Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him.”
John 18:36–38, ESV
What is truth? These words resonate in my head as I look out into the world and see this concept challenged regularly. There was a time that truth was easily defined because there were certain standards that were used by all to determine if something was true or not. We could look at nature and come to a common conclusion. We could define what it means to be a man or a woman. There were social standards that were commonly accepted, and people understood what we called universal truth. Now we have people say, “That may be true for you, but it is not true for me.” Jesus stood before Pilate and challenged his world. Pilate did not believe in one eternal God but in the gods of Rome. A pantheon that grew and changed, which he only sought to appease through worship. The pantheon could change and grow. A pluralistic understanding of the world that was based on the truth that was found in the worship of these gods. However, these gods seemed more human in nature with their pride and petty disputes. To challenge these gods was to challenge their truth. It is not that different today. Jesus entered creation to bear the Truth of our God and bring all who believe to redemption and carry us to eternity. Even for the Romans, there were truths that were undeniable, and though many deny it today, there is a truth that stands fast today. Souls hunger for the certainty that Christ and Christ alone offer. In Him, we find the salvation of our souls as we realize the forgiveness given to us through His death and resurrection and the new life that is afforded to us in His promises. It is a truth that drives us to care for our neighbor, pray for our enemies, and care for those that are in need. We, who call ourselves Christian, live in this truth, but our errors and ways don’t diminish this truth as we stand fast in Christ our Lord.
Let us pray. I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, that you have kept me this night from all harm and danger, and I ask you to protect me this day also from sin and every evil, that in all I do today, I may please you. For into your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel watch over me, that the wicked foe have no power over me. Amen.