It is evident from the interrogation and trial that Pilate gave Christ that he was a morally weak man. He found Christ to be morally and ethically true for he said "I find no fault in this man" (Luke 23:14), but he had not the courage to free him. Both Herod and Pilate in their trials of Christ found "nothing worthy of death" (Luke 23:15). Yet it is a sad irony that Pilate as the Roman Procurator and judge whose duty it was to implement truth, not only evaded it, but actually put truth itself on trial when he asked "What is truth?" (John 18:38).

There is a wide difference of opinion as to the spirit and meaning of this question. On which word did Pilate put the emphasis? Was this question asked as an earnest inquirer or in contemptuous jest, or perhaps with careless indifference? Did Pilate speak with cynical unbelief to Christ, or was it a reflection of hopelessness and frustration, expressed in a wail of despair; what is truth?

Whatever nuance Pilate intended to convey, this question was raised in a legal court and left unanswered. Pilate's court was not one that desired the truth. He sounds like a man who had given thought to the truth at one stage but had become frustrated and cynical. At this stage in his life he was not a pensive, thoughtful man; instead he lived for the moment.

In John 18:37 Christ uses the language of urgency as he presents the need for immediate acceptance of the truth: "Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, 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."

Pilate had sympathy for Jesus as a man, but had no time to wait for an answer of the truth; he was an impatient, practical man of the world, too busy to give any thought to the pressing question of the present. The reason Pilate asked "what is Truth?" was because he knew what it was not. If he had known the truth he would not have asked. The philosophers of the day spoke confidently about truth, as they understood it; the Scribes and Pharisees had their concept of truth firmly fixed in their minds. But this is a question from a man who had done some thinking on the subject and had come to the conclusion that he did not really know what truth is. He learned that truth is not in philosophy – he had all the philosophies of the sages of time; He had learned that truth is not theoretical; He had learned also that truth is not merely forensic (i.e. that which is up for argumentation and can be proved either true or false).

Truth is not merely a synonym for the gospel - the good news; it is not merely what Jesus believed nor what Jesus taught. Neither is it merely what Jesus did. Ephesians 4:21 says, "Truth is in Jesus" concurring with what Christ said of himself in John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth…"

Notice that Paul does not say "the truth as it is in Jesus." He is not talking about an aspect of truth that is in Jesus, nor is he talking about truth as is can be found in Jesus. He says, "Truth is in Jesus." This is exactly what Christ told Pilate in John 18:37-38.


I. Truth is Historical.

It is a person, not a theory, not a philosophy. This is what Christ himself said in John 18:37 "To this end was I born, for this cause came I into the world." Christ makes it clear here that his person, life and mission, was definite and historical. Christianity is not some ethereal, mystical philosophy…it is a concrete, definite action in time and space. God demanded an actual physical sacrifice for sin, pictured in the thousands of Sacrifices in the Old Testament. Christ came in the fullness of time and accomplished that very sacrifice.

This is what John was dealing with in his first epistle, I John 1:1ff.
That Jesus' physical body was not merely an illusion, nor was his crucifixion. It was "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life." John 1:14 tells us also "the Word was made Flesh" (John 1:14).

II. Truth is Imperial.

Pilate was the imperial officer of the Roman government but here he stands before the King of kings and without regard for the higher authority of God. Christ, however makes the point that truth is authoritative; by linking it to his kingdom, Christ showed his authority. Pilate thought he was in control. The claims of truth demand submission.

The condition of a sinner is that of a captive or a slave to sin. He is one who serves and obeys the dictates of an evil heart and the promptings of an evil nature, under his "Father the Devil" (John 8:44). Salvation from sin, in this life and in eternity is described as a deliverance from the kingdom of Satan and freedom in the Kingdom of God; Colossians 1:13 "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:" John 8:32 says, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Christ then is the monarch of the Christian, where Satan was once in control.

Truth is imperial and He will be recognised as such one day. There is coming a day when, as Romans 14:11 says "For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God."

III. Truth is Practical.