Day 19 | Ja’Monda Davis
John 18:33-38
33 So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called
Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the
Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own
accord, or did others say it to you about me?” 35 Pilate
answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief
priests have delivered you over to me. What have you
done?” 36 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.” 37 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.” 38 Pilate said to him, “What is truth? After he had
said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told
them, “I find no guilt in him.”
This section of scripture leaves many things to observe. It is
interesting to consider that Jesus knew Pilate’s heart and
thoughts during their dialog. In the natural, Jesus was on
trial, with Pilate attempting to find a cause for the
judgment of Jesus. However, one could surmise that it was
actually Pontius Pilate who was on trial, as he stood before
the righteous Judge, the living God in the flesh. Pilate had
the long-awaited Messiah standing before him, but he did
not recognize Him as such. Pilate’s view was a narrow view
as his perspective was based on the world, and what he
could see before him. However, Jesus in verse 36 of this
passage explained that His perspective is not based on or
limited by this world. His thoughts and ways are so much
higher than our thoughts and ways.
Day 19 (continued)|
Jesus saw far beyond the moment when he talked with
Pontius Pilate, and He sees beyond our circumstances,
beyond our generation, and into eternity. All earthly
kingdoms will come to an end, but God’s kingdom will reign
forever. Finally, in verses 37 and 38, Pontius Pilate and Jesus
spoke about truth, with Jesus referring to absolute Truth and
Pilate speaking of relative truth, a topic that has been
argued about until this very day. In the reading of this
scripture, I am challenged to try and see things from an
eternal perspective. There is a reason why the Bible calls us
to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7) and to
trust in the Lord with all our hearts, and to lean not on our
own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). God who spoke the world
into existence, created us all, and died to save us sees the
big picture. We can be deceived and led astray when we
lean on our own understanding. It is for great love, mercy,
grace, and protection that God calls us to faith and
absolute Truth. His ultimate plans are good for those who
love him and are called according to his purpose.
