The Side of Truth

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

THE SIDE OF TRUTH

John 18:37-40

37 "You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."  38 "What is truth?" Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, "I find no basis for a charge against him. 39 But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release 'the king of the Jews'?" 40 They shouted back, "No, not him! Give us Barabbas!" Now Barabbas had taken part in a rebellion.

NIV

Whether it was the Chief Priest or most of the Pharisees or all of the Sanhedrin who stirred up the crowd outside the palace to reject Jesus and shout for the release of Barabbas, it is clear they did not want Jesus. We also have the direct words of Jesus here telling Pilate and all of us that he is a King, as we know he is the King of kings. The life application here is within these words of Jesus. He came to testify to the truth and everyone who is on the side of truth will listen to him. It appears Pilate was a man who honored the truth and was willing to release Jesus, but we know the Chief Priest and elders did not honor the truth for they wanted Jesus dead. Things in the world have not changed at all. There are still people who do not honor the truth. They may honor their version of the truth; they have invented their own truth so they can feel good about themselves and how they live their lives. Some of them are very honorable people, good honest, well-meaning people but they are not interested in the truth Jesus testifies to, they would rather think he is dead. There are some who profess the truth of him being the Son of God, they know his name and even some of his words, yet they still refuse to listen to all the truth, the whole truth that he testifies to as they are bound to their religion as the Chief Priest and the elders were. The fact is that if we say we believe in Jesus and we say that we honor the truth he testifies to, then we must listen carefully, intently to what he has said, applying that truth to our lives. If we want to be saved, if we want to be a citizen in the kingdom of God, if we want to be a member of the body of Christ, then we must start by being born again. Being saved is not an evolution over time, it is an event, a moment in time as is the infilling or baptism of the Holy Spirit. If we are on the side of truth we have to see the truth, not some version of it as interpreted by others. If we are on the side of truth we will love one another as he has loved us. We can go through all the truths Jesus spoke and see if we are truly on the side of truth or not. Do we truly listen to all that Jesus has said applying them, complying with them? Have we adjusted them, if just a little, so that we can feel we are living a righteous life, pleasing God? Who is on the side of truth? Certainly the truth may hurt at times, requiring adjustments or corrections in our thinking, in our behavior, in our actions and reactions. But who is on the side of truth? Are we?