What mattered to Pilate was not truth, but whatever was expedient to the group of people before him.  Another word for this is tribalism.  Tribalism basically says that a person’s loyalty is first to their race, religious sect or political party.   Tribalism limits its view of truth to the culture and laws of men, rather than the truth of God’s word.  It is horizontal in its scope.

There is a lot of confusion within our culture about what the church actually is.   Some think it is just a building or organization, it is not! Others think it is a place where religious services are held and given out, it is not!  The word church in the Bible comes from the Greek word, ecclesia, which literally means a public assembly which is called out.  Ek, meaning out of, where we get the English word exit from, and clessia, which means, called out.  It was a word originally used when a town meeting was called in ancient Greece, when a local magistrate or mayor would call out the people.

God is giving us a promise here that as we follow Him as our shepherd, He will take care of these same things.  When we follow Him we can be released of all anxiety and fear.  When we follow Him we can become more like Christ and be peacemakers instead of being embroiled in conflict. When we follow Him we can be protected from the evil one and his influence in our lives.  When we follow Him we have a promise that everything we need will be provided.