John
18:33-38
Midweek
Lenten service
March 18,
2009
John
18:33-38 (New International Version)
33Pilate
then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, "Are you
the king of the Jews?" 34"Is that your own
idea," Jesus asked, "or did others talk to you about me?"
35"Am I a Jew?" Pilate replied. "It was your
people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have
done?" 36Jesus said, "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." 37"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." 38"What is truth?" Pilate
asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, "I find no
basis for a charge against him. |
Somewhere I read a survey about fears. Ranking high on the list was public
speaking. The fear exists even though
schools have speech classes. I knew a
lady who said she almost was not allowed to graduate from high school because
she refused to give a speech in a class.
Forensics teams have difficulty filling the slate of competitors—that’s
definitely an activity where there aren’t cuts for the team. It was different with the Romans. They prided themselves in their
eloquence. Rhetoric and public speaking
were important fields of study. For
success in life a man had to excel in those endeavors.
Yet we remember little of the orations of Cicero and
Caesar. The most famous words spoken by
a Roman leader were those of Pontius Pilate in this text: “What is truth?”
The answer seems simple.
Truth is what is real. Two plus
two equals four. The sun rises in the
east and sets in the west. Those are
facts whether a person accepts them or not.
As Christians we are on the side of truth. We believe in the Savior and His truth. Sometimes it is difficult to stand up for the
truth. Some truths in God’s Word are
uncomfortable. We are disappointed in
Pilate’s words, but we also slip into his approach to life. When we do so we must pray
FORGIVE US WHEN WE ABANDON YOUR TRUTHS!
(I.) When we
don’t think they fit our lives, we are being like Pilate. He didn’t have the time for thinking about
the truths of Jesus. He was a man with
important responsibilities. He was in
charge of a rebellious province. The
Jewish people didn’t like being subject to
He also didn’t have a great interest in these Jewish
religious matters. There were differing
factions among the Jews. The Pharisees
disagreed with the Sadducees. The Herodians didn’t get along with the Essenes. One rabbi didn’t agree with another. Who could understand it all? Who but them cared?
But there was this Jesus standing in his courtroom that
Friday morning. His fellow Jews had
brought Him to Pilate. They tried Him in
their own court first. They found Him
guilty of death. However, they lacked
the authority to carry out the death penalty.
So they brought Jesus to Pilate for affirmation of their findings. “We have found this man subverting our
nation. He opposes payment of taxes to
Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king,” they announced. (Those were not quite the same charges they
had convicted Jesus of, but they thought these would catch the attention of
Pilate.) Now Pilate had to deal with the
situation.
He brought Jesus inside so that He was now under the Roman
jurisdiction and picked up the kingship issue.
“Are you the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked plainly. The accused Jesus sought clarity about where
he was coming from. Was he merely
parroting the charge or was it a matter of personal interest for him? Pilate almost laughed Him off. “‘Am I a Jew?’ Pilate replied. ‘It was your chief priests who handed you
over to me.’” It wasn’t my idea, he was
saying. They brought you to me. But there must be something behind it. “What is it you have done?” he asked further.
There are different kinds of kingdoms. Pilate was familiar with earthly kingdoms and
governments, which operate with force and demonstrations of power. Not Jesus.
He had declined Peter’s use of the sword in the
Pilate thought he was making headway. “You are a king then!” he exclaimed. Jesus acknowledged that as His purpose and
identified who was in His kingdom. “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.” That mention prompted
his famous question, “What is truth?” He
didn’t think it was something that could be determined. Philosophers could spend time debating the
issue, but it was not a matter for him, a man of action and with other matters
that were more important. Pilate missed
out on a vital lesson because he didn’t think it fit his life.
We at times find it inconvenient to fit God’s truth into
our lives. Our days are filled with
important matters. We are busy trying to
hold our lives together. We’re working at
our job, if we still have one, and extra hard in order to keep it. Maybe we’ve picked up some extra hours on the
side, or another part-time job. We’re
also trying to keep up with a busy family and everyone’s activities. There are not enough hours in the day to
spend a lot of time with the Word or in church.
Those who are older remember how inventions and technology were supposed
to save us time and make our lives easier.
Does it seem easier?
Another challenge is the content of the Word. It can get in the way of what we want or feel
is important. Take the commandments, for
example. They may forbid things we want
to do or feel we need to do. They tell
us to do things we don’t have time for or don’t want to get involved in. Even the key truth of the gospel may not seem
to be what we need at the moment. It can
wait because the bills are piling up, there’s homework waiting, or we’re out of
work and can’t find a job. We may not
use the same words as Pilate, but the thought is there. Of what use is this truth to me? It’s nice, but as my confirmation pastor used
to ask after a response that didn’t answer the question at hand, “What’s that
got to do with the price of buttermilk in Cucamonga?” It doesn’t do what we think we need now. The problem is, we
develop tunnel vision. Our focus narrows
and we miss what is important. Yes, we
must ask, “Forgive us when we abandon your truths!”
II.
We also then pray, (II.)
Fit our lives to your saving truths.
That’s what God was bringing. When
Jesus spoke of truth, the absolute truth is the gospel. That good news of salvation is why Jesus was
there in Pilate’s court. Contrary to
appearances, He was not a lowly, helpless victim. He was in charge, carrying out God’s
plans. The Savior had come on a mission
to redeem the world. He was fulfilling
the Scriptures. As He had shared with
His disciples in advance, He would be handed over to the Gentiles, where He
would be mistreated (that was coming yet) and mocked and crucified. His death would pay for the sins of the
world—that’s you, me, and everybody else.
We were guilty of countless sins.
Not only do we abandon God’s truth, we’re adding to our total of sins
daily in our thoughts, words and actions that violate His law as we cause harm
and neglect what is good. We have
misplaced priorities and downright devilish desires and deeds. But the gospel declares them all forgiven
because Jesus paid the price. He was
inviting Pilate to hear and receive that saving truth.
It is the most vital news you will ever hear. It determines your eternity. Believers in Jesus are saved while
unbelievers are lost, and that means suffering terribly in hell. Since those conditions last eternally, what
could compare in value with the gospel?
Yes, we need to pay our bills, maintain a roof over our heads, do our
homework, plan for our future career or for retirement, but those matters
relate only to the short time we are here.
Heaven and hell are forever.
Jesus once reminded us, “What good will it be
for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” If we devote all our time and energy to the
things of this world and achieve success, what have we really
accomplished? You might have a big
funeral and an impressive tombstone, but what good are those if you miss out on
heaven? Recall Jesus’ parable of the
rich fool. The man enjoyed success as a
farmer, so much that he had to replace his barns to store all his crops. Then he thought he was set to enjoy life, but
he didn’t get to do so as he died that night.
We need to pray, “Fit our lives to your saving truths, Lord.”
That means we need His help to believe and apply those
truths to our lives. Jesus is the
Savior. Know it and trust Him. Have the joy of a secure eternity, namely,
that heaven is waiting for you. It is a
free gift, received by faith.
There will be results of that certainty. Peter wrote that we were redeemed “from the
empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers.” He wasn’t speaking just about pagan
practices. Those empty ways include
living only for this world. Conversion
changes our focus to the real values and to the destination at the end of our
journey through life. The Bible calls us
a new creation. We want to follow God’s
ways. We deal with the things of this
world but recognize they are not ends in themselves. They are tools, used for the purposes God
gave us, that is, to support ourselves and our families, pay our taxes, help
the needy, and support the work of the Lord.
We want to use all we have to His glory.
The same is true of our entire lifestyle. We live each moment and direct all we do to
His glory and for His truth, bringing that truth especially to those who do not
yet know it.
So we pray. Pray
that God will make the importance of His truths the foundation on which we
build our lives. Pray that He will never
allow our minds to entertain the foolish notion that His commandments do not
apply to our lives. Pray that you will
never think that His saving gospel is unimportant. Pray instead that we ever value His greatest
treasure and show it by bringing it to all we can.
“What is truth?” asked Pilate. But He didn’t stick around for the answer. He went out to respond to Jesus’ accusers, but he did not have the courage to follow through on releasing this innocent man. Watch out for Pilate’s error! Lord, make your truths number one in our hearts, with all else subordinate. As Your Son prayed for us, so we join in asking, “Sanctify us through the truth; your Word is truth. Amen.”