the truth

^{28 -29}They led Jesus then from Caiaphas to the Roman governor's palace. It was early morning. They themselves didn't enter the palace because they didn't want to be disqualified from eating the Passover. So Pilate came out to them and spoke. "What charge do you bring against this man?" ³⁰They said, "If he hadn't been doing something evil, do you think we'd be here bothering you?" ^{31 -32}Pilate said, "You take him. Judge him by your law." The Jews said, "We're not allowed to kill anyone." (This would confirm Jesus' word indicating the way he would die.) ³³Pilate went back into the palace and called for Jesus. He said, "Are you the 'King of the Jews'?" ³⁴Jesus answered, "Are you saying this on your own, or did others tell you this about me?" ³⁵Pilate said, "Do I look like a Jew? Your people and your high priests turned you over to me. What did you do?" ³⁶"My kingdom," said Jesus, "doesn't consist of what you see around you. If it did, my followers would fight so that I wouldn't be handed over to the Jews. But I'm not that kind of king, not the world's kind of king." ³⁷Then Pilate said, "So, are you a king or not?" Jesus answered, "You tell me. Because I am King, I was born and entered the world so that I could witness to the truth. Everyone who cares for truth, who has any feeling for the truth, recognizes my voice." ^{38 -39}Pilate said, "What is truth?" Then he went back out to the Jews and told them, "I find nothing wrong in this man. It's your custom that I pardon one prisoner at Passover. Do you want me to pardon the 'King of the Jews'?" ⁴⁰They shouted back, "Not this one, but Barabbas!" Barabbas was a Jewish freedom fighter.

John 18

two things stood out to me when i was reading this earlier. first, when pilate asks Jesus, "are you the king of the jews?" and Jesus replies, "Are you saying this on your own, or did others tell you this about me?" pilate didn't know who Jesus was. pilate was just trying to figure out who this man was so he could try to set him free. but for us, when we ask Jesus, "are you my savior?" are we saying it on our own, because we are desperate and in need of a savior? or are we just saying it because others have told us this about Jesus and we think we're obliged to do so because of others? i think Jesus wants us to call on Him through our own will and our own desperation for Him, not because others have put us up to it! Jesus wants the broken and beat up, ashamed, and sinful us to come to Him and ask Him who He is! He doesn't want someone who is asking Him who He is because others make him or her do so, there's no heart in it!

second, when pilate asks Jesus again if He's a king or not, Jesus replies, "You tell me. Because I am King, I was born and entered the world so that I could witness to the truth. Everyone who cares for truth, who has any feeling for the truth, recognizes my voice." Jesus knows who He is and what He came to do, but if people aren't open to what He has to say, they won't recognize His voice when He speaks and their hearts will never be changed! some may act like they want "truth" but the truth can get pretty scary for them, to know that they're accountable for their actions and that they have to sacrifice their own lives to really live. some might just want to stay away from the truth. but as christians, we know that yes, we're accountable for our actions, but Jesus forgives us of our sins and washes white as snow and when we sacrifice our lives, we're sacrificing what was freely given to us from God so that we would gain everything! so in the end, we actually give up nothing to gain everything! this is the truth that we hold in our hearts. to be first is to be last and to be last is to be first.

two questions: 1) are we seeking Jesus because we're desperate for Him and really want to know who He is? or are we just seeking Him because someone else tells us to? 2) are we open to the truth that Jesus Christ brings? that we sacrifice our lives to follow Him but gain everything in the end?