Saturday, April 11

Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate asked him, “What is truth?” John 18:37–38a


Pilate questioned Jesus after his arrest. He knew the right questions to ask, but was puzzled with the answers. The accused criminal, pretender to the throne, didn’t claim kingship; instead, Jesus claimed to bear witness to “the truth.”

We live in an age where “truth” claims seem relative. We are aware that personal and cultural experiences shape understanding. Pilate’s question, “What is truth?” has the ring of modernity to it.

Truth—fact, reality, certainty, accuracy, veracity, fidelity—the truth to which Jesus witnessed was the being and demeanor of God. Jesus showed us God’s steadfast loving kindness and God’s desire to redeem the world so that we might love God and one another.

“In life and in death, we belong to God…” these words begin an Affirmation of Faith. We belong to God, we belong to the truth, and we belong with those who listen to Jesus’ voice and study his life and seek his witness.


Gracious God, I belong to you. Help me seek your truth through the life of your Son. Strengthen me in the life of discipleship so that I might love you and all your people ever more deeply. Amen.

Martha Langford, Associate Pastor for Congregational Care