“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.””

John 18:37

In a sense, everyone has questioned who Jesus is. Many have asked, and have not been interested enough to stick around to find out. Others have asked, didn’t like what they heard, and began to – directly or indirectly – make Jesus who they wanted Him to be. Some have heard, accepted, followed, and worshipped!

But nobody has ever questioned Jesus quite like Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea under the emperor Tiberius. Before Jesus’ crucifixion, he questioned Jesus face to face, with earthly authority to judge and convict. Jesus, full of wisdom, spoke volumes with every sentence. Instead of clueing in, Pilate revealed his own hard heart with a profound, yet defensive question. “What is truth?”, he shot back. What Pilate didn’t realize, and what the majority of people down through the ages have missed, is that foundational statement Jesus had made just days earlier: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6).

Pilate could not see the truth he was seeking, even though he was literally staring at Truth face to face!

The reason Jesus came was to give His life as a substitute for our sin, to show us the Truth about how to become a part of His Kingdom! The clue was in what He said: “Everyone on the side of Truth listens to me.”

Do you listen? Are you interested in listening? Can you hear Him? You’ll know you are on the side of Truth by how you listen. Let’s all take time to look through the commercialism of this season and truly examine our hearts. Christmas is the perfect time to be a part of God’s family!

~ Inspired by a devotional from John Piper