"Whoever listens to the truth hears my voice...What is truth?" - John 18:37-38
What is truth? Those were the very words of Pilate, moments before Jesus was handed over to be crucified. So many questions jumped into my mind when I read those three simple words. Considering the context (before a crowd of screaming Jews), why did Pilate ask this? Why now? And why THIS question.
I might be jumping to conclusions, but here are my thoughts. Jesus made very subversive claims about himself. He claimed to be divine, he forgave sins, he healed the sick, restored sight to the blind, etc. Jesus did and said many things that pointed people to the truth. Yet, this question is still raised: What is truth?
What's also very telling about these three words is that this is such a postmodern question. And whether Pilate was genuinely seeking the truth, or merely being skeptical, he asked the question many people in today's generation ask: What is truth?
What Jesus was trying to communicate to Pilate and to us is that He, Jesus himself, IS truth. ALL truth comes from him, ALL joy comes from him, ALL goodness comes from him...and apart from having a relationship with him none of these things can exist in our lives.
"What is truth?" isn't answered by a philosophical idea or even by a religion. It is answered by the person of Jesus Christ.
