» ‘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. ‘ Pilate said to Him, ‘What is truth?’” (John 18:37, 38).
THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT THE APPEARANCE OF JESUS, noble and at the same time humble, must have impressed Pilate when the religious leaders took the Lord to him to be judged. However, was the Roman procurator interested in knowing the truth?
According to The Desire of Ages, the answer is yes. When he heard the Savior; words, «his heart was stirred with a great longing to know what it really was, and how he could obtain it.»—ch. 77, p. 727. The problem was that he did not wait for the answer. After asking, «What is truth?» Pilate «went out again to the Jews were, and said to them, ‘I find no fault in Him’ » (John 18:38).
Why did he not wait for Jesus’s answer? There were two battles that were unfolding simultaneously that morning in the praetorium. One, that of the Jewish religious leaders in their efforts to take the Saviors life. The other, the one that was fought in the heart of the Roman procurator.
Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent. He also knew that the priests «had handed Him over because of envy» (Matthew 27:18). He should, therefore, have released the prisoner, but he did not do so because he «dreaded the ill will of the people. Should he refuse to give Jesus into their hands, a tumult would be raised, and this he feared to meet.»—The Desire of Ages, ch. 77, p. 728. He tried to rid himself of his responsibility by sending Jesus to Herod to be judged, but it did not work. He then placed the Lord next to Barabbas, intending to free Jesus, but that did not work, either. After other failed attempts, he finally «delivered Him to them to be crucified» (John 19:16).
Instead of listening to the voice of his conscience, Pilate gave greater importance to the voice of the people: «Had he carried out his convictions of right, the Jews would not have presumed to dictate to him. Christ would have been put to death, but the guilt would not have rested upon Pilate. But Pilate had taken step after step in the violation of his conscience. «—The Desire of Ages, ch. 77, p. 731.
By handing Jesus over to be crucified, Pilate was securing his office as Roman procurator of Judea, but at what cost! Not only was he sacrificing an innocent life; He was also losing «the other battle»: that of his own salvation. Years later Pilate would commit suicide.
«For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?» (Mark 8:36).
Dear Jesus, today I ask that You take my heart to be the first and most sacred part of my life.
May everything else—success, fame, money, power—pale in comparison to the supreme privilege of loving and serving You.
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Taken from: Devotional Readings for Adults 2022
“GREAT IS OUR GOD!”
From: FERNANDO ZABALA
Collaborators: Xiomara Perdomo & Angelica Cuate
