Standing Up for Truth
Scripture Reading
John 19:19-22
9 Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, “JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” 20 Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin and in Greek. 21 So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews’; but that He said, ‘I am King of the Jews.’” 22 Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.”
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Devotional
If you’re like me, you may have heard and read about the crucifixion at least once a year, usually around Easter. However, I noticed something in the scripture that I glossed over many times that now stuck out like a sore thumb. In John 19, it wasn’t enough for the Jews to insist on Jesus being punished and crucified while Pilate says he found him without fault, but they go even further. During the first three hours that Jesus is hanging on the cross, Pilate writes a sign to put above the cross that is used to describe the crime committed. Pilate wrote “JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS” and immediately there are complaints from the religious leaders about the sign because even in the midst of Jesus suffering and dying on the cross, they want to make a typographical clarification that Jesus isn’t their king. Pilate refuses to change what is written because it is a sentence and most accurately describes his crime, which is nothing. Simultaneously, it also acknowledges who Jesus is.
When I read this scripture, I was actually stunned at a couple things:
The level of pettiness of suggesting the sign change after strong-arming Pilate into crucifying Jesus all while he is dying on the cross
The only person partially standing up for Jesus’ innocence is Pontius Pilate - a Gentile and non-believer
Now, I’m not trying to say Pontius Pilate was a righteous man by any means because he’s definitely not. But, he does indicate and stand behind the truth of who Jesus is even though he caved to peer pressure to crucify him against his own reservations while ignoring his wife’s warning to not get involved in persecuting a righteous man (Matthew 27:19). While he’s not a believer, there are still some lessons to be learned from his actions.
It’s not enough to know the truth, you must be willing to stand for it
God will use whatever source he wants to reveal the truth
There are a lot of cliches like “knowledge is power” or “the truth will set you free,” but let’s just be honest for a second - neither of those statements are true. It’s not enough to know something is true, especially when it comes to being a believer. You have to accept the truth and follow Jesus. Even the devil knows the truth, but he refuses to accept it or follow God.
Secondly, it’s in our human nature to want to believe the greatest sources of wisdom come from scholars, pastors, theologians, PhD-level academics, etc. We put a lot of our confidence in interpretation of scripture based on people with man-made credentials. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to turn my nose up to any Biblical scholars, theologians, or church leaders because God is certainly using them in amazing ways. I only mention this to say that God will use any source he chooses to reveal or bring about what is in his will whether they have all the credentials or none of the credentials. Over and over in the Bible we see that God uses the least to reveal or fulfill a prophecy. In John 19, we see the greatest extreme of this where religious leaders with the greatest credentials seemingly know the least as they lead the masses astray. Leaders are fallible, they make mistakes, or in other words - they're human just like us in spite of their credentials.
That’s why it’s so important for each of us to stay rooted in the Word, so that we cannot be easily led astray. Knowing and studying the truth for yourself will help you get to know God, stand up for the truth, and follow him daily. Let’s pray.
Prayer
Father God, thank you for being a God who keeps his Word. Thank you for your gift of salvation and the reminder that truth in action leads us closer to you even if it’s from a person we least expect it from. As we move forward, help us to navigate through life knowing our purpose is rooted in you. Amen.
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