Pilate and Truth

Truth is Knowable

Image by Couleur from Pixabay

John 18:37:

“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.”

“What is truth?” Pilate asked.

Ironic, isn’t it? Pilate asks, “What is truth?” when Truth Himself stands before him.

WILLFUL BLINDNESS

With his cynical question, Pilate implies, “You can’t really know.” Willful ignorance is a useful way to evade responsibility when the truth is inconvenient.

Pilate’s response to Jesus challenges me to ask: In what areas might I tell myself that truth is unknowable because I want to avoid confronting unpleasant realities that would require me to change? That is an uncomfortable question!

Sometimes we use willful ignorance to justify ourselves. Other times, however, it’s simply the world we live in that leaves us feeling ambivalent about truth.

TRUTH VACUUM

For example, our cultural milieu often presents “truth” as one’s own construct, “whatever you want it to be,” which creates a certain cognitive dissonance. Isaiah seems descriptive of our times when he says, “Truth stumbles in the streets, and honesty has been outlawed” (Isaiah 59:14 NLT).

In our information age, you’d think that truth would not be so elusive. We stand in a data-swirling ocean as wave after wave of “knowledge” pounds us. However, the back-and-forth, push and pull of truths and lies threaten to drown us in uncertainties. What sources can we trust—where can we find a firm foothold?

PSYCHOLOGICAL INJURY

Also, our truth-gyroscope may no longer feel trustworthy after challenging life experiences. A difficult divorce, loss of health, financial devastation. When life does not make sense, we can begin to seriously doubt our perceptions. How can the truth be knowable when there’s so much mystery, so much that remains hidden, so much that’s beyond comprehension?

TRUTH IS KNOWABLE

Our knowledge will always be limited. But truth is not about having comprehensive knowledge anyway. It’s about having Him, who is Truth. Every answer to our why is safely contained in Him. Every mystery is explainable from His standpoint, even if not from ours right now.

To expand on this idea:

If you have Jesus, you have truth. Jesus is knowable; therefore, truth is knowable. He has made it known to us through his word and his Spirit. He is “The Truth” that knows “your truth” more intimately than you do.

Overwhelm does not need to lead to a sense of helplessness. When Jesus provides the filter through which we look, the world begins to align and becomes more focused. In our earthly bodies we will never enjoy perfect spiritual eyesight, but looking through his lens, we will be able to see more and more as He does.

Prayer:

Lord, we are so grateful for the Spirit who guides us “into all truth” (John 16:13). Amen.