John 18:37

“Pilate asked him, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.’” vs. 37

John’s testimony about Jesus is consistent from the beginning to the end of his gospel. Jesus, the incarnate word of God, was full of grace and truth! Anyone who wished to know the truth would continue in his word. When Jesus told this to Pilate however, he got a familiar response. As John puts it, “Pilate replied, ‘What is truth?’” and that was the end of the conversation. Like Pilate we struggle with truth. We live in a world in which truth has been abused, distorted, devalued, and almost rendered obsolete. Liars have taken possession of it and use it to label whatever they say. We have become so jaundiced about truth that we wonder if there is anything left to believe in! Yet Jesus is insistent. “I am the truth,” he says, and bids us to walk in his way. And what is that truth? We know it has nothing to do with doctrines, dogmas, or even confessions of faith. Those religiously contrived statements, all sounding so good and pious, have instead been used to obscure the truth that is Jesus. The truth is none other than Jesus himself, the incarnation of God’s unconditional love and never-ending mercy. And in loving others, especially our enemies, that truth becomes incarnate in us!

Thought for the Day: When did I become a truth-teller?