Truth Be Told

“What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him” [John 18:38].

This upcoming Sunday, many of our congregations will observe a special annual liturgical event: the Feast of Christ the King. The observance was initiated by Pope Pius XI in 1925; its “Roman” origins being sufficient to banish it from some important segments of American Protestantism, notwithstanding the day’s important theological points.

Pius XI sought to warn the church against the rampant secularism that he saw in “modern” society. He wrote that he feared all too many so-called Christians had chosen to live within the “kingdom of the world,” and not within the Kingdom of God. In keeping with that warning, the Revised Common Lectionary Committee, knowing that much of the world around us has been gearing up for the secular side of Christmas as soon as it put away the Halloween candy, has appointed a reading for this Sunday, the final Sunday in the church year that turns, not to Bethlehem, but rather to Golgotha. The reading concentrates not on stables and mangers, but on a rigged criminal trial in Pilate’s “court” [see John 18:33-37, the Reign of Christ, RCL, Year B]. If we are to live within the Kingdom of God instead of the kingdom of the world, we must consider the question posed by Pilate to his special prisoner: “Are you Christ the King?” [John 18:33b]. Rephrasing the issue just a bit, we might say something like, “Truth be told, is Christ our king?”

The prominence of the kingship motif in Pilate’s trial points to a potential intersection between religion and politics. It is both interesting and enlightening that Jesus does not answer Pilate’s question directly. Pilate, of course, is comfortable discussing political questions. That is the world within which he flourishes, the world within which he is most familiar. But, contrary to a popular belief in some parts of current Protestantism, Jesus wasn’t interested in politics. He’s interested instead in Truth.

Jesus will address the kingship issue raised by Pilate, but he will do so on his own terms. And even before Jesus is finished, we’re left wondering who is actually on trial. Jesus’ response to the kingship question is both positive and negative. He first defines his kingship by stating what it is not—“My kingship is not of this world” [18:36]. When Pilate says, “Ah ha, you admit you’re a king,” Jesus offers an alternative, positive representation:

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me” [John 18:37b].

The question posed to Pilate—and to us as well—is straightforward: “Will Pilate listen to Jesus?” Pilate, of course, isn’t used to listening to anyone. He’s an expert in the politics of the scenario, but he fails to understand what his prisoner is actually saying. Jesus, after all, isn’t pointing to things temporal; he isn’t referring to kingdoms constructed with weapons and oppression. Jesus isn’t speaking about the unreal world of political strategy, community organizing, or economic power and coercion. He is speaking instead about the real world—the world created by Yahweh, the world that relies upon Yahweh’s continued creative power, the world to which the second person of the Holy Trinity came to save from itself. In that fashion, Jesus is a witness to truth!

Truth be told, are we listening to the King?

The trial and crucifixion story is filled with splendid irony as Pilate, the secular politician, uses his own authority to declare Jesus’ kingship. Pilate, showing disdain both for Jesus and those who want to kill him, mocks everyone with the inscription over the cross: “Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews” [John 19:19]. The chief priests protest, but Pilate pronounces: “What I have written, I have written” [19:22]. All four Gospels record the inscription over the cross [Matthew 27:37; Mark 15:26; Luke 23:38].

Emphasizing the inscription on our Lord’s cross, John, the Gospel writer, expertly shows us that Jesus’ kingship is most visible in his crucifixion. Indeed, Jesus’ enthronement is manifested when He is lifted up on the cross. It is at that point that Christ’s kingship is acknowledged even by the secular Roman authorities to the public in Palestine.

Earthly kings and rulers take power through violent acts or skillful diplomacy. Jesus, the King from Heaven, allows neither. He will not permit his followers to strike out against his captors. He will not debate his innocence. Nor will he negotiate for his freedom. He offers a stark alternative to the sort of earthly kingdom that is familiar to Pilate and his minions. He also offers an alternative to the sort of kingdom longed for by many in first century Palestine. He will not overthrow Rome. Instead, He overthrows the power of Death. He will testify to Truth.

Truth be told, are we listening?

Unfortunately—at least for the purposes of my discussion—the Lectionary reading ends with 18:37. If we read an additional verse, the one I’ve reproduced at the top of this post, we hear Pilate uttering what Pilate no doubt thought was a rhetorical question, “What is truth?”

Jesus offers Pilate silence. Jesus will define Truth for Pilate. His answer is his offered life. Can we see that Jesus didn’t say that religion is the Truth? He didn’t say that the church is the Truth. Truth is not defined by any particular doctrine. Truth is not described in any systematic theology. Jesus didn’t say that His or anyone else’s “teaching” was the Truth, although those teachings may point, of course, to Truth.

Control your wincing here, but He didn’t even say that the Bible is Truth, although to be sure, the Bible points and speaks to Truth. Within all these “things” one may find evidence of Truth; they are not Truth itself. Jesus won’t supply Pilate with an easy, unsatisfactory answer to the question because first, Pilate has already indicated that he isn’t listening to Jesus’ voice, and second, Jesus has already given his answer in an earlier dialogue with the disciple, Thomas, when our Lord said, “I am the Truth” [John 14:6].

Pilate has revealed that he does not belong to the truth; he does not listen to Jesus’ voice. Pilate is not one of the shepherd’s sheep. He has already said so in this week’s opening verse: “I am not a Jew, am I? [18:35]. Pilate shows us that opposition to Jesus comes not just from the Temple leaders whose religious practices are placed in question. Pilate is a ruler of the world. He and his cohorts will be judged in Jesus’ hour just as the religious leaders will also be judged. Pilate is one man, like so many others in his time (and our own), to whom Jesus speaks the truth about himself and God. Pilate is given an opportunity to listen and respond.

As I’ve noted above, the real irony here is that, in speaking Truth to Pilate, Jesus puts Pilate on trial. He must decide whether he will listen and respond. Will he receive the words of Jesus? Will he respond favorably to the One who speaks Truth, or will he turn his heart and back on God?

Truth be told, it’s the same question that we all must face. Will we listen to the voice of Christ? Is Christ our King?