John 18:28-40
Jesus and Pilate Dialogue is One on Faith and Belief
28 Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. 29 So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”
30 “If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.”
31 Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.”
“But we have no right to execute anyone,” they objected. 32 This took place to fulfill what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to die.
33 Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
34 “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”
35 “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”
36 Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
38 “What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. 39 But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”
40 They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising.
The brief encounter between Jesus during His trial and Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor of Judea, is an interesting moment in the Gospels...And even though their discussion is very brief, in their dialogue, we see the deepness of several Spiritual Questions and of Spiritual Authority being talked about...We see the differences in earthly authority and Divine Authority...Their discussion makes us reflect on the subjects of power, truth, and the nature of authority on earth and the Authority in Heaven...Jesus makes His trial, a Spiritual Trial and one of and about faith...
Pilate represents power on earth with his governorship...He holds the authority to condemn or release Jesus...So when Pilate asks Jesus if He is a King, it maybe ask because maybe Jesus is a threat to Pilate's own power and the ability to maintain order...So we can recognize Pilate's concern and reason for the question about being a King...Yet, Pilate's power does not seem to concern Jesus at all...And this is true and Jesus remains so calm and patient, even though He knows what awaits Him...So Pilate must be perplexed by Jesus' demeanor...It seems that Pilate is much more agitated and anxious than Jesus is, especially as Jesus calmly answers Pilate's questions...So the answer to Pilate's question of "Is this your own question, or did others speak to you about Me?" is interesting...This question gets personal to Pilate, and was meant to...Pilate cannot understand why the chief priest and Jews are bringing charges against Him...This dialogue is not one of being a criminal or how a criminal would answer questions...So Pilate asks Him what have You done...
Jesus, on the other hand, really is a King and possesses the Power of God, and this Great Spiritual Divine Power...He embodies a Power, that is rooted in Truth and Divine Spiritual Authority....Jesus forces Pilate in their discussion to reflect on his own beliefs and ideas and forces Pilate to think about his own conscience...
When Jesus responds with a statement that further challenges Pilate's authority: "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 here"...This statement highlights Jesus's knowledge of both earthly authority and Spiritual Authority...
Then Pilate answers "So, you are a king?"...This question reveals Pilate's growing curiosity about Jesus's True and Real Identity...So Jesus responds with a statement that shifts the focus back to Pilate: "You say that I am a King...For this purpose I was born, and for this purpose I have come into the world—to testify to the Truth...Whoever belongs to the Truth hears My voice"...This statement tells us why Jesus's mission on earth is to bring forth Truth, implying that Pilate, as a seeker of truth, should be receptive to Jesus Teachings and His Message...But again, nothing at all sounds criminal...
Pilate, who must be thinking this is still a personal conversation between Jesus and me, realizing the depth of the conversation asks a cynical question: "What is truth?"...This question reflects Pilate's skepticism about the existence of Absolute Truth, and takes us to a point where one could believe that Pilate believes in relative truths and his own personal truths, especially since he thinks he is the one with the authority on earth that God has given him...
The dialogue between the two ends with not many answers, so Pilate must be reflecting on Jesus Personal Spiritual Questions...And Pilate must be wondering about, just as we wonder about the earthly things and the Heavenly Treasures...And how we think about earth and its different things and authorities and how Heaven and its different things and Its Authorities...
This criminal dialogue between judge and Criminal has been somehow gotten turned into a Spiritual conversation...The discussion and questions are about faith and thoughts of faith...