THE KING’ S BUSINESS
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not “o f the truth.” How many men o f our day who boast that they, are devotees o f the truth are condemned by these words. Indeed these words condemn many who profess to be preachers o f Christ. These men dare to doubt the absolute authority o f Jesus, and to turn a deaf ear to His vpice: Let every one who does not listen with absolute faith to the words o f Jesus lay to his heart these words, “Every one that is o f the truth heareth my voice.” Thursday, August 2 Q. John 18 : 38 - 40 . “What, is truth ?” asked Pilate. Pilate was great at asking questions, and this was a great question-. But Pilate was not great at laying the answers to heart. In the present case he did not even wait for an answer to the 'tremendous question he had asked. His manner o f asking the ques tion implies that he did not think that any one could know what the truth is. He was a typical agnostic : he was an utter skeptic, but his skepticism was the result o f his shallowness, and his skepticism robbed his life o f all lasting moral earnest ness, and ended in wretched ruin and sui cide. It was a good question he asked, and he asked it o f the right person, but there was no deep sincerity in the asking and so he got no answer. But Jesus Him self answered the question on another occa sion (John 14:6). Jesus Himself is the truth. This is the final answer to the ques tion, what is truth? Instead o f waiting for'an answer to this question Pilate again attempts to get Jesus off his hands. He appeals to a custom that they had that a person should be released to them at the Passover time, and asked them whom he should release unto them, Jesus or, and over against Jesus he put the most con temptible criminal that he ,had in custody, Barabbas. He thought o f course they would choose Jesus, but to his amazement and dis may they said, “ Not this man but Barab bas.” It was a strange answer that they gave to Pilate’s question, but the world has been giving the same awful answer ever since; they, have been choosing Barabbas
Him to death according to their own law He would have been put to death by ston ing as a blasphemer, but Jesus had pre dicted that He was to be crucified, and the Jews by seeking His death at the hands o f the Romans, all unconsciously were ful filling the predictions o f the man whom they had sought to discredit. Wednesday, August 28 . John 18 : 33 - 37 . “Art thou the King o f the Jews?” asked Pilate. It is a tremendous question, and for once~Pilate was honest and earnest in asking it. But he did not ask it intelli gently, he misapprehended the nature of Jesus’ kingship. T o bring this fact out Jesus asked him a question, “ Sayest thou .this o f thyself, or did others tell it thee concerning me?” If asked from the Roman standpoint '(that is the standpoint o f His being a disputer o f their claims to reign over the Jews) No, He was not the king o f the Jews. But if asked from the stand poin t-of an intelligent Scriptural under standing o f His kingship, yes, He was the King o f the Jews! He was the One in. whom all the Old Testament prophecies -were to' be fulfilled (ch. 1 :45, 49; Isa. 9:6, 7). But though . He was “ King' o f the Jews” His kingdom was “not o f (out o f) this world,” i.e., it was not o f worldly ori gin or character, it was out o f heaven, not out o f this world. In other words, it was o f Divine origin. Nevertheless, this king dom o f heavenly origin shall be set up in this world. The kingdom as manifested in the first coming o f Christ, indeed that kingdom in its very essence, is primarily a kingdom o f truth (v. 37). He came into |the World that He should “bear witness unto the truth.” This He did, not only by what He said, but even more by what He was. By His words, His life, His charac ter, He' bore witness unto the truth (John 14:6). The attitude men take toward Jesus Christ and His words is the decisive test o f what they are, “Every one that is o f the truth heareth His. (m y ) voice.” He- is the truth, and therefore if any one does not hear Him it proves conclusively that he is
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