What is Truth: Part One

What is truth?

These three little words, uttered here in John’s gospel, have fascinated and provoked all sorts of people-- from religious mystics, to biblical scholars, to secular philosophers, to everyday people like you and me.

What is truth?

This little question has been the source of much speculation (and much consternation) both inside and outside of the church. It’s a question that— particularly in this context— seems to lead us to even more questions. For example: Why does the text so abruptly break after Pilate asks this question? Why do we get no response from Jesus after this seemingly important and profound question? Did Pilate even expect an answer, or was it merely a rhetorical question? Some scholars suggest that it’s not really a question at all— that it is more of a sarcastic response to Jesus’ claim to be an agent of truth. “What is truth, anyway…” Pilate says, before giving Jesus up to be crucified. Other scholars believe that it’s not meant to be read in a historical sense at all, that it is really a question addressed to the readers. After 18 chapters of John’s gospel, the truth about Jesus has been laid out for us over and over again. Perhaps John inserts this question here in order to provoke his readers— to get us to think back over the previous 17 chapters and decide for ourselves what we really believe the truth to be about Jesus Christ.

Unfortunately, it’s impossible to know for certain what John intended when he wrote these three little words. One thing we do know, however, is that in the midst of everything going on around Jesus during his last days, there was an awful lot of noise. Lots of people, saying lots of things, about what was true, and who was right.

On the one hand were the religious authorities. The chief priests who handed Jesus over to Pilate, insisting that his crimes were worthy of the ultimate punishment. The religious authorities were fearful because up until this point, the Roman Empire had been fairly lenient towards the Jews in Palestine-- allowing them to maintain much of their communal identity and religious freedoms, even though they were subjects of the Roman Empire. But that religious freedom came at a price. If the Roman Empire ever got wind that there was rebellion brewing— if they ever had reason to believe that the loyalty of the Jews belonged to anyone but the emperor, those freedoms would come crashing down with the force of the Roman army. And so there was an agreement between the Roman government and the Jewish authorities: Practice your religion freely— as long as you don’t threaten our political power. Well, that balancing act was becoming more and more precarious, and the religious authorities were getting nervous. Jesus was calling a little too much attention to their little corner of the world, and all of this upset about Jesus of Nazareth— being hailed by some as a king and some a messiah-- was not something they wanted to reach the ears of the emperor.

On the other hand, Pilate also had reason to be nervous. He also maintained a precarious position. As governor of Judea, his subjects were Jews, but his power came from the emperor. If ever the Roman government sensed that his sympathies strayed from the throne, consequences could be dire. At the very least, he would be deposed. At worst, he too could find himself executed for treason. Pilate faced the possibly of rebellion and violence from his subjects on the one hand, and punishment from Roman authorities on the other. Now certainly I don’t want to mischaracterize Pilate here as the victim— some hapless governor who wanted to do the right thing but merely lacked conviction. Historical sources tell us that Pilate was as brutal and merciless as any other Roman governor of the time. But it’s important to recognize that that brutality was one borne out of a system where truth often fell silent in the face of political maneuvering.

And so in the midst of all that noise, in the midst of all the fear and anxiety of the time, we can perhaps imagine that Pilate’s question—what is truth-- was as much a real question about where to find truth in the midst of political games and power struggles as it was an existential or philosophical question. One can imagine the doubt and fear that filled the minds of many of the characters in this story. Even the disciples had lost their footing, most of them had fled, Peter had denied even knowing Jesus. The world seemed to be turning upside down.

Where was truth to be found in the midst of all that noise?

Much has changed since this story was written down. We live in a different world now— a different culture, with a very different understanding of how the world works, and our place in it. One thing that does remain the same, however, is that there is still an awful lot of noise. There are still an awful lot of voices competing for our attention, claiming to tell us the “truth” about the world—the truth about politics, economics, poverty, war, or disease. Name the issue, and odds are, there are people on both sides claiming to know the truth. But the story of Jesus’ trial and condemnation is a cautionary tale for us. The distortion of truth, in this case, led to the condemnation and execution of an innocent man. In modern history, the distortion of truth has led to any number of major social problems, including racial prejudice, the oppression of ethnic and religious minorities, sexism, and a decline in the civility of our public discourse that allows for the demonization of anyone who thinks differently than us. Make no mistake, the distortion of truth for political purposes is alive and well in our world today. And for those of us who genuinely want to know what is true about the issues and problems that confront us— economics, politics, poverty, war, disease— sometimes all that noise can be overwhelming. It can make us want to throw in the towel and say, “I give up! I don’t know what’s true; I don’t know who to listen to. I’m just going to disengage.” But as Christians, that’s not what we are called to do. We are called to engage, not disengage. As Christians, we are called to confront fear based untruths, particularly when those untruths lead to injustice or oppression, or when they hurt the most vulnerable people in our society. We are called to search for truth— seek it out, and proclaim it. Even if it’s hard, even if it’s frustrating sometimes.

What is truth? It's not always easy to know the answer to that question. But one thing is for sure: if we keep listening to all the noise, we'll never know.