Journey thru John, Chapter 18: Jesus as Truth

As chapter eighteen unfolds, we find ourselves journeying with Jesus toward the Cross.  The scenes become familiar and hopefully easier to enter.  In this chapter alone, we have Jesus confronting the soldiers in the garden, Jesus being questioned by the high priest, Peter making his denials and Jesus being questioned by Pontius Pilate.  These next chapters of John, along with the sister versions from the other gospels, are read every year during Lent.  We participate in the readings as “the crowd.”  We are exposed to these scenes more often than any others in our liturgical life and thus we should be more readily present in them than any others.

In a moment, I will begin my regular pattern of picking a verse and reflecting on it.  I will again draw connections between the gospel, the SFO rule and the source material on Francis in an effort to deepen my understanding of the Franciscan charism. 

But before I do that, I just want to remind and encourage you to not just follow along with me, but to make your own meditation and investigation.  While I am happy to share my experiences with you, please recall that the ultimate goal of this Journey through John is for you to have your own individual experiences based on your own individual state of mind as you encounter each chapter of the gospel.  These scenes, because they are so familiar, should be the most accessible. 

If you have been reluctant to step out on your own, or if your success has been limited in the past, try anew with this chapter.  These scenes, if you are patient with them, will undoubtedly speak to you.  There is just too much here for them not to.  Take your time.  Read the entire chapter multiple times.  Become aware of the particular verse that is speaking to you, that is demanding your attention more than the others.  It might jump out at you, or it might be a subtle tug.  If you are lacking confidence, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you.  Take whatever time you need to become fully engaged. 

Then make an extra effort to be present at the verses you choose.  See the soldiers fall to the ground in awe when Jesus declares “I am!”  See Jesus as he is struck in the face for the truthful answer he gave Annas.  Take on the persona of Peter as he is questioned by the servants.  Stand right there during the exchange between Jesus and Pilate. 

Shout with the crowd for the release of Barabbas instead of Jesus.  Make yourself really present and experience the pain that your hindsight gives you.  How could you ever ask for God to be crucified?  How, in the past few days, have you done the same without realizing it?  Be honest with yourself.  Recognize your sinfulness.  Recognize the shout in it.

Have your own experience before you move forward to share mine.

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John Chapter 18, verses 37 and 38 (partials):

Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king.  In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world, to testify to the truth.  Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

“What is truth?” Pilate asked.

Pilate is a fascinating character.  I am always drawn to him whenever I encounter these gospels.  He had the chance to change it all.  He knew that Jesus was innocent.  He attempts to exempt himself from blame for anything that happens to Jesus.  But even so, he knows that attempt to be wrong.  He has the power to stop the Crucifixion but he is not politically skilled enough to wield it, so the Jews get to proceed with what they want.  He must have been haunted by Jesus for the rest of his life.

Pilate is undoubtedly an ambitious man who is frustrated by his posting to the relative backwater of Jerusalem.  He is far from the seat of power while also living amongst the most contentious of the Roman subjects.  Keeping the Jews under control is a thankless job.  Very little reward for lots of potential trouble.

His reaction to Jesus embodies this position.  His reaction is wholly practical.  It has nothing to do with higher concepts like the moral difference between right and wrong.  He is driven entirely by his concern about what his decision will mean for his relationship with the Jewish leadership and his career.  They have manipulated him into being the bad guy.  They know it and he knows it, but despite the knowledge, he is unable to find a way out of his predicament.  No matter how much he might want to free or protect Jesus, the politics of the situation simply won’t allow it.  His power is hollow.  In the end, he acquiesces for very worldly reasons because he is unwilling to deal with the ramifications of holding his ground.

Again, the theme of world as negative surfaces.

When I enter this scene, this line from Pilate embodies all his frustration and failure.  He is asking a rhetorical question, but that question signifies his firm residence in the world.  From his perspective, all truth is relative.  Pilate might have been an idealist at some point in his life, but he lost those ideals along the way of pursuing political, worldly power.  When I see him utter this question, I see his resignation and hopelessness.  He is a beaten man, not just in this scene, but in his larger life.  Despite his lofty position, he remains frail, weak and very human and he did not expect that to be the outcome of his life.  He thought he would be in control, he knows he’s not, and that lack of control has defeated him.

His assertion that all truth is relative is amazing considering the circumstances.  Pilate is literally standing and conversing with the embodiment of eternal, unchangeable Truth.  And not only is he standing with that Truth, but that Truth has just openly declared and revealed itself to him.  Read the verses again, but read them in reverse order.  Pilate asks “What is truth?”  Then Jesus answers by saying in effect, “I am Truth.” 

And He does so in the context of what should be Pilate’s wheelhouse, in the context of kingship.  If anything should get the attention of someone concerned with power like Pilate, it should be a discussion about the nature of kingship.  But when Jesus declares that a King is not concerned with worldly power but with Truth, that definition of kingship is so foreign to Pilate that he immediately dismisses it.  This is why Jesus asserts that His Kingdom is not of this world.  A worldly king seeks worldly power, but a person of genuine, lasting power builds his power on the foundation of Truth.  Jesus has invited Pilate to reconsider his understanding of Truth and power, but Pilate is so preoccupied with his worldly concerns that he misses the invitation completely.              

The answer to every worry and concern that Pilate has is standing in front of him.  Pilate is frustrated by his lack of worldly power and control.  Jesus reveals to him why he is a beaten man.  If Pilate would have let go of his worldly preconceptions, he would have seen Jesus for who He is, God and Truth.  That knowledge had the power to set him free from his immediate predicament with the Jews and from all the failures of his life.  The answer that Pilate needs, the answer that would make him whole again, is to reject worldliness and embrace Spiritual Poverty and minority.  But Pilate is so preoccupied and so far gone that he never actually hears Jesus, let alone understands Him. 

If you look at Jesus in the scene, he would be bemused if not for what He is about to face.  You could almost see Him smirking and shaking his head at Pilate as the entire lesson passes him by.

He might wink at you if the stakes weren’t so high.

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The Prologue to the Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order, also known as the Exhortation of Saint Francis to the Brothers and Sisters in Penance, has two chapters.  The first describes the rewards of those who do Penance.  The second describes the woe awaiting those who do not.  The second chapter begins as if it is written directly to Pilate:

But all those men and women who are not doing penance……..and live in vices and sin and yield to evil concupiscence and to the wicked desires of the flesh, ……… and are slaves to the world, in their bodies, by carnal desires and the anxieties and cares of this life:  These are blind, because they do not see the true light, our lord Jesus Christ: they do not have spiritual wisdom because they do not have the Son of God who is the true wisdom of the Father.  Concerning them, it is said, “Their skill was swallowed up” ………  They see and acknowledge, they know and do bad things and knowingly destroy their own souls.

Pilate, with his overarching desire to placate the leadership of the Jews in order to avoid worldly tension at all costs, is being governed by “the anxieties and cares of this life.”  He is “enslaved by carnal desires” to the point that he cannot exercise his power wisely and effectively.  His “skill has been swallowed up.”  He has yielded to the strongest “desire of his wicked flesh,” the need to maintain and/or increase his worldly position.  Not even the life of an innocent man can stand in the way of this desire.  He would rather sacrifice that innocent life than risk what it would take to protect it.

As a result, he is “blind.”  Jesus, knowing his need, has presented him with the Truth and a way out.  But Pilate “does not see the true light of Jesus.”  He is stuck because he “does not have spiritual wisdom, the Son of God who is the true wisdom of the Father.”  His blindness is so complete that even with Truth and Wisdom standing righting in front of him, openly declaring itself to him, he cannot see it.  This is the power and danger of carnal, worldly desire in all its forms.  It literally makes us unable to recognize the Truth and Wisdom of Christ no matter how plainly it is presented to us.

Pilate “sees and acknowledges” the innocence of Jesus.  But even so, he is so tightly enslaved that he still “knows and does bad things.”  At the risk of bestowing judgement which is not mine to name, he “knowingly destroys his own soul” by not interceding on behalf of Jesus.  (Perhaps, in the end, he was haunted enough by the memory of Jesus that he repented and was saved, but I can never know for sure.)

Jesus attempted to teach Pilate, but Pilate, in his obsession with his worldly position, blinded himself.  Pilate’s only source of truth was himself and thus he winds up in the position of not knowing the Truth at all.  Truth for him was relative, whatever he needed it to be at the moment.  His rhetorical question of “What is truth?” is an admission of this.

He attempted to convince himself that by washing his hands of Jesus, he was not responsible.  The problem is, eternal Truth is a real thing that is written in our hearts.  Whenever we try and skirt it, it haunts us.  Even as Pilate was convincing himself that he was covered, he knew in his heart that he wasn’t.  Thus it is that he winds up defeated, hopeless and despondent.    

When I do the same, I wind up the same.  How many times in my life have I convinced myself that the wrong thing was the right thing, only to have it weigh on me later as the eternal Truth worked its way forward in my consciousness?

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The most well-known use of the word “truth” in the gospels happened several chapters ago.  In verse 6 of Chapter fourteen, Jesus says “I am the way and the truth and the life.”  This phrasing is echoed in article four of the SFO Rule, which includes this:

Christ, the gift of the Father’s love, is the way to him, the truth into which the Holy Spirit leads us, and the life which he has come to give abundantly.

Christ as Truth is fundamental to the point of view of a Franciscan.  The phrase above occurs in the same article of the Rule as the words “gospel to life and life to gospel.”  We have already referenced this article multiple times for earlier chapters, and we have also spoken over and over about the importance of immersing ourselves continuously in the gospel. 

Contemplation of the word “truth” yields another justification for spending so much time with the gospels.  As the first verse says, “everyone on the side of truth” listens to Jesus.  In order for me to listen to Jesus, in order for me to know and comprehend the genuine, eternal Truth that He embodies, I must be His constant companion in the gospels.  As the Rule suggests, as I do this, I must also invite the Holy Spirit along as my guide.  Otherwise, my frail human nature will hamper my ability to take in the Truth in even the smallest measure.  Without the assistance of the Holy Spirit, I become like Pilate, likely to miss the Truth of Jesus in its entirety. 

In fact, immersion as the pursuit of Truth is so important that the phrase “way of truth” can be found in the sources as a title for the entire religion that Francis founded. 

The following occurs in several locations.  I have taken this version from An Umbrian Choir Legend, a brief work that summarizes the last two years of Francis’ life, from the point where he receives the stigmata to his burial.  As Francis neared the end, he was aware his death would be coming soon.  Francis blesses the brothers, then asks to be returned to the Portiuncula.

“Goodbye, all my sons.  Live in the fear of the Lord and remain in Him always.  And because a future test and tribulation is drawing near, happy are those who will persevere in what they have begun.  For now I am hurrying to the Lord to whose grace I commend you all.”

After that he commanded that he be brought to Saint Mary of the Portiuncula, that he might give back his soul to God where he first came to know perfectly the way of truth.  This place he had learned from experience was full of grace and filled with visits of heavenly spirits.  This place he always wanted to be guarded by the brothers with honor, because the new seedling of the religion, sprouting first from there, filled the whole world.

Here you can directly see the link between the words “way of truth” and “the religion.”  As the context makes clear, the religion is the entire movement that Francis founded.  In this passage, Francis himself has labeled his movement “the way of truth,” combining the two labels “way” and “truth” that Jesus declared for himself in John chapter fourteen.

Celano takes this phrase even farther.  In the Second Book of The Life of St Francis, chapter two is entitled in part The Highest Desire of Blessed Francis.  Francis has sought silence and separation from the press of the world.  This is how Celano defines the high desire that resulted from this time of silence:

After he (Francis) had been there for some time, through unceasing prayer and frequent contemplation, he reached intimacy with God in an indescribable way.  He longed to know what in him and about him was or could be most acceptable to the Eternal King.  He sought this diligently and devoutly longed to know in what manner, in what way, and with what desire he would be able to cling more perfectly to the Lord God, according to his counsel and the good pleasure of His will.  This was always his highest philosophy; this was the highest desire that always burned in him as long as he lived.  He asked the simple and wise, the perfect and imperfect, how he could reach the way of truth and arrive at his great goal.

We know already that the highest goal of Francis is to emulate Jesus as perfectly as he can.  Now we see the highest goal of Francis equated to a search for the “way of truth.”  And we also see that the entire religion that Francis founded is also described by that phrase, the “way of truth.” 

If we then recall “life” as the third piece of Jesus’ description of himself in John fourteen, we can complete the circle.  The pursuit of the “way of truth” is in fact the core of the Franciscan religious “life.”  If I were to immerse myself in the gospels, searching out Jesus as the Way and the Truth that I might emulate Him, I can then believe that I am living the “life of abundance which Jesus came to give me.”   

This is the purpose of a well lived life.  It has nothing to do with earthly power or the accumulation of earthly goods.  A life that is spent in poverty and minority, a life that is spent without regard to earthly concern, a life spent in pursuit of the “way of truth,” is the most abundant and complete life I could live.

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We need to understand beyond any doubt the importance of Pilate as a figure in the life of Jesus.  If Jesus is the embodiment of Truth, then Pilate is the embodiment of the failure that occurs when we are unable to set worldly concern aside in favor of seeking the “way of truth.”

Because of this, Pilate, despite his brief appearance, is as important as any other figure in the gospels other than Jesus himself.  He has so very much to teach us.

He is the embodiment of failure for me on a personal level.  When I think back across my sinful life, I find the same mistake occurring over and over again.  Some worldly concern has my full attention.  As a result, my decision process is flawed.  My decision process is not governed by the Truth that is Jesus revealed in the gospels.  Instead, I decide based on my own desire for what I want the truth to be in order to fulfill the wicked desire of my flesh.  I follow in the footsteps of Pilate and allow truth to become relative and I fail as a result.

I would like to tell you that being a Franciscan has cured me, but it simply is not the case.  I need to be continually immersed in gospel centered conversion in order to have a chance.  I need, just as Francis did, the silence and unceasing prayer that allows the desire for the “way of truth,” the Franciscan religion, to fully blossom within me just as it did in him.

Pilate, because he is a prominent politician and a worldly leader, is also the embodiment of the failure of our culture at the macro scale.  We live in a culture that presses us at every turn to accept relativism as an overarching guiding principal for our lives.  The gravest of our social ills, issues like abortion and same sex marriage, are rooted in this moral relativism.

God is present at the moment of conception.  His Will is active as a fetus is formed. That fetus is destined by God to be born into the world as His child.  This is an eternal Truth that we accept as having been discerned throughout the long history of the church.  It is not the church’s truth or our individual truth.  It is the type of Truth that Jesus testifies to in his invitation to Pilate.

The same logic applies to the definition of marriage.  Scripture addresses this directly and the Church builds upon what scripture says in Genesis 2:24 to reach its conclusions on the nature of marriage, stating that it is the will of God that marriage be between a man and a woman.  Again, this is the type of Truth that Jesus testifies to in the gospels.

Yet our culture allows a woman to abort her child because it wants the power of truth for itself. And it allows a man to marry a man or a woman a woman for the same reasons.  It refuses to accept the higher Truth because it is not convenient to the goals of those who wickedly desire earthly power and pleasure as their first and only concern.  They can never succeed in their pursuit so long as Jesus as eternal Truth thwarts them.  So they work with all their energy to make truth relative in order to achieve their desires, which are so very different from the desire for the “way of Truth” that Franciscan religion expresses.

It is Pilate all over again.  Our culture is deaf to the Truth of Jesus just as Pilate was.

And innocents pay the price now, just as Jesus did then.