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10 Comments
So Saul is a farmer and David is a shepherd... like Cain and Abel. Not sure if there's anything there, just something I noticed.
ReplyDeleteI guess we're all placed in the position of Pilate, asking what truth is. I can't decide whether that question in the Gospel of John is meant to be sarcastic or honest. It seems sarcastic, in which case I might almost call Pilate a relativist. Relativism is one of the most fashionable things to believe right now, despite its contradictory nature. There isn't a point in arguing to discover the truth if you don't believe in absolute truth. All that leaves open is competition. Sad but true. Relativism is a great tragedy. It proves how illogical people can be.
Scire volo,
~Gabby
Gabby, I think the question ("what is truth") is keenly sarcastic, or pridefully clever - and also demonically obtuse. If you ask that question honestly, you find God. Who, in Pilate's case, was standing right before him.
DeleteWhat you speak of in the video today is aptly summed up in the reading from Proverbs, in particular verses 29-32: "Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, would have none of my counsel, and despised all my reproof, therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way and be sated with their own devices. For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacence of fools destroys them."
DeleteSaul reminds me of the ancient Roman hero, Cincinnatus, who leaves his farm to save the land from a foe who has put the Roman army in a tight spot. Only he resigns the office of dictator and goes back to his farm, while Saul comes into his own as king.
-Ryan
I think the Cain and Abel parallel works at least to a degree, only that Saul was originally a good king, while Cain never offered a pleasing sacrifice to the Lord. Very interesting.
DeleteTo me, Pilate's remark has always seemed cynical/disinterested.
The question of "what is truth?" is sarcasm to the fullest degree. Pilate is an empty man atop a throne that could vanish at any whim of the Emperor. He has not found truth, at any rate, and it's probably this emptiness and hopelessness that brings forth his unbelief that there is truth. He is apathetic and hollow. He has "eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear".
DeleteYet isn't there a tradition in some Eastern rites that he repented and is actually counted among the saints?
DeleteI've never heard of that.
DeleteYour comment about Pilate having "eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear" is excellent, Gabby.
DeleteThere is apparently a tradition in the Ethiopian church that Pilate converted.
There is no evidence of that in Scripture - though "What I have written, I have written" indicates at least resistance to the Scribes and Pharisees, and there is the fact that he does defend Jesus publicly - as much as he thinks he can, without incurring the wrath of the mob and political repercussions.
So he's clearly not all bad - though his lack of nerve and his obtuseness make him the archetype for leaders who are ultimately merely men-pleasers, or for sophisticates who are stupid.
I have always interpreted Pilate's resistance to the Scribes and Pharisees as Roman pride and not wanting to be bossed around by the Jews.
ReplyDeleteGabby, we will look more closely at this as we progress through the Gospel according to John. Pilate comes off better than you'd expect, especially in John.
Delete