Good morning!
Greetings in the name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
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. (John 18:38)
“What is truth?” Whoever we are, we all have asked this very question at least once in our life. This is certainly the top and fundamental question for centuries to many philosophers and scholars. Many universities’ emblems also bear Veritas (truth) including Harvard. Perhaps we are programmed to search for truth, and want to know about truth. Pilate was not much different. He asked the very question – “What is truth?” Unfortunately, he was not ready for “the truth.” Right after he asked the question, he went back outside to talk to the Jews. He might have thought that he had enough knowledge about the circumstantial truth (i.e., the relationship between Jews and Jesus), not the truth that Jesus mentioned in the previous verse: “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.” (John 18:37) Jesus came to this world to bear witness “the truth.” Everyone on the side of truth listens to Jesus. Unfortunately, he was not of the truth. Thus, he was blind although the Savior was right before him. Are you searching for the truth? Be silent by calming down all earthly matters entangling in your life, look up Jesus on the cross, truly listen to what Jesus tells you, and receive the truth. Then the truth will make you free (John 8:32). Jesus came to this world to make us set us free from all of our sins and transgressions through the blood of the cross, which is the truth and the proof of the God’s love to us.
And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25)
“What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” looks legitimate, but it was not. The motivation was a self-justification. In Bible, the same question was asked by a rich young man (Matthew 19:16, Mark 10:17, Luke 18:18). The young man said he perfectly kept all commandments. Therefore, the Lawyer, who taught the law, should have been perfect of keeping the law. The lawyer thought that he was able to inherit eternal life by perfectly keeping the law. Is it possible to keep all the law perfectly without breaking even a smallest part of the law? Nobody in our human history was perfect in the law. The law is holy (Roman 7:12), but we are not. Thus, the law exposes how sinful we are and how remote from inheriting eternal life. As a result, the holy and blameless law acquires us as sinners who cannot inherit eternal life. The correct answer for the above question is absolutely “No. You cannot inherit eternal life by doing (i.e., our own efforts) or keeping the law because you are not capable.” Jesus did not answer both cases. He taught them about the truth in the language that they could understand with patience, love and compassion. “And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him…”(Mark 10:21) Both of the lawyer and young man could see limitation of what they could do. The young man left in sadness (Mark 10:22) because he directly saw his inability to inherit eternal life by his own doing. However, Bible tells the real truth — the good news:
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8 )
Yes, we cannot get the eternal life (i.e., be saved) by our own efforts or works, but we are saved through faith. Thus, it is the gift of God, which is freely given to us. It is not our own doing. Thus, we cannot credit to ourselves nor we can boast. Praise the Lord! The salvation comes from Him through the cross with His love. Whoever believes in Him should not perish and have eternal life (John 3:16). Yes, once we believe in Him, we get the truth – eternal life, which is the good news to all of us. Praise the Lord! His mercy, grace and love endure forever. We will dwell in the house of the Lord, forever!
When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” (John 21:21)
Right after being fully restored by Jesus, Peter asked this question. Jesus healed Peter’s wound and shame – denial of Jesus three times before people including a small girl. He was fully immersed in the love of Jesus, who asked three times, “Do you love me?” Then Jesus told Pete “Follow me.” However, Peter turned and saw John, a fellow disciple. Peter’s focus was again drifted away from Jesus. Jesus repeated “You follow me!” (John 21:22). Where is our focus?
Intellectual arrogance, boasting of our own might and achievement, or focusing on others to measure up can be our main motive of coming to God. These temptations are often obvious, but sometimes very subtle. Be sensitive and listen to the voice of Jesus Christ. Continue fixing our eyes on Jesus Christ, who is the pioneer and perfector of our faith. Stand firm on the solid rock of faith, and pray continually for each other with the mind of Jesus Christ, who emptied Himself for ourselves.
Let’s continue pray to God not to be tempted by what we have and see, but to fix our eyes on Jesus Christ. Then pray continually for each other to together grow into a deeper relationship with God. Praise the Lord!