a lawless blog

The year ends with the most paradoxical image of all: Jesus as king.

From Daniel, gazing into the visions of the night to see one such as a son of man coming on the clouds of heaven, to the Book of Revelations with its grand scenario:

Jesus Christ is the faithful witness,
the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,
who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father,
to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.

we come finally to John's account of Jesus at the crucial stage of his journey, standing before Pilate who will judge him according to the justice of the world. And Jesus looks anything but kingly.

In all our discussions about Jesus, as in all our preaching and devotional practice, I wonder do we give this scene its due consideration. It seems to me that in the whole trial, and particularly in this key moment, we have the fullest explanation of who Jesus was and what he was about.

Pilate said to Jesus, "Are you the King of the Jews?"
Jesus answered, "Do you say this on your own or have others told you about me?"
Pilate answered, "I am not a Jew, am I?
Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me.
What have you done?"
Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world.
If my kingdom did belong to this world,
my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.
But as it is, my kingdom is not here."
So Pilate said to him, "Then you are a king?"
Jesus answered, "You say I am a king.
For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.
Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."

The dialogue starts with Jesus wanting to know exactly the meaning Pilate is giving to his question. He then answers not a Jewish question but a Roman one, saying that he is not the kind of king the empire would have reason to fear. If he were, his followers would be armed and fighting, but he is not that sort of king. 'So you are a king of some kind,' says Pilate, and Jesus makes the most formal declaration of his purpose: 'Yes I am a king – my purpose is to bear witness to the truth.'

In John's gospel we have heard of 'the truth' a number of times. Commentators explain that the truth is that Jesus is the revelation of God, and the truth encompasses all that he teaches about God. But before Pilate, I think Jesus is putting the accent not on this theological meaning of the truth but on his commitment to bear witness to the truth. His determination is to be true to his purpose, which is the role of a king. Nothing less.

To bear witness to the truth.

Pilate shoots back with the quick response of the cynic: What is truth? And then immediately withdraws the question, realising the emptiness of that debate. Before him stands a man ready to lay down his life in witness to the truth, shifting the issue clean out of the theoretical field of philosophical debate. Whatever this man thinks 'is the truth', he is ready to die for it. That is the point.

When today we ask the perennial questions about Jesus, who was he, what does he stand for, we would do well to stand beside Pilate and listen to what Jesus says. 'My whole purpose is to bear witness to the truth.' Is this where we will find the answer to last week's question posed by the Editor of Catholica: “What is your picture of the ideal Catholic or follower of Jesus?” (http://www.catholica.com.au/forum/index.php?id=117649)

Brian suggested that the christian ideal is to search for ultimate truth. It is something that arises out of the deepest drive in our lives and goes far beyond the keeping of ten commandments. "Above all it is searching for the correct moral and ethical responses to the challenges we face in our lives each day."

For some time now I have thought that TRUTH was the key, and so I have no disagreement with the substance of Brian's position. I am, however, concerned that the expression 'to search for the ultimate truth' seems to suggest that ultimate truth is a goal we can and should reach, the key to everything. I think there are problems with this.

You cannot acquire or possess ultimate truth. It is not a treasure hidden in a field or a pearl of great price. Truth in fact is never final or ultimate. Truth is essentially relative. Among humans truth is a function of the relationship between persons. In any real situation the 'truth' that one person sees will never be identical with the truth as another one sees it. Hence to be truthful is something you strive for or work towards, without ever gaining possession of or being able to express the whole truth. So Jesus could sum up his purpose, the ultimate meaning of his existence as being 'to bear witness to the truth'. It is enough that we bear witness to truth; we don't have to conquer it, possess it, or reach the 'ultimate truth'.

I was led to reflect on 'truth' in the natural world and was mildly horrified to recognise that 'nature' is a web of deception. As we look more and more closely at the fabric of life we find every living entity presenting a front to its surrounding environment and using deception to entrap its prey, its food, or even its mating partner. The wonderful world of flowers is an awesome celebration of deception. (See, for example, David Attenborough's documentaries on plants.) At the other end of the spectrum, our world of trade and commerce functions by way of bargaining, which seems to involve honourable deception by all parties. We draw the line at deceptive practices that break the rules, but the rules themselves seem to be arbitrary, and we accept the axiom Buyer beware as fundamental to the game.

Where, then, does our profound revulsion at deceit and lying come from? Jesus said the devil is the father of lies, but he condemned neither trade nor competition. You might as well condemn the displays indulged in by many bird species in selecting a mate. I imagine he would accept advertising as we know it today without much comment. But lying is another matter, so it seems. And therefore truth is another matter again.

*****

What does it mean, to bear witness to the truth? For Jesus during his active life it was a matter of calling for a new way of thinking (metanoia); of insisting on the primacy of the person as seen in those who are sick, crippled by disability, oppressed or trapped in poverty; of teaching about simple honesty in how we think and what we wish for (the beatitudes); of speaking the truth to power in confronting those who lorded it over the people, challenging them in a way that exposed their hollowness and duplicity; and in this final hour standing firm before the civil judge, not turning away before the threat of death but declaring his purpose in this final statement: to give witness to the truth.

The 'real christian', then, would be one who bears witness to the truth in words and in life, doing the truth in love. In the present crisis confronting the church there is scope for many to bear witness to the truth, starting with truthful acknowledgement of past personal falsehood in word and action. Not only christians but the whole world is crying out for a change of mind and heart in the institutions that normally should command respect in society. The option is sometimes as stark as could be imagined: to be truth-full one is going to have to abandon every defensive manoeuvre, speak the truth with simplicity, and leave the judgement to others.

Jesus was a whistleblower who had an unbreakable commitment to the truth. In this he is king. All who are of the truth listen to his voice.

Tony Lawless