WHoSe TRUTH? A ReADeR-oRIeNTeD STUDy 415 Johannine avlh,qeia is not exclusivistic like köstenberger’s, it shares the same outcome, namely the obliteration of the revelatory process of the event of avlh,qeia. 3. avlh,qeia as a paroimi,a J. Heath agrees with kowalski that 18,38a points out that Pilate is missing something fundamental which would have enabled him to hear Jesus’ voice 64. yet, for Heath, this does not imply that Jesus and Pilate are involved in a struggle between the power of truth and the truth of power. According to Heath, Pilate’s question of truth “highlights the hermeneutical issues at stake concerning the relationship between ‘truth’ and linguistic forms” 65. This is ultimately so for Heath, because John uses paroimi,ai (“hidden sayings”) to describe his project (16,25; cf. 10,6). John uses these paroimi,ai to deny the truth to “those who listen only to the words”, that is, to those who take truth for granted and do not ac- knowledge it as the result of a revelatory process 66. paroimi,ai accomplish this, according to Heath, because they refer the reader to his/her own ac- tivity of interpretation, and leave the reader to his/her responsibility to hear Jesus’ voice, and so to figure out what “truth” is. In Heath’s view, this is also the reason why John underscores “the limitations of the writ- ten text, which cannot contain everything about Jesus (John 20,30-31; 21,25)” 67. The words of this text are veiled sayings that challenge the reader to an exegesis that is a progression of Jesus’ own exegetical ac- tivity (1,18: cf. evxhgh,sato). Consequently, the reader necessarily needs to ask what truth is, because reading the text necessarily implies thinking about the relationship between “truth” and linguistic forms. 18,38a di- rects the reader to do this, and to unveil John’s paroimi,ai. The reader takes an active part in the revelatory process that takes place in the act of interpretation. As such, s/he continues Jesus’ exegetical and revelatory activity. Pilate’s question of truth triggers this for the reader. According to Heath, paroimi,ai have their most condensed form in Jesus’ evgw, eivmi-sayings. With these sayings Jesus exposes the reader to “a different network of signifiers and grammar of ‘truth’, distinct from the worldly, political meaning” 68. Pilate’s truth question makes 64 J. HeATH, “«you Say that I Am a king» (John 18.37)”, JSNT 34 (2011-12) 232-253, here 245. 65 HeATH, “you Say”, 250. 66 HeATH, “you Say”, 250. 67 HeATH, “you Say”, 250. 68 HeATH, “you Say”, 250.