“What Is Truth?” Pilate's Question In Its Johannine And Larger Biblical Context -- By: Andreas J. Köstenberger
Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 48:1 (Mar 2005)
Article: “What Is Truth?” Pilate's Question In Its Johannine And Larger Biblical Context
Author: Andreas J. Köstenberger
JETS 48:1 (March 2005) p. 33
“What Is Truth?”
Pilate's Question In Its Johannine
And Larger Biblical Context
Andreas J. Köstenberger, professor of New Testament at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, 120 S. Wingate Street, Wake Forest, NC 27587, and editor of the Journal, delivered this plenary address at the 56th annual meeting of the ETS on November 17, 2004 in San Antonio, TX.
“What is truth?”1 It is hard to imagine a more profound question with more momentous consequences. A quest for truth has driven the world's greatest philosophers and theologians. “What is truth?” is also the question Pilate asked Jesus according to John. Has Pilate therefore gone among the philosophers? Few are prepared to argue this. More likely, Pilate's question has several layers of meaning, which is why it has intrigued commentators over the centuries and continues to exercise a fascination that pays tribute not so much to the one who originally asked the question but to the evangelist and theologian who wove the question into the fabric of his Gospel concerning Jesus, the Christ and Son of God.
In the following essay, I will take a fresh look at the ramifications of Pilate's question, “What is truth?” in John 18:38 in the immediate context of John's account of Jesus' Roman trial (18:28–19:16a) and the larger context of the Johannine passion narrative (18–19) and the farewell discourse (13–17) and ultimately the entire Gospel.2 After a few introductory remarks on the concept of truth, I will, first, assess the historicity of 18:33–38a; second, probe the relationship between the passage and major themes in John's Gospel; and, third, look at the three major characters in 18:28–19:16a. I will close with several observations concerning John's account of Jesus' trial before Pilate, related to Pilate's question to Jesus, “What is truth?”
JETS 48:1 (March 2005) p. 34
I. What Is Truth
The term “truth” had currency in Greek philosophy, Roman thought, and the Hebrew Bible (including its many uses in the lxx).3 In Greek philosophy, one of the senses of aletheia involved an accurate perspective on reality.4 Romans similarly spoke of Veritas as a f...
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