Title: The ultimate question of life
Contents
Sharing: Do you have a thirst for truth?
The text commentary/ The text is the scene of Jesus being tried by Pilate. However, the conversation between Pilate and Jesus seems more like a place where Pilate is consulting with Jesus rather than the atmosphere of a courtroom.
Question 1: Describe the process of Jesus being tried by Pilate? (Verses 28-32)
Answer: (1) The trial that Jesus received in the court of Pilate was an illegal trial in which the Jewish Inquisition and the Romans political trial were combined (verse 28). They thought that they could not participate in the Passover feast because if they entered the court of the Gentiles, Pilate, they were members of the New Hedrin, who kept the rites of disqualification. Pilate is well aware of these Jewish customs and comes out of the government (verse 29). When Pilate comes out, the Jews shout, as if waiting, that Jesus is an evildoer (verse 30).
(2) Pilate tells the Jews to bring Jesus and judge him according to your laws. The Jews then had to kill this man, but they did not have the authority to do so, so they demanded that he be put to death according to Roman law (verse 31). That is, the intent of the Jews who brought Jesus to Pilate's court was fully revealed. They are using Roman law to expedite Jesus' crucifixion (v. 32). These actions of the Jews fulfill the prophecies of the Bible.
Question 2: What is Pilate's question and Jesus' answer? (verses 33-37)
Answer: (1) Pilate first asks Jesus, “Are you the King of the Jews?” (verse 33). Since Pilate was not a religious man, he was not interested in whether Jesus was the Messiah or not. To this, Jesus asks, “Are you saying this on your own, or are you talking about it by hearsay?” (verse 34).
(2) Pilate's second question is, “What have you done? (verse 35). To this, Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world” (verse 36). There is a kingdom of this world we live in now, and another kingdom of God that does not belong to this world. Then how can we experience the kingdom of God? You must first be born again. Jesus said, “Unless a man is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).
⑶ Pilate's third question is, "Aren't you a king?" (verse 37a). To this, Jesus says, “I am a king” and “I came into the world to testify of the truth” (verse 37b). It tells us that Jesus is the personal absolute truth and the King at the same time. But when Pilate hears Jesus' words, he asks the wrong question in front of Jesus who is the truth, "What is the truth?"
Question 3: What is truth? (verses 38-40)
Answer: (1) Pilate's thirst for truth: “What is the truth?” (verse 39) Pilate erroneously cites the Jewish feast customs and recalls the precedent of pardoning one prisoner at the Passover. If you use that opportunity to beat Jesus hard and release him, I think your conscience will be at ease. It is suggested by Pilate to the Jews (v. 39). The Jews cry out for the release of Barabbas, not Jesus (verse 40).
They wanted to use the truth for their own benefit. So, when they discovered that the object of truth they thought was not beneficial to them, they suddenly turned into persecutors of the truth.
(2) The truth Jesus spoke is divided into two main aspects. First, the truth is the “exposure of sinners” of all people (Romans 3:23). Second, the truth is the cross of Jesus' atonement. The truth is that Jesus died on the cross, proving the love of God who hates human sin but loves him to death (Romans 5:8). And to solve this sin, Jesus invited sinners. Please accept Jesus as your Savior. And fill your mind, heart and soul with the Word of the Lord so that the truth may rule in your daily life. God's word is truth.
Decision message:
Do you have a thirst for truth? Are you spiritually prepared? Ladies and gentlemen, not only Pilate, but we too are sometimes faced with an urgent situation of ‘live or die?’ If we do not wake up spiritually with a heart longing for the truth, those moments will be forever destroyed. Therefore, we must live with a heart longing for Jesus, who is always the truth (John 14:6).