What is truth
What is truth is in the Gospel of John ( Joh 18,38 EU ) the reply of Pontius Pilate to the remark of Jesus that he came into the world to give “witness to the truth”. The question immediately precedes Jesus' condemnation to death on the cross and remains unanswered: Pilate turns away without waiting for an answer. It is a locus classicus for the question of truth as a central theme of philosophy and logic . This question has often been received and interpreted artistically and literarily.
text
| Novum Testamentum Graece | Nova Vulgate | Standard translation |
|---|---|---|
| 37 εἶπεν οὖν αὐτῷ ὁ Πιλᾶτος · οὐκοῦν βασιλεὺς εἶ σύ; ἀπεκρίθη ὁ Ἰησοῦς · σὺ λέγεις ὅτι βασιλεύς εἰμι. ἐγὼ εἰς τοῦτο γεγέννημαι καὶ εἰς τοῦτο ἐλήλυθα εἰς τὸν κόσμον, ἵνα μαρτυρήσω τῇ ἀληθείᾳ · πᾶἀς ἀλης ίντς θς ἀὢἀς ἀῆς ῆς ἀὢς ῆς ὢυς ῆνς ὢυς κὢυς ὢυς. | 37 Dixit itaque ei Pilatus: “Ergo rex es do? ”. Respondit Iesus: “Tu dicis quia rex sum. Ego in hoc natus sum et ad hoc veni in mundum, ut testimonium perhibeam veritati; omnis, qui est ex veritate, audit meam vocem ”. | 37 Pilate said to him, "Are you a king, then?" Jesus answered: You say I am a king. I was born for this and came into the world to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is from the truth listens to my voice. |
| 38 λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Πιλᾶτος · τί ἐστιν ἀλήθεια ; Καὶ τοῦτο εἰπὼν πάλιν ἐξῆλθεν πρὸς τοὺς Ἰουδαίους καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς · ἐγὼ οὐδεμίαν εὑρίσακω ἐν αὐτῷ. | 38 Dicit ei Pilatus: “Quid est veritas? ” . Et cum hoc dixisset, iterum exivit ad Iudaeos et dicit eis: “Ego nullam invenio in eo causam. ” | 38 Pilate said to him, What is truth? After saying this, he went out to the Jews again and said to them: I have no reason to condemn him. |
analysis
Exactly which statement Pontius Pilate wanted to make with his question is controversial. According to Carl Schmitt , Pilate's attitude can be interpreted as an expression of “tired skepticism ”, as agnosticism , as an “expression of superior tolerance ” or as an early case of ideological neutrality of the state and administration , depending on the point of view . Mockery or even a questioning of the possibility of being able to judge the truth can be behind it - but in any case Jesus' claim that he bears witness to the truth is rejected.
The verse also expresses the idea of the complete innocence of Jesus before the judgment of Pilate and thus the symbolism of the Lamb of God, which is particularly emphasized in the Johannine writings . He also testifies to the doubts and skepticism of Pilate, which in the Gospels is almost consistently rated as a vice; With his question, Pilate puts himself outside the spirit of the Holy Scriptures.
This is all the more true as the concept of “truth”, especially in the Gospel of John, is strongly Christologically charged: “I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me ”( Jn 14.6 EU ), says Jesus to his disciple Thomas .
In the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus from the 5th century, the dialogue between Pilate and Jesus is clearly expanded in the "Pilate Acts" so that Pilate receives an answer to his question:
“Then Jesus replied: 'The truth comes from heaven.' And Pilate: 'Is there no truth on earth?' Then Jesus to Pilate: 'You see how those who speak the truth are judged by the earthly rulers.' "
Philosophical and artistic reception
Pilate's question has been quoted and referenced many times in literature and art, especially in works of a philosophical nature. Although it is not the first or earliest example of the conceptual questioning of a concept of truth , its cultural and religious significance through its prominent positioning in the New Testament gives it special significance.
Francis Bacon quotes Pilate at the beginning of his essay Of Truth . His talk of Jesting Pilate , of the 'joking Pilate' who did not recognize the truth because he did not want to wait for it, became a term for the biblical passage in English and was used by Aldous Huxley as the title for his travelogue of the same name.
Nietzsche, on the other hand, described Pilate in his late work Der Antichrist as the only New Testament figure who could be valued because of his question:
“Do I have to say that there is only one figure in the whole New Testament that needs to be honored? Pilate, the Roman governor. [...] The noble scorn of a Roman, in front of whom an outrageous abuse of the word 'truth' is carried out, has enriched the New Testament with the only word that has value - which is its criticism, its destruction itself: 'what is Truth!'"
Nikolai Ge made the question the motif of his work of the same name What is truth? , which stands in line with paintings of other New Testament subjects that he made towards the end of his life. Michail Bulgakow elaborates the relationship between Pilate and Jesus in an internal narrative of his novel The Master and Margarita (1928), a classic of 20th century Russian literature , and also takes up the question of truth, which is also directly quoted becomes. In the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar (1970), Tim Rice continues Pilate's train of thought: “But what is truth? Is truth unchanging law? / We both have truths - are mine the same as yours? "
Finally, Simon Blackburn described the dictum of Pilate as a “notorious question” in which relativists and absolutists alike were “trapped”, since it practically challenged the search for answers at a “dizzying level of abstraction”.
Individual evidence
- ^ Novum Testamentum Graece , 28th edition, German Bible Society.
- ↑ Nova Vulgata , Bibliorum Sacrorum Editio.
- ↑ Uniform translation , ERF online and German Bible Society.
- ↑ a b Warren W. Wiersbe: The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: The Complete New Testament . 2007, ISBN 978-0-7814-4539-9 , p. 303.
- ↑ Carl Schmitt : Der Leviathan in der Staatslehre des Thomas Hobbes , Cologne 1982, p. 67.
- ^ Francis J. Moloney, Daniel J. Harrington: The Gospel of John . 1998, ISBN 0-8146-5806-7 , pp. 488-489.
- ↑ a b Alexander Demandt: Pontius Pilatus . CH Beck, Munich, 2013, p. 86.
- ↑ Compare also: “If you stay in my word, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free ”( Jn 8 : 31-32 EU ), and“ Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth ”( Jn 17.17 EU ).
- ^ Francis Bacon: Of Truth ( Memento June 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (1601). Oregon State University website.
- ^ Friedrich Nietzsche: The Antichrist (1888). Digital Critical Edition (eKGWB), 46.
- ↑ Jesus Christ Superstar. A Rock Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice , October 1970, text booklet for the LP album
- ↑ Simon Blackburn: Truth. A guide for skeptics. Primus, Darmstadt, ISBN 3-89678-277-0 , p. 75.