The Life of Christ always amazes me. It causes me to weep, at times, because I caused the perfect, Holy Uncreated One to be nailed to a tree, sometimes by actions I still hold in my heart and in deed. I think, often, about His trial and His suffering, and I weep, knowing I was part of the cause for it. I am amazed, still, that He loves me enough that He did that for me, while I was yet a sinner, yet His enemy. still dead in my sin. And why did He do it? There's a glimpse of it all in His trial in John 18: So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” John 18:33-38
Jesus came as a witness for the truth. The thing is, He's still calling out as a witness for the truth. The further our world flees from the truth, we need Him more and more! What Jesus said to Pilate likely had him shaken to his core: Pilate was a roman, and they worshipped Caesar as god. Here was a man claiming to be from another world, and over and again throughout the gospels, we see Pilate afraid to pass any judgment on Jesus. The gods of Rome were fickle, deceptive, and often selfish: here was a Man who, in spite of what was against Him, was unwavering, and looking to His death as a form of ascension. This Man was the real deal, and Pilate knew it.
Pilate, as far as we know, never really went any further than this in his quest for truth, but we know that Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the light, no one comes to the Father, but through Me." If we want Jesus we must seek the truth. IF we seek the truth, we will always end up at Jesus. Everything else is like Pilate, trying to justify himself and put his own political career ahead of the death of the one truly innocent man in all of history. So what are you seeking? Are you seeking the Truth, or are you still trying to figure out what it is? 2 Timothy 3 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.
You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 11 my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
