◄ John 18:38 ►
"What is truth?" Pilate asked. And having said this, he went out again to the Jews and told them, "I find no basis for a charge against Him.
Study Bible
“What is truth?” Pilate asked.

This question posed by Pontius Pilate is one of the most profound in the New Testament, reflecting a skeptical or perhaps cynical attitude towards the concept of absolute truth. In the Greco-Roman world, truth was often seen as relative, with various philosophical schools offering differing perspectives. Pilate's question may indicate his dismissal of the idea that there is a single, knowable truth, contrasting with Jesus' earlier declaration in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." This moment highlights the tension between worldly power and divine truth, as Pilate, a Roman governor, represents earthly authority, while Jesus embodies divine truth.

Jhn 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.…
Jhn 17:17 Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.
Psa 119:160 The entirety of Your word is truth, and all Your judgments…

And having said this, he went out again to the Jews

Pilate's action of going out to the Jews signifies the political and social dynamics at play. The Jewish leaders had brought Jesus to Pilate, seeking a Roman execution because they lacked the authority to carry out capital punishment under Roman rule. Pilate's movement between Jesus and the Jewish leaders underscores his role as a mediator in this tense situation. The Jewish leaders were outside the praetorium to avoid ceremonial defilement before the Passover, which is why Pilate had to go out to them, highlighting the cultural and religious customs of the time.

Jhn 19:4 Once again Pilate came out and said to the Jews,…
Luk 23:13 Then Pilate called together the chief priests,…
Mat 27:24 When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing…

and told them, “I find no basis for a charge against Him.

Pilate's declaration of Jesus' innocence is significant, as it fulfills the prophetic imagery of the suffering servant in Isaiah 53:9, who was without deceit or wrongdoing. Despite the accusations from the Jewish leaders, Pilate, representing Roman law, finds no legal grounds for Jesus' execution. This statement is crucial in the narrative, as it emphasizes Jesus' sinlessness and the injustice of His trial and crucifixion. It also foreshadows the ultimate sacrifice Jesus would make, as the Lamb of God, without blemish or defect, as described in 1 Peter 1:19.

Luk 23:4 Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds,…
Jhn 19:6 As soon as the chief priests and officers saw Him,…
Luk 23:14-15 and said to them, “You brought me this man…

Persons / Places / Events
1. Pontius Pilate
The Roman governor of Judea who presided over the trial of Jesus. He is known for his question, "What is truth?" which reflects a skeptical or dismissive attitude towards the concept of absolute truth.

2. Jesus Christ
The central figure of Christianity, who is on trial before Pilate. Jesus is the embodiment of truth, as He declared earlier in John 14:6, "I am the way and the truth and the life."

3. The Jews
Referring to the Jewish leaders and crowd who brought Jesus to Pilate, seeking His crucifixion. They represent the religious authority of the time, who rejected Jesus as the Messiah.

4. The Praetorium
The Roman governor's headquarters where Jesus was taken for trial. It is a place of political power and decision-making.

5. The Trial of Jesus
A pivotal event in the Passion account, where Jesus is judged by human authorities, leading to His crucifixion and ultimate sacrifice for humanity's sins.
Teaching Points
The Nature of Truth
Truth is not subjective or relative; it is embodied in the person of Jesus Christ. As believers, we are called to seek and uphold the truth found in God's Word.

The Irony of Pilate's Question
Pilate's question, "What is truth?" reveals a deep irony, as he stands before the One who is Truth. This challenges us to recognize and accept truth when it is presented to us.

The Role of Authority and Justice
Pilate's failure to act justly despite recognizing Jesus' innocence serves as a warning against the misuse of authority and the importance of standing for righteousness.

The Rejection of Truth
The Jewish leaders' rejection of Jesus as the Messiah reflects humanity's tendency to reject truth that challenges or convicts. We must guard against hardening our hearts to God's truth.

Living Out the Truth
As followers of Christ, we are called to live out the truth in our daily lives, reflecting Christ's character and teachings in our interactions with others.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Pilate's question, "What is truth?" reflect the cultural and philosophical attitudes towards truth in today's society?

2. In what ways can we ensure that we are seeking and recognizing truth in our own lives, especially when it challenges our preconceived notions or beliefs?

3. How does Jesus' declaration in John 14:6 inform our understanding of truth, and how can this understanding impact our daily decisions and interactions?

4. What lessons can we learn from Pilate's handling of Jesus' trial about the importance of standing for truth and justice, even when it is unpopular or risky?

5. How can we, as Christians, effectively communicate and embody the truth of the Gospel in a world that often questions or denies absolute truth?
Connections to Other Scriptures
John 14:6
Jesus' declaration of being "the way, the truth, and the life" provides a direct contrast to Pilate's question, highlighting the irony of Pilate's skepticism in the presence of Truth incarnate.

John 8:32
Jesus speaks about knowing the truth and being set free, which underscores the liberating power of truth that Pilate fails to recognize.

Isaiah 53:3
The prophecy of the suffering servant who is "despised and rejected by men," which aligns with Jesus' rejection by the Jewish leaders and Pilate's indifference.
Sermons
Characteristics of TruthT. Watson.John 18:38
No Crime in ChristJ.R. Thomson John 18:38
Pilate's First Attempt to Rescue ChristT. Whitelaw, D. D.John 18:38
Pilate's Question -- What is TruthBp. Cummins.John 18:38
Pilate's VerdictC. H. Spurgeon.John 18:38
The Scepticism of PilateF. W. Robertson, M. A.John 18:38
The Sceptic's Question Answered by HimselfJ. Monro Gibson, D. D.John 18:38
Transcendent Importance of Religious TruthH. Stowell, M. A.John 18:38
Truth DescribedAndrew Tooke.John 18:38
What is TruthW. Jay.John 18:38
What is Truth?T. Whitelaw, D. D.John 18:38
What is Truth?J.R. Thomson John 18:38
Christ Before Pilate; Or, Worldly Views of ReligionD. Rowlands, B. A.John 18:33-38
Pilate's Address and Christ's ReplyD. Thomas, D. D.John 18:33-38
Pilate's First Examination of ChristT. Whitelaw, D. D.John 18:33-38
The Great QuestionH. J. W. Buxton, M. A.John 18:33-38
People
Annas, Barabbas, Caiaphas, Jesus, Judas, Malchus, Peter, Pilate, Simon
Places
Jerusalem, Kidron, Nazareth
Topics
Basis, Charge, Crime, Fault, Forth, Guilt, Jews, Pilate, Says, Sooner, Spoken, Truth, Whatever, Wrong
Dictionary of Bible Themes
John 18:38

     6632   conviction

John 18:36-40

     2585   Christ, trial

John 18:37-38

     1462   truth, in NT

John 18:38-40

     5349   injustice, examples
     5884   indecision
     7505   Jews, the

Library
March 24 Evening
God hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.--I THES. 2:12. My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, . . . but now is my kingdom not from hence.--Expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.--Thou hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.--I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

November 23 Evening
My kingdom is not of this world.--JOHN 18:36. This man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies may be made his footstool.--Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. He must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.--He raised him from the dead, and set …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

Jesus Before Caiaphas
'And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple: that disciple was known unto the high priest, and went in with Jesus into the palace of the high priest. But Peter stood at the door without. Then went out that other disciple, which was known unto the high priest, and spake unto her that kept the door, and brought in Peter. Then saith the damsel that kept the door unto Peter, Art not thou also one of this Man's disciples? He saith, I am not. And the servants and officers stood there, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: St. John Chaps. XV to XXI

Art Thou a King?
'Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover. Pilate then went out unto them, and said, What accusation bring ye against this Man? They answered and said unto him, If He were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered Him up unto thee. Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye Him, and judge Him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: St. John Chaps. XV to XXI

Christ and his Captors
'As soon then as He had said unto them, I am He, they went backward, and fell to the ground. Then asked He them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I have told you that I am He: if therefore ye seek Me, let these go their way: That the saying might he fulfilled, which He spake, Of them which Thou gayest Me have I lost none.'--JOHN xviii. 6-9. This remarkable incident is narrated by John only. It fits in with the purpose which he himself tells us governed his selection …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: St. John Chaps. XV to XXI

Calvary: victory. Matthew 26:47-27:61. Mark 14: 43-15:47. Luke 22:47-23:56. John 18:1-19:42.
Yielding to Arrest: the betrayal--protecting the disciples--checking Peter's violence--the arrest--the disciples forsake Him--except two, John 18:15, 16. The Real Jewish Ruler: Annas the intriguer--an unrebuked insult--the case settled at once--before Caiaphas--difficulty in fixing a charge--the dramatic question and solemn answer--second condemnation--gross insults. Held Steady by Great Love: Peter gains entrance through John, John 18:16.--the stammering denial--the bolder--with oaths and …
S. D. Gordon—Quiet Talks about Jesus

Kingship.
Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king! To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth: every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.--John xviii. 37. Pilate asks Jesus if he is a king. The question is called forth by what the Lord had just said concerning his kingdom, closing with the statement that it was not of this world. He now answers Pilate that he is a king indeed, but shows him that his kingdom …
George MacDonald—Unspoken Sermons

First Stage of Jewish Trial. Examination by Annas.
(Friday Before Dawn.) ^D John XVIII. 12-14, 19-23. ^d 12 So the band and the chief captain, and the officers of the Jews, seized Jesus and bound him, 13 and led him to Annas first; for he was father in law to Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. [For confusion in the priesthood, etc., see pp. 64 and 528.] 14 Now Caiaphas was he that gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people. [See p. 528. John restates this fact to remind the reader that Jesus was about …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Thursday Night - Before Annas and Caiaphas - Peter and Jesus.
IT was not a long way that they led the bound Christ. Probably through the same gate by which He had gone forth with His disciples after the Paschal Supper, up to where, on the slope between the Upper City and the Tyropoeon, stood the well-known Palace of Annas. There were no idle saunterers in the streets of Jerusalem at that late hour, and the tramp of the Roman guard must have been too often heard to startle sleepers, or to lead to the inquiry why that glare of lamps and torches, and Who was the …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The Shadow of Death
196. Of the garden of Gethsemane it is only known that it was across the Kidron, on the slope of the Mount of Olives. Tradition has long pointed to an enclosure some fifty yards beyond the bridge that crosses the ravine on the road leading eastward from St. Stephen's gate. Most students feel that this is too near the city and the highway for the place of retreat chosen by Jesus. Archaeologically and sentimentally the identification of places connected with the life of Jesus is of great interest. …
Rush Rhees—The Life of Jesus of Nazareth

A Review and a Challenge
The Social Principles of Jesus Demand Personal Allegiance and Social Action DAILY READINGS First Day: The Social Mission of Christians Ye are the salt of the earth.... Ye are the light of the world.--Matt. 5:13, 14. "Jesus speaks here with the consciousness of an historic mission to the whole of humanity. Yet it was a Nazarene carpenter speaking to a group of Galilean peasants and fishermen. Under the circumstances, and at the time, it was an utterance of the most daring faith--faith in himself, …
Walter Rauschenbusch—The Social Principles of Jesus

The Arrest.
"When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the brook Kidron, where was a garden, into the which He entered, Himself and His disciples. Now Judas also, which betrayed Him, knew the place: for Jesus ofttimes resorted thither with His disciples. Judas then, having received the band of soldiers, and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went …
Marcus Dods—The Expositor's Bible: The Gospel of St John, Vol. II

Peter's Denial and Repentance.
"So the band and the chief captain, and the officers of the Jews, seized Jesus and bound Him, and led Him to Annas first; for he was father-in-law to Caiaphas, which was high priest that year. Now Caiaphas was he which gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people. And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Now that disciple was known unto the high priest, and entered in with Jesus into the court of the high priest; but Peter was standing …
Marcus Dods—The Expositor's Bible: The Gospel of St John, Vol. II

Jesus Before Pilate.
"They led Jesus therefore from Caiaphas into the palace: and it was early; and they themselves entered not into the palace, that they might not be defiled, but might eat the Passover. Pilate therefore went out unto them, and saith, What accusation bring ye against this man? They answered and said unto him, If this man were not an evil-doer, we should not have delivered Him up unto thee. Pilate therefore said unto them, Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law. The Jews said unto him, …
Marcus Dods—The Expositor's Bible: The Gospel of St John, Vol. II

Comparison Between the False Church and the True.
1. Recapitulation of the matters treated in the previous chapter. Substance of the present chapter--viz. Where lying and falsehood prevail, no Church exists. There is falsehood wherever the pure doctrine of Christ is not in vigour. 2. This falsehood prevails under the Papacy. Hence the Papacy is not a Church. Still the Papists extol their own Church, and charge those who dissent from it with heresy and schism. They attempt to defend their vaunting by the name of personal succession. A succession …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

The Arrest of Jesus
Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground.--Now he that betrayed him …
Richard Newton—The Life of Jesus Christ for the Young

The Betrayal.
Leaving the Upper Room, Jesus and his disciples went out into the moonlit night, for there was full moon at the passover, and took their way through the streets out of the eastern gate, across the Kedron, to the garden of Gethsemane, about a half mile from the city walls, near the western base of Mt. Olivet. The Garden, or orchard, takes its name from a word meaning oil press, and doubtless was shaded by the olive trees, from which the hill takes its designation. Still the traveler meets on this …
B.W. Johnson—The New Testament Commentary Vol. III: John

The Trial Before the High Priest.
"Reading the Gospels side by side, we will, with care and study, see how all they tell us falls accurately into its proper position in the general narrative, and shows us a six-fold trial, a quadruple decision, a triple acquittal, a twice repeated condemnation of Christ our Lord. We soon perceive that of the three successive trials which our Lord underwent at the hands of the Jews, the first only--that before Annas--is related to us by John; the second--that before Caiaphas--by Matthew and Mark; …
B.W. Johnson—The New Testament Commentary Vol. III: John

Christ Before Pilate.
John only gives the detailed account of the private examinations of Jesus by Pilate during the civil trial recorded in 18:33-37. He probably went within Pilate's palace as he would not be deterred by the scruples of the Jews, having eaten his passover, and he was therefore a personal witness. His account aids much in explaining Pilate's language to the Jews and to Christ, which is recorded in the other Gospels. The trial before Pilate divides itself into the following acts: 1. Without the Prætorium. …
B.W. Johnson—The New Testament Commentary Vol. III: John

Messiah Despised, and Rejected of Men
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrow, and acquainted with grief. T he heathen moralists, ignorant of the character and perfections of God, the true dignity and immorality of the soul, and the root and extent of human depravity, had no better foundation, for what they call virtue, than pride; no higher aim in their regulations, than the interests of society, and the conduct of civil life. They expressed, indeed, occasionally, some sentiments of a superior kind; but these, however just …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

Messiah Rising from the Dead
For Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption. T hat the Gospel is a divine revelation may be summarily proved from the character of its Author. If an infidel was so far divested of prejudice and prepossession, as to read the history of Jesus Christ, recorded by the Evangelists, with attention, and in order to form his judgment of it, simply and candidly, as evidence should appear; I think he must observe many particulars in his spirit and conduct, …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

The Greatest Trial on Record
Brethren, as the Lord gave commandment concerning even the ashes and offal of the sacrifices, we ought to think no matter trivial which stands in connection with our great burnt offering. My admonition is, "Gather up the fragments which remain, that nothing be lost." As goldsmiths sweep their shops, to save even the filings of the gold, so every word of Jesus should be treasured up as very precious. But, indeed, the narrative to which I invite you is not unimportant. Things which were purposed of …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 9: 1863

Of the Matters to be Considered in the Councils.
Let us now consider the matters which should be treated in the councils, and with which popes, cardinals, bishops, and all learned men should occupy themselves day and night, if they loved Christ and His Church. But if they do not do so, the people at large and the temporal powers must do so, without considering the thunders of their excommunications. For an unjust excommunication is better than ten just absolutions, and an unjust absolution is worse than ten just excommunications. Therefore let …
Martin Luther—First Principles of the Reformation

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