Joh 18:38 | KingComments | STEP | Pilate believes that he has now received an answer to his earlier question about the kingship of the Lord Jesus, although he now asks if He is “a” King, that is, King in a general sense. The Lord confirms his conclusion. He adds that His birth and His coming into the world do not have as their sole purpose that He will be King. That He has been “born” indicates that He became Man; that He “has come into the world” indicates His existence before He came into the world. The great, so to speak, overarching purpose of His birth and His coming into the world is to bear witness to the truth. He became Man to testify to men about the Father from Whom He came and Whom He knows eternally as the eternal Son. Through His testimony of the truth, His kingdom is expanded. Truth means that the true character of something or someone is seen in His light, with His eyes. Then it becomes visible Who God is, but also who man is and likewise what the authority of a government is. Everything the Lord has said and done is one great testimony of the truth. To hear His voice, one must be “of the truth” ( ). Earlier He said that His sheep hear His voice ( ). To be “of the truth” means that a person has come to new life by acknowledging the truth and thus has become one of His sheep. One who is of the truth has first acknowledged the truth about himself as a sinner. He has heard and believed the word of truth, the gospel of his salvation ( ) and has been given new life. This also enables such a person to receive every truth that the Son makes known. As a Roman judge, for Pilate to find out the truth is the same as pursuing a mirage. For Pilate, there is no such thing as truth. It makes it clear that he does not want the Son as the truth and rejects Him. Yet he wants to justify himself by pretending to the Jews that he finds no guilt in the Lord Jesus.

‏ John 18:38

Testimony to the Truth

Pilate believes that he has now received an answer to his earlier question about the kingship of the Lord Jesus, although he now asks if He is “a” King, that is, King in a general sense. The Lord confirms his conclusion.

He adds that His birth and His coming into the world do not have as their sole purpose that He will be King. That He has been “born” indicates that He became Man; that He “has come into the world” indicates His existence before He came into the world. The great, so to speak, overarching purpose of His birth and His coming into the world is to bear witness to the truth. He became Man to testify to men about the Father from Whom He came and Whom He knows eternally as the eternal Son.

Through His testimony of the truth, His kingdom is expanded. Truth means that the true character of something or someone is seen in His light, with His eyes. Then it becomes visible Who God is, but also who man is and likewise what the authority of a government is. Everything the Lord has said and done is one great testimony of the truth. To hear His voice, one must be “of the truth” (1Jn 3:19).

Earlier He said that His sheep hear His voice (Jn 10:16). To be “of the truth” means that a person has come to new life by acknowledging the truth and thus has become one of His sheep. One who is of the truth has first acknowledged the truth about himself as a sinner. He has heard and believed the word of truth, the gospel of his salvation (Eph 1:13) and has been given new life. This also enables such a person to receive every truth that the Son makes known.

As a Roman judge, for Pilate to find out the truth is the same as pursuing a mirage. For Pilate, there is no such thing as truth. It makes it clear that he does not want the Son as the truth and rejects Him. Yet he wants to justify himself by pretending to the Jews that he finds no guilt in the Lord Jesus.