah 50–52

1 Thessalonians 1

What are some excuses people give for not accepting the Christian faith? How has our society, for the most part, rejected the Christian worldview? Using Jesus’ teaching throughout John’s Gospel, formulate a strong, biblical response to Pilate’s question, “What is truth?”

For further study: John 14:6; 16:13 • Rom. 1:18–19 • 2 Tim. 2:24–26; 3:6–8

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