Pilate’s Good Friday Question?

Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” (John 8:38)

Jeff Bell
1 min readMar 31, 2021

Pilate asks, “What is Truth?”

The echo of this question rattles in every mind.

In every age within every land.

From every creed expounded by every clan.

Before the only one who could,

if ever there was one who would.

He chose not to hear.

He shows him the door.

He exports him to Golgotha’s moor.

Did he care to learn?

Or was he too frightened,

so feigned a lack of concern?

Marching out of his house and out of his life

went Jesus Christ.

Did this sacrifice kill off his inquest?

Or did it only fester without rest?

Did his question rise anew

when three days later rumours grew?

When death was met with life reborn,

did he ask again,

or keep ignorance his norm?

This we will never know,

but still we all will ask,

silently, or in select company,

what Pontius asked.

Do we want to hear?

Do we want to know?

Or is truth a concept, and a Savior

we’d prefer to ignore?

Would it fill us with guilt?

Could it consume us with shame?

Or possibly,

maybe even miraculously,

could the one Pilate asked,

free us from our prideful pain?

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Jeff Bell

Minister of Trentside Baptist, Bobcaygeon Ontario