In this series we’re considering the statements made by Pilate, the judge at the trial of the Lord Jesus. Pilate probably didn’t intend his words to be profound, but they are!

We hope you find them interesting and thought-provoking.

Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say [rightly] that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” (John 18:37)

Pilate’s query sounds like a sneer. Certainly, the prisoner standing in front of him did not look in the least like a king. He had no courtiers in attendance, for all His closest followers had scuttled off in fear. He wore no impressive robes of office, lacked any obvious trappings of power or influence, owned no land over which He ruled. And yet Christ’s amazingly unruffled answer to the Roman Governor has all the dignity and authority we traditionally associate with kingship, and more. He asserted that His birth was unlike any other. All men and women, of course, are born, but the Lord Jesus said He had ‘come into the world’. Why? Because as the Son of God He existed eternally outside the world before He was born at Bethlehem. Further, He came to earth for a distinct purpose, to ‘bear witness to the truth’. This means far more than simply speaking up for what was true and honest. He had earlier told His disciples, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’ (John 14:6). He came to point people to Himself as the only genuine way into a living relationship with God. The message was desperately needed because by nature we are all sinners, alienated from God. And He also announced that those who are ‘of the truth’ would heed His voice. What does that mean? The words of the Lord Jesus Christ possess a unique in-built convicting power which resonates in the hearts of all, young and old, male and female, who recognise their total inadequacy and cry out for salvation. If you know the filthiness of your heart, if you have a desire to get to know the living God, then listen to the Lord Jesus Christ.