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Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning. But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover. Pilate then went out to them and said, "What accusation do you bring against this Man?" They answered and said to him, "If He were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him up to you." Then Pilate said to them, "You take Him and judge Him according to your law." Therefore the Jews said to him, "It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death," that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, signifying by what death He would die.
Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered him, "Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?" Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here." Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?" Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?"
And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, "I find no fault in Him at all."
- John 18:28-38
Yesterday, we read that, as Jesus was taken to the home of the high priest in the night, Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest. But Peter stood at the door outside. Then the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door, and brought Peter in. Then the servant girl who kept the door said to Peter, "You are not also one of this Man's disciples, are you? He said, "I am not." Now the servants and officers who had made a fire of coals stood there, for it was cold, and they warmed themselves. And Peter stood with them and warmed himself. . . .Now Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. Therefore they said to him, "You are not also one of His disciples, are you?" He denied it and said, "I am not!" One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of him whose ear Peter cut off, said, "Did I not see you in the garden with Him?" Peter then denied again, and immediately a rooster crowed.
Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning. But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover. My study bible says, "Jesus is taken to the Praetorium, the military quarters of Pilate, where the Jewish leaders do not enter. They fear being defiled (ritual pollution by contact with Gentiles) -- a supreme irony in view of their evil intentions against Jesus. According to this Gospel the main trial of Jesus occurs before Pilate (18:28-19:16). In this dramatic account, Pilate goes back and forth between Jesus and the Jewish leaders."
Pilate then went out to them and said, "What accusation do you bring against this Man?" They answered and said to him, "If He were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him up to you." Then Pilate said to them, "You take Him and judge Him according to your law." Therefore the Jews said to him, "It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death," that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, signifying by what death He would die. Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?" My study bible tells us that while the leadership's true charge against Jesus is blasphemy, "which according to Jewish law was a crime deserving death, under Roman law the Jewish leaders could not put anyone to death. Pilate, as Roman governor, has the power to enforce the death penalty, but the charge of blasphemy means nothing to him; he must have a serious political charge in order to condemn Jesus. Therefore, the Jews tell Pilate that Jesus claims to be a political King-Messiah -- a threat to Roman rule in Palestine." Pilate asks the key question from his perspective as Roman governor for dealing with Jesus.
Jesus answered him, "Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?" Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here." Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?" Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?" And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, "I find no fault in Him at all." Here my study points out that Jesus testifies to His messiahship: that it is of a spiritual character, "that He bears witness to God's truth. This declaration receives only an apparently cynical response from Pilate."
Jesus speaks about a spiritual kingdom. He hasn't got an army. He points out clearly that if He were a worldly king, His servants would have fought for Him so that He wouldn't have been taken by the religious leadership. He is a king. But His kingdom is not from here. He is here to bear witness to the truth. I'm struck by the idea that He's also preaching to Pilate, as He did elsewhere -- when He described Himself as the Good Shepherd: "Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." He strikes a note with Pilate regarding truth; this is not a man who will listen to talk of sheep and shepherds, but an educated Roman, someone entrusted with carrying out the workings of Roman Law. Truth is a word that will catch Pilate's ear. "What is truth?" is perhaps even, ironically, a philosophical question, coming out of the mouth of Pilate. It is, for Pilate, a deeply essential question to his own role, and his own life, as the figure we remember today. Let us ask ourselves, "What is truth?" Here the great truth is about the reality of this spiritual kingdom, the one of which Jesus declares Himself king. I wonder myself at the capability we have to go through life never taking notice of such a kingdom, although it is a part of us. We do ourselves a disservice when we ignore it, because we are made to live with it, to comprehend it, to enter into relationship with Him and His kingdom. To neglect the spiritual reality within ourselves is to neglect who we really are, and so, "What is truth?" becomes an essential question to understanding and knowing who we are. There are all kinds of things to believe in in the world, all kinds of things we will be presented with. People may tell us that salvation is in belonging to the right group, having the right name, eating the right foods. But to ignore this spiritual kingdom is to ignore the thing in ourselves that gives life and meaning, that brings us refreshment, a depth of freedom, a sense that there is more to us than what meets the eye. We have a spiritual kingdom to participate in, one that lives and breathes and moves with us, that gives life abundantly to the life we know, provides rivers of living water to quench the heart and gives sustenance for a kind of joy that infuses what we find in the world. Most of all our understanding of this reality allows us to see ourselves more truly and deeply, to be led on a journey of profound discovery, to go beyond who we think we are. It's a truth that allows us to truly see ourselves, to measure ourselves in its light, to find our choices in a particular vision, and to find the truth of relationship. That's the truth He witnesses to, and beyond: It is a kingdom of love, and that love is the true substance of life. That is the truth that Pilate asks about. Let us always seek that truth.
