(John 18:38) “Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.”
Pilate, the Roman Empire’s representative in Jerusalem, asked Jesus in (John 18:33), “…Art thou the King of the Jews?” In (John 18:35) Pilate asked Jesus his second question, “…What hast thou done?” After Jesus answered Pilate, Pilate asked Jesus his third question, “…Art thou a king then?” To this question Jesus answered, (John 18:37) “…Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.” Upon hearing this answer Pilate asked, “…What is Truth?”
The reason Pilate, as well as all unregenerated men, ask this question, is that Pilate proved that he was not of the Truth; for he could not Hear (or understand) the voice of Jesus. You will never have the ability to perceive “Truth” (1 Cor. 2:9-16) without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, Who comes to the sinner in the process of regeneration and conversion.
In searching for the answer to the question, “What is Truth?” – you cannot seek the answer from anyone or anything that is not the Origin and Source of Truth itself. Jesus said in (John 14:6) “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Therefore, it must be concluded, to seek and find the answer to the question, “What is Truth?”; one can only know the Truth by regeneration and conversion, for the Truth is Jesus Christ, Savior.
Unregenerate men have sought science, human philosophy, religions of men, education of higher learning, and their own reasoning to find “Truth.” However, all of these things fail to answer the question, “What is Truth?” As stated above, they are seeking the answer to the question from the hypotheses of men and not from The Truth Himself, Jesus Christ. All men are the second in line to know Truth; for God is the First in line, because He is the Creator, Controller and Consummator of His creation. When man declares something is truth and does not base it on the Written Word of God, it is not to be accepted as truth – but as a lie.
There are not two heads of truth; but there is only one Head of Truth. and that is Jesus Christ: (John 1:1-4) “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (2) The same was in the beginning with God. (3) All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. (4) In him was life; and the life was the light of men.”
You either go to God for truth, or you seek the devil for truth. The Bible says in (John 8:44) that the devil is the father of all lies and that there is no truth in him. Then where is the problem? The problem with most men today is that they are drawn to the devil to know truth, and not to God; because the flesh of men love darkness and are drawn to darkness, rather than to the light (John 3:19); because most men today are unregenerated and cannot perceive “spiritual things” of God. Therefore, on this basis, they cannot “hear” the voice of God; and consequently they follow a lie, and not the Truth.
When a man is unregenerated, he leans to his own understanding and not God. He sees God either as a “crutch” for the weak, or thinks that there is no God. The intellectually strong walks in great pride and needs no one but himself to reason it all out.
The sad part of this is that not only is he unregenerated, and knows not God as God and Savior; but, he also leads other men into a lie with himself, and they both fall in the ditch of darkness and deception. A perfect example of this is “the fake news” in the American social media and other news outlets. A lie is propagated by the origin of the lie, as the truth. Others hear this lie that is given as the truth, and cause others to believe the lie, because they are in darkness also.
Warning! Warning! You must never, never, never, react to any word, or news, or anything, and accept it to be truth – unless you know for sure it is truth, and your consequent action to the truth is in line with the law of God and the law of the land. It can be truth, and yet your action to that truth may not be according to God, or even according to the law of the land. If you cannot determine according to the Word of God if it is truth; then your action should be to stand still and wait for revelation.
Pilate’s lack of understanding of Who Jesus Christ was (The Truth), caused him to have Jesus crucified, even going against his own conscience, and the false evidence brought to him by the Jews; for he said three times before the Jews, “I find in him no fault at all,” (John 18:38; 19:4, 6). And yet, because of his fear of the people and what they said (John 18:12-16), and because he had no ability to perceive truth, he followed a lie and had Jesus Christ, God in the Flesh, crucified.
Therefore, is knowing Truth, all important? The answer is unequivocally, Yes!
Be assured, Jesus was fore-ordained by the Eternal Purpose of God to die for the sins of His people (Acts 2:23a); yet, had Pilate known The Truth, he would have said: ‘Not me. Not on my watch. Never will I be a part of the wicked, nor of your wicked heart, nor of your wicked deed.’ (Acts 2: 23b) “…ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.”
But, look what Pilate did; he joined in with Jews and did have Jesus crucified. Can you imagine, standing before the Judge of all the earth; being guilty of giving the order to crucify God in the Flesh, Jesus Christ?
Yes, the reason of this devotion is to point the reader to The Truth, Jesus Christ. In Him is eternal life, and complete freedom, and perfect peace, and all power in heaven and on earth. The only Hope you have is “Jesus Christ in you, the Hope of Glory” (Col. 1:27).
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