Reflection on John 18

 Pilate therefore went into the hall again, and called Jesus, and said to him: Art thou the king of the Jews? Jesus answered: Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or have others told it thee of me? Pilate answered: Am I a Jew? Thy own nation, and the chief priests, have delivered thee up to me: what hast thou done?  Jesus answered: My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would certainly strive that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now my kingdom is not from hence.  Pilate therefore said to him: Art thou a king then? Jesus answered: Thou sayest that I am a king. For this was I born, and for this came I into the world; that I should give testimony to the truth. Every one that is of the truth, heareth my voice. Pilate saith to him: What is truth? (John 18:33-38)

What is truth?  This is the captivating question presented by Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect of Palestine in around 26-36 CE, in response to the statement of Jesus.  It is a question which has been echoed through the centuries by believers and non-believers alike.  “Truth is that which corresponds to an objective reality” is a definition that Catholic theologians and philosophers use in order to attempt to answer this question.  The Merriam-Webster dictionary states that truth is “in accordance with fact”.  Yet, as most philosophical arguments, these definitions leave more questions than they provide answers. It seems like truth is a philosophical concept which is always fleeting.  

The arguments on truth are too numerous to count qualitatively. For many people of faith, the ideas presented and maintained in the scriptures are zealously guarded as truth.  Scripture, regarded as the “Word of God”, is the only truth. All other facts are ranked lesser or disregarded completely regardless of what science states.  For many other people who do not hold the scriptures in such high esteem, philosophical truth is an evasive illusion which vanishes at the instant it comes into view.  Still, for some, truth exists in some form through the study of physical science, systems, or history.  For others, everything is as subjective as the varying perceptions of reality found in society. The definitions and philosophies surrounding the idea of truth are unending as it is still a point of questioning for many. The Gospel of John is a prime example of a document in which truth is the theme.

Written between the years of 90 and 100 of the Common Era, the Gospel According to John is one of the later written books of the New Testament.  It has highly philosophical language which implies that it was written for Christian communities which embraced a lofty understanding of Christological theology, as well as early Gnostic disciplines of knowledge. The author of this book wrote it more along the lines of a theological treatise than that of a historical narrative of Jesus of Nazareth. Accordingly, the portrayals of Jesus may not be as accurate as the other gospels.  Instead, this book should be evaluated for its philosophy in the same manner as the platonic dialogues of Socrates. The authorship of this book has traditionally been attributed to John, the son of Zebedee, a disciple of Jesus. Contained within the texts of this book are powerful images and compelling questions concerning who the author calls the “Word that was made Flesh” and the true light who gave “power to be made the sons of God, to them that believe in his name.” (c.f. John 1). 

The dialogue seen above between Pilate and Jesus happens after the Passover feast and Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane.  The peaceful prayer, a stark contrast to the agony witnessed in the other gospels, is where Jesus gives believers the answer to the latter posed question of Pilate.  Jesus prays that those who follow him be sanctified in truth for the word of God is truth. (c.f. John 17:17). In the prologue to the Gospel of John, the author implies that the Word made Flesh is God, he who had made all things, is the light of truth (c.f. John 1:1-3). Again, in the fourteenth chapter of John, Jesus states “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Whether or not these words are authentic does not matter because the theology presented in the Gospel of John consistently portrays Jesus in this light.  For the communities in which the Gospel of John was written, and even for many Christians today, Jesus is the light of truth. 

After the prayer is completed, those who would hand him over to suffering and death, along with his betrayer, came to arrest Jesus.  He goes with them and is brought before Annas, the father-in-law of Caiphas, the high priest of the temple.  Following his interrogation there, he is brought before Caiphas. Under the theory that it is better for one man to die than for all of the people to suffer, the higher members of the Sanhedrin believe he should be condemned to death.  Because the occupied Jews had no right to condemn someone to suffer death, they brought him before the Roman prefect, Pilate, for sentencing (c.f. John 18:31).  

Pilate questions Jesus about why his own people had delivered him onto death.  He questioned his status and his teachings; to which Jesus answers that his kingdom is not of this world.  The idea of a Kingdom of God or a Kingdom of Heaven is common throughout the four gospels.  According to the authors of the Gospel of Luke and the Gospel of John, Jesus was the king of a spiritual kingdom which was unending (c.f. Luke 1:33; John 18:36).  In spite of his supposed high status as king and knowledge of his impending demise, Jesus remains unwavering before Pilate. In fact, he states that for this he was born and came into existence (c.f. John 18:37). Jesus claimed to have been born to testify to the truth, something he willing died for in order to accomplish.  So, the question remains, what is truth?