In Search Of Truth, John 18

The Gospel Of John, Chapter 18



The Creator of all space and time allows himself to be put on trial by the tiny human insects that he created. This reality alone is incredible to stop and think about.


Jesus' mission approaches the end as we look at this chapter.


Once again, Jesus affirms his identity as God by echoing Exodus 3:14, where God introduced himself to Moses, saying that his name is "I Am". We don't know exactly what caused the men here to fall backward upon hearing Jesus say this, but it seems clear that he wasn't simply verifying that he was "Jesus of Nazareth".


Peter, zealous as ever, still had his own agenda in mind and hadn't allowed himself to consider that this was all part of Jesus' plan. Another reminder to us that our passion, without truth, can lead us away from God's agenda, even though we may feel as if we're serving him. In any case, we see that Peter's zeal was no substitute for a mature faith, as he later denied any connection to Jesus three times in this one night.


The high priest, Annas, began asking Jesus questions, probably in an effort to get him to incriminate himself. They hadn't found any success in building a case against him, even through the use of false witnesses(see Mark 14:55-59). Jesus' response communicated that they weren't going to hear anything different from him tonight that they could use against him. Jesus maintained consistency of character and teaching, and required the high priest to build a case against him based on what Jesus had already said.


Even later in front of Pilate, a local government official, the case against Jesus was unconvinicing. When Pilate asks what Jesus' crime was, the crowd's first answer is "We wouldn't have brought him to you if he wasn't a criminal."(Verse 29-30) They avoided the question altogether!


Pilate asked if Jesus was "king of the Jews". When Jesus asked Pilate about the origin of this question, he was probably doing so to clarify the issue before answering. At the time, Israel was ruled by the Roman empire, and Pilate was a local official representing Rome. So if Pilate asked as a Roman official, he would be asking if Jesus was going to start an uprising against Rome. If he was asking as a Jew, he would be asking if Jesus was the Messianic King.


More clearly here than anywhere else in scripture, Jesus affirms the importance of truth. In verse 37 he says "for this reason I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."


Pilate then asks a question that is possibly more relevant today than it has ever been: "What is truth?"


With so many different beliefs about God and spirituality in the world, it can be hard to determine where the truth can be found. But Jesus grabs our attention here and communicates that those who genuinely value truth will listen to what he says. A startling statement that feels very "intolerant" to our modern ears. Because it stands to reason that if all who value truth listen to what Jesus says, then those who do not listen to what Jesus says, do not value truth.


Although Jesus' love for and acceptance of sinners is very clear in scripture, he also very clearly draws some lines that separate people into one of two categories.


The implication here is clear. If we don't listen to Jesus, we're making a big mistake.





Coffee House Question
: If you could sit down and ask Jesus one question, what would it be?





Next week: Jesus' mission comes to a close as we watch him sentenced, crucified and buried.


Respond to our Coffee House Question by leaving a comment here, e-mailing Paeter (paeter@spiritblade.net) or recording your message at paetersbrain.blogspot.com or paeter.libsyn.com!