Some were filled with anger and venom, spitting out curses at him, at Caesar, at Rome.

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1 Pilate s Questions to Jesus 3. What is Truth? John 18:37-40 As governor of Judea, Pilate had dealt with a number of prisoners. Some were filled with anger and venom, spitting out curses at him, at Caesar, at Rome. Others were sobbing on their knees, pleading for mercy. But all went to their crosses anyway. But no prisoner was like this prophet from Nazareth. He had a quiet dignity about Him, an inner strength that belied His coming fate. It almost seemed to Pilate that He was looking forward to His cross. And His words, the few He spoke, were mysterious. Puzzling. Leaving Pilate confused. Especially the ones in this brief exchange. I came into the world to bear witness to the truth, Jesus declared. And only those who are of the truth will hear my voice. Which led Pilate to ask: A good question, Pilate. Is it only what we say or think it is? Is it the things that we pick and choose to define our version of the truth? Is it some direction we take that is convenient and comfortable? Is it just what we want it to be and no more? I wonder if Pilate was speculating if there was any absolute truth; if he could have one truth that fit him and his lifestyle, while Jesus, and anyone else for that matter, could have His own truth. Surely, there could be as many truths as there are people in the world. That would sure make it easy. Or would it? One of my favorite stories concerns a renowned astronomer who was giving a public lecture on the solar system. After he concluded, a woman from the audience approached him and told him that while she appreciated what he had to say, he was wrong about the earth being round.

2 It s flat, she insisted, and sits on a large platter. The astronomer decided to humor her and asked her where that large platter sits. On the back of a large turtle, the woman insisted. And that turtle sits on the back of another large turtle. And before the astronomer had the opportunity to question her further, she added: Don t bother to ask it s turtles all the way down! Now as foolish as that tower of turtles may sound, doesn t it sound just as foolish to say that we can all have our own version of the truth? Doesn t it sound just as foolish to insist that each one of us can create for ourselves our own version of the truth our own version that meets our needs, that can explain for ourselves our choices and decisions, that allows us to rationalize away the things we do that we know we should not? Isn t it just as foolish to live by a self-made version of the truth that will excuse everything that an absolute truth would not? And we all do it. We all do it. We create our own version of the truth that will enable us to be free of any restrictions an absolute truth would place upon us, free us from any sense of guilt or shame for what we have done, or have not done, free us of any measure of conscience. I ve never met a person yet and I doubt that I will - who hasn t at least tried to live by their own version of the truth. The truth, though and this is the absolute truth - is that living by our own version of the truth is a lot like that tower of turtles eventually the bottom turtle will give way and the whole tower will come tumbling down. And, yes, I ve known a lot of people who have ended up at the bottom of a heap of collapsing turtles, all because they tried to create their own version of the truth. If only Pilate had heard what Jesus said: I have come to bear witness to the truth - the absolute truth and only those who are of the truth will hear my voice and avoid being at the bottom of a collapse tower of turtles. If only he had listened! If only we listen. If we don t, we will never hear Jesus voice the voice that speaks of grace and love and peace. The voice that gives us an absolute truth we can live by forever. I wonder if Pilate was speculating if he could take some of the absolute truth, if he could accept some of it, and still fit it into his own version. I wonder if Pilate wanted some spiritual version of a buffet line take what appeals to him, leave behind what doesn t, and leave it at that. You know, a partial absolute truth. (Boy, that s an oxymoron if there ever was one!) Achilles was one of the great figures of Greek mythology. He was a hero of the Trojan War, and is a central character in Homer s The Iliad. Part of his legend is that he was invulnerable, because, as an infant, he was dipped in the River Styx by his mother Thetis. She wanted to guarantee that he could never be hurt, injured, or killed, no matter what he faced.

3 Of course, as we all know, Thetis forgot that the heel by which she held her son was not dipped in the river. And so this one heel remained vulnerable. And as legend tells it, during a battle in the Trojan War, the Trojan warrior, Paris, shot him in that vulnerable heel with an arrow. It was just his heel, but Achilles, as it turned out, was not 100% invulnerable. A partial absolute truth. One that we can adopt, with just a little adjustment. One we can follow, as long as we can just drop one or two things, or add one or two things that will make it a little easier for us. A little more convenient; a little more comfortable; a little easier to explain away the things we do. Or don t do. But there has never been a partial absolute truth. And that one little thing we change, drop, add, or whatever, ends up as our Achilles heel. And as soon as we convince ourselves: Oh, I can do that, or I don t need to do that, we become vulnerable. And not just in our heel in our soul. And somehow, some way, some day, an arrow will head right for that one spot. And where will we be? And yes, we all do it. We all try to get by, hoping that nothing will affect our Achilles heel. And I ve seen the tragic results of people who try to live, ignoring that Achilles heel in their soul. If only Pilate had listened to Jesus. If only he had heard what the prophet of Nazareth said about the truth that it is absolute and that you can t just pick and choose the parts you want to believe. If only he had listened. If only we listen as well. That we may hear Jesus voice. His voice of hope and power and trust. I wonder if Pilate was seeking an excuse. After all, he wasn t a Jew. He made that point clear in his first exchange with Jesus. He was a Roman. He followed Roman laws. He accepted Roman truths. He lived by Roman standards. You really couldn t blame him for his version of the truth it was his culture and heritage. Or perhaps a better way of saying it was: It s where I was born; it s not my fault! There s a story about a farmer s son who always wanted to plow his father s fields. He watched his father go out with his plow and create neat, straight furrows in the fields as he readied them for planting. And he would beg his father to let him do some plowing. The father finally agreed. And as he strapped his son behind the horse drawn plow, he gave him this warning: Keep your eye on one object. Never take your eye off of it. That way you will plow neat, straight furrows. A few hours later, the father came back to the field, only to find it, well, a mess. There was not a single straight furrow in the field. They were all twisted and curved, even crossing over each other. What happened? the father asked his son. I told you to keep your eye fixed on one object.

4 I did, the boy sobbed. But the rabbit kept hopping around. I suppose he should have chosen an object that was a little less mobile. How about us? Do we? Do we fix our eyes upon Jesus? Only? Or do we choose to accept the ways of the world? The standards that society tries to teach us? The directions that our culture holds dear? The guidance that everybody else adopts? Which will be different tomorrow than today. We do. Of course we do. If we didn t, we would live a much more peaceful life, and the furrows into which Jesus wants to plant seeds would be neat and straight, rather than all over the place! Of course, we could always just blame the rabbit. Rather than blaming ourselves for not choosing the one immovable force in life Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth, whose came to bear witness to the one truth, the only truth, the absolute truth. And if we keep following the rabbit, we will never hear His voice the voice that tells us how to be free of all the rabbits in our lives. If only Pilate had listened. If only we listen. It s Jesus and His love. It s the truth that hung on the Cross. It s the truth that carried Him into a tomb. It s the truth that brought Him forth from that same tomb. It s the truth that keeps us free free of the collapsing tower of turtles that will never support us; free of the Achilles heels in our souls that leaves us vulnerable; free of the rabbits that lead us far from where we need to be. If only Pilate had listened. Do we?

5 Worship March 11, 2018 Call: In Hymnal Assurance: In Hymnal Children s Message: Truth what happens if you don t tell the truth? Jesus always did. Prayer: God of grace, teach us that only by turning to You can we find the absolute truth that sets us free from the lies we tell ourselves. God of grace, teach us that only by turning to You can we find the absolute truth that sets us free from the all too easy compromises we make. God of grace, teach us that only by turning to You can we find the absolute truth that sets us free of the broken ways of the world. God of grace, teach us that only by turning to You can we find the absolute truth that enables us to hear the voice of Jesus calling us home to where You want us to be. And God, one more thing: help us to listen to that one absolute truth of which You are the author. Needs, etc. LORD S PRAYER