before we dig deeply into his work, let’s first hear from the ancient world itself. Pontius Pilate’s keen question to Jesus provides a bridge between classical rhetorical theory and our New Testament. “What is truth?” Besides being a hotly contested question today, it is also Pilate’s irritated reply to Jesus’ claim about testifying to the truth (John 18:38). At first glance it seems to be simply the nervous maneuvering of a scared tyrant. But perhaps there is more to his