Then they *led Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover. Therefore Pilate went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” They answered and said to him, “If this man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to you.” So Pilate said to them, “Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.” The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death,” in order that the word of Jesus which He spoke would be fulfilled, signifying by what kind of death He was about to die.
John 18:28-38
Therefore Pilate entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Are you saying this from yourself, or did others tell you about Me?” Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what did You do?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be delivered over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not from here.” Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You yourself said I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?”
Introduction
After His kangaroo court trial before the chief priest, Jesus was condemned by His people and brought to the Roman governor Pontius Pilate who had the institutional authority to levy the death penalty. There, He was examined and questioned as to the veracity of their claims against Him. And there, we catch a glimpse of a lie that has persisted from the beginning until today.
In the garden, when Satan deceived Eve, he did so by asking her, “Indeed, has God said…” (Genesis 3:1) In doing this, the serpent planted the seed of distrust of truth. Until that point, everything God said was taken to be the truth it was. But in that moment, truth was only sort of true, and truth could be whatever Eve wanted it to be. God said she will die if she eats the fruit, but Satan says she will not. Two claims competed against each other, resulting in the objective fall humanity experienced as our first parents were expelled from the garden, condemned to die as a mortal being.
Epistemology, relativism, and responsibility
In their exchange, Pilate asks Jesus if the claim is legitimate: does He believe Himself to be a king? This in and of itself is a sort of truth-seeking, as Pilate is charged with protecting the interests of the Roman Empire. And Jesus is a king. In fact, He is the king over all creation, and not merely Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, Rome, or any other geographical/political entity. When Pilate asks this directly, “So you are a king?” The Lord turns it back on him, saying, “You yourself said I am a king.”
Pilate, perhaps a bit put off by this answer, hears Jesus tell him His purpose in coming into the world: “to bear witness to the truth,” and answers back, “What is truth?”
Epistemology is the study of knowledge and how we come to know what is true. Underlying the practice of epistemology is the basic assumption that some things are objectively true no matter what. For instance, no matter how many people in the 16th century believed the sun orbited the earth, the truth is that the earth has always orbited the sun. But Pilate’s question blows up this underlying assumption. “What is truth?” is a question that challenges the very basis that something can be known objectively.
It was this sort of thinking that drove Rome to incorporate the religion and culture of conquered nations into its own. Jupiter was conflated with Zeus, and people from exotic lands were brought to the Italian peninsula to contribute what they would to the Roman world. This is not terribly different from western society today which places as one of its highest values a multicultural experience. But since cultures necessarily clash, a relativistic way of thinking has become the default for many. To say one culture or religion is right while another is wrong is to torpedo multiculturalism before it gets started.
And so, Postmodern America is not entirely different from Ancient Rome. From an early age, we are taught to respect “your truth” as if it was equally valid as anyone else’s “truth.” But such a mindset cannot exist alongside a knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The truth no one can deny
Nothing is certain except death and taxes.
Benjamin Franklin, 1789
The relativist always encounters a hard wall at the end of his relativism. When push comes to shove, even someone who loves to say, “your truth is your truth and my truth is my truth” will eagerly condemn objective great evil. Genocide is wrong, freedom is good, and truth is real.
Relativism cannot stand under its own weight, as it attempts to support a system that denies all truth claims with an underpinning truth claim that is objective and immovable, stating “all truth is relative.” For this statement to be true, it would also have to be false, being a truth claim in and of itself.
Jesus came to show us truth in Himself. He is the way, the truth, and the life by whom all may freely come to the Father (John 14:6). And everyone who recognizes truth for what it is will inevitably accept the gospel, because in it is the very essence of truth: God is the creator, and we are His creation. Do not be persuaded by the sweet sounding speech from those who raise relativism as the solution to our problems. Proverbs 16:25 reminds us that “There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” This is the path relativism takes.
We do not love our neighbor, regardless of his nation of origin, by saying the sinful paganism he practices is just as valid as our Christianity. We love him by sharing the glorious and gracious news about Christ’s advent, death, burial, and resurrection. We love our neighbor by telling him Jesus has ascended to the right hand of the Father and will return one day in judgment, gathering safe all those who have trusted in Him. We love and enjoy the fruit of various cultures by giving them the hope of the gospel. This has been the work of missionaries for 2,000 years, and in a rare turn of events, we live in a time and place where the ones in need of hearing the gospel are coming to us rather than making us go to them.
May the Lord bless you and conform you into the image of His Son.
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