The Right Side of History Is the Side of the Truth?

CONSECRATE Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.  Jesus, I belong to you. I lift up my heart to you. I set my mind on you. I fix my eyes on you. I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice. Jesus, we belong to you.  Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.  HEAR John 18:36–38 ESV Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him.” CONSIDER I grew up thinking Barabbas was a bad guy. You know, just another garden-variety criminal. I thought the people hated Jesus so much they would rather let a convicted murderer go free than save him. It turns out Barabbas was more of a freedom-­fighter type, an insurrectionist, a hero who had taken one for the team. The people loved Barabbas. He was probably something of a minor celebrity among them. He would make an excellent Passover gift. And isn’t it interesting how the Roman governor had a custom of observing the Jewish Passover by releasing one of their prisoners? It’s kind of like he was the agent of the Passover, pardoning a criminal in celebration. It’s all such a joke. Did Pilate have any idea what the Passover meant? Did he know it was the downfall of Pharaoh? He couldn’t have cared less. The Jews were nothing to Pilate and less than nothing to Caesar. Releasing Barabbas was like throwing them a bone to get them out of his hair. Meanwhile, back at the palace, Pontius Pilate, mid-level political appointee that he was, engaged in what must have seemed like yet another of the most inconsequential conversations of his career. Little did he know this interaction with another convicted criminal would ultimately make him more famous than Caesar. Pilate patronized him: “So you are a king?” Listen to what Jesus said to him: “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” My translation of Pilate’s retort: “Whatever!” Isn’t that always the world’s posture toward the truth? Whatever! “Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Truth has a side. These days everybody wants to be on the right side of history. No one seems to care too much about being on the right side of the truth. Here's the truth: The right side of history is the side of the Truth.  Truth has a side. We find it by listening to his voice.  PRAY Abba Father, thank you for your Son, Jesus, who not only teaches us the truth, but who is, himself, the Truth. Grant us the humility to love the Truth and the courage to stand by his side no matter what. We pray in Jesus’s name, amen.